Part of our ongoing design portfolio for Zaatar w Zeit: new branches, renovations and one recognizable identity across the region.
Some brands you recognize by their logo. Others you recognize the moment you walk in. For Zaatar w Zeit, we want both.
This Kuwait branch is the latest chapter in our ongoing design portfolio for Zaatar w Zeit. The portfolio covers new branches in Saudi Arabia and Oman, and the renovation of the Jeita offices and restaurant in Lebanon. Every project brings a new site, a new climate and a new set of requirements. The challenge stays the same: keep the Zaatar w Zeit identity instantly recognizable while letting each space respond to where it is.
In Kuwait, that meant a waterfront site, a generous terrace and a view of the city skyline that we wanted to make part of the experience.
One Identity, Read From the Street
The facade does the introduction. Backlit bilingual signage sits on a stone-toned band, framed by vertical timber slats that carry the warmth of the interior out to the street. Cantilevered umbrellas and hanging banners mark the outdoor seating, and a planted edge along the roofline brings the brand’s green into the architecture.
At night, the signage glows softly against the timber. From the street you can see all the way through to the heart of the space, and to the feature that defines it.
The Canopy
At the centre of the branch, an olive-green canopy spreads across the ceiling, set into a field of timber slats. It is scattered with hundreds of points of light, and it doesn’t stop at the ceiling. The canopy curves down into a single sculpted form that wraps the service area and frames a rounded window looking out to the sea.
The result reads like a tree: a broad crown overhead and a trunk anchoring the bar below. It gives the space one clear focal point, and it makes the counter feel like a place you gather around, not just a place you order from.
The speckled surface also nods to the brand itself: flecks of light across green, the way za’atar scatters across dough.
A Palette Rooted in the Brand
The material palette stays close to Zaatar w Zeit’s roots. Olive green, natural oak and soft stone tones form the base. Cognac leather and cream upholstery add warmth and variety, without breaking the calm.
The seating is zoned by use. Long communal tables work for groups, rounded lounge chairs for slower coffee moments, and upholstered banquettes line the walls. The leaf motif from the logo appears in sculpted form against the curved counter, a quiet signature that shows up in every view.
The Screen Wall
A digital menu screen sits within an olive-green frame whose rounded corners echo the service window. Illuminated shelves on either side display jars, cups and tableware, so the wall feels like part of the café and not just signage. Below it, a green upholstered banquette turns the wall into seating.
Opening Onto the Terrace
The branch is designed to blur the line between inside and out. The interior opens directly onto the terrace, so the same materials, furniture and palette carry through from one to the other. Guests seated inside still take in the light, the water and the city beyond.
A Terrace Facing the City
Outside, the terrace looks across the water to the Kuwait City skyline. Olive trees in terrazzo planters punctuate the seating, alongside hanging greenery and planted edges along the glass balustrade. Cantilevered umbrellas provide shade through the day, and a mix of dining chairs, lounge seats and built-in banquettes lets guests settle in for a quick bite or a long afternoon.
From Day to Night
As evening falls, the canopy comes into its own. The points of light glow warmly overhead, candlelit tables soften the room, and the space shifts from a bright daytime café into something more intimate. Same place, same identity, different mood.
Zaatar w Zeit Kuwait shows what this portfolio is about: a brand that feels familiar wherever you find it, designed to belong to the place it’s in.
Designing for a Brand That Travels
A franchise is only as strong as its consistency. When a guest walks into Zaatar w Zeit in Kuwait, Riyadh, Muscat or Jeita, they should know right away where they are. But copying one design from city to city doesn’t achieve that. Each site has its own climate, footprint, regulations and way of gathering, and a branch that ignores them never feels like it belongs.
Our approach is to separate what stays fixed from what adapts. The fixed elements are the brand’s DNA: the palette, the materials, the leaf signature and a clear focal point at the heart of every space. What adapts is everything around them: the layout, the relationship between inside and outside, how the space handles light and heat, and how it opens toward its surroundings. Here in Kuwait, that meant a terrace facing the city skyline and a canopy that carries the space from day to night.
Getting that balance right is what lets a brand grow across borders without losing itself. With more than 650 projects across around 20 countries, this is work we know well, and we bring the same thinking to every new market.
Taking your brand into a new market, or refreshing your existing branches? Let’s design spaces that stay unmistakably yours, wherever they open.