Takya

1 · POSITION

Takya began in Riyadh in July 2019 with a question about Saudi food: how could regional dishes become better known to diners, including Saudis unfamiliar with traditions outside their own region? Hadeel Al Motawa developed the restaurant with co-founders Hissah Al Motawa and Nada Al Qasabi. Their project made domestic culinary knowledge the starting point for contemporary restaurant cooking. [1]

2 · LEARNING IN HOME KITCHENS

In an interview published in 2020, the founders described visiting grandmothers around the country and learning from their kitchens. Chef Altaf Shaikh contributed to the resulting menu. This gives Takya's reinterpretation an identifiable process: recipes and memories were gathered, discussed and adapted for service. The restaurant's authorship includes the women who developed the business as well as the professional kitchen. [1]

3 · RICE, BREAD AND BLACK LIME

The published 2023 menu demonstrates that approach. Sleeg combines creamy rice, mastic and smoked dried yoghurt with chicken. A kleeja tart places black-lime custard and lemon curd inside a familiar biscuit reference. Grsan bread is turned into rolls filled with vegetables and cheese. These dishes preserve recognisable ingredients and names while changing texture, format or accompaniment for a shared restaurant table. [2]

4 · A PLACE IN DIRIYAH

Diriyah's current dining directory includes Takya and describes its combination of Saudi traditions with contemporary refinement. The menu itself encourages sharing several dishes between diners. This makes regional variety part of the meal's structure: guests can encounter different preparations together, rather than having one main course stand for an entire national cuisine. The setting also places the restaurant within a destination where Saudi cultural identity is central to the visitor experience. [2, 3]

5 · ⚑ CANDOUR

⚑ The 2019 date concerns Takya's original opening, not necessarily its Diriyah address. Dishes above come from the dated 2023 menu. They illustrate the approach without promising that every preparation remains available today. [1–3]