Think about the leading fast-food joints in the Gulf region, and you would definitely have heard of the famous Saudi Arabian brand, AlBaik. The name is synonymous with the famous broast chicken, which is a unique cooking technique that broils and roasts the chicken at the same time—making it tender on the inside and crispy on the outside.  AlBaik has created a legendary reputation for itself with its delicious yet affordably priced fast food that is a cult favorite among patrons.

The history behind the brand

The brainchild of the late Shakour AbuGhazalah, AlBaik (originally named Mataam Al Broast) was started in 1974 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Shakour identified the need for premium quality fast food options within the growing city and ventured into an agreement with an international company for the proprietary usage of chicken broiling equipment and unique spice blends.

Unfortunately, Shakour passed away within two years of the opening in 1976. With his untimely demise, his two sons had to take over the branch and deal with several debt issues, licensing expiry, and competition from nearly 400 copycat restaurants. By 1984, the two brothers had got on-hands experience with the food business and reengineered the entire business model. They came up with their own unique spice blend of 18 secret herbs and spices and relaunched the restaurant with the AlBaik name in 1986.

The sons carried forward the legacy of their dad and were successfully able to establish a loyal customer base—eventually leading them to expand their restaurant chain to Makkah in 1990. In 1998, AlBaik was honored by the Saudi government's invitation to serve the pilgrims at Mina during the Hajj season, and it has continued to do so ever since then.

Global recognition

Aquat food industries, which is a sister company to AlBaik, began their own advanced facility in Industrial City, Jeddah, by the year 2000. With its advanced focus on food quality, freshness, and hygienic management systems, the company soon was awarded ISO 22000:2005 certificate in food safety. By doing so, it became the first restaurant chain in Saudi Arabia to be accomplished this way.

Since 2006, the brand has taken active steps to not just improve food safety awareness but also teamed up with government and private organizations for their corporate social responsibility initiatives towards the community.

What is so special about their menu?

While it is clearly established that AlBaik has focused on food safety, hygiene, customer satisfaction from very early on, the taste has reigned supreme for years. The brand believes in taking customer feedback and always maintains transparency of food standards. The menu includes chicken fillets, broast chicken, fillet sandwich, fillet burger, fish fillet meal, egg and chicken cheese sandwich, and shrimp meals. They offer other side dishes and condiments such as coleslaw, corn-on-the-cob, hummus, ice cream, cocktail sauce, garlic sauce, and nugget sauce.

AlBaik’s menu items are extremely well-loved by their customers and the broast chicken is enough to give competition to other fried chicken brands. Each bite of chicken is juicy, tender, and feels wholesome. They even make their own range of in-house sauces that are delectable and pair perfectly with all their products. Driving by any of its branches is sure to give you a whiff of their scrumptious aromas that leave every patron drooling.

AlBaik’s tender broast chicken has a delicious coating while also having a great flavor and spice inside each piece. Their garlic sauce is equally legendary and has its own separate fan base. It is for this very reason that they continue to keep their recipe a secret and have their products prepped at their manufacturing facility, then shipped to the restaurant locations for further cooking and serving.

Their unmatched popularity

People traveling from an AlBaik location always take away bulk orders for their friends and family who cannot access it. There have also been instances where people have bulk-packed AlBaik orders for travel to take it abroad for their loved ones. Long-term customers keep returning to the brand because of the consistently great taste and the memories it brings back.

The fact that several restaurants within the Gulf region and internationally have tried to use the brand name to lure loyal customers is proof enough of their popularity. Most copycat restaurants try to use the AlBaik name and set up branches in many cities. However, the AlBaik secret spice mix and quality standards are nearly unparalleled.

Locations

AlBaik has expanded steadily over the years. It currently has over 120 branches including those in Saudi Arabia: 40+ in Jeddah, 10 in Makkah, and 10 in Madinah. It even has Xpress outlets in these cities including a handful in Riyadh, Jubail, and AlKharj. Internationally, the restaurant has two branches in Bahrain and Dubai so far.

A recent post circulating on social media spoke of an upcoming branch in Qatar in 2022. However, there was no official news from the company either on their website or any of their social media. So this remains unconfirmed. Although, we hope they do! Because who can resist their amazing menu?

----

Make sure to check out our social media to keep track of the latest content. 

Instagram - @qatarliving

Twitter - @qatarliving

Facebook - Qatar Living

YouTube - qatarlivingofficial

Inline image credits: 1. ALBAIK, 2, 3, & 4: Shutterstock