Munch @ The Village – Abu Hasaniya, Kuwait: Munch is a small restaurant in Kuwait that just opened its second branch in The Village Complex off of Highway 30 at exit 208.

We were here during their soft opening (and it just happened to be on Valentine’s Day). It was early afternoon and the place was quite quiet, with just one group of four young Kuwaiti women dining outside, and a friend and me dining inside.

The décor is modern and bright and they offer seating both inside and outside. The outside area is not that nice just yet, but that is because the final landscaping of The Village is not done yet. I’m assuming that once the final landscaping is done, it will be a much better environment.

Munch was still in their soft opening so not all items were available yet. However, their menu already had signs of it being updated, mainly with stickers covering the old prices, with even higher prices handwritten on the stickers.

After wondering why they are already raising the prices, I perused the small menu. It had eight appetizers, mini-burgers, fries, onion rings, chicken fingers and mozzarella sticks to name a few. Seven salads, pretty much all the typical salads you find at most any restaurant in Kuwait, that is except for the Mexican which I found appealing.

The back page of the menu had the burgers (half a dozen types), pastas (another six or so) and desserts (almost half were some variation of Nutella crepes).

After looking at the menu, which didn’t take all that long, we decided on an order of mini-burgers to split and the pasta with pink sauce (with chicken added at an additional cost) as our main dish. The mini-burgers at Munch were just average. They were tasty, but compared to what mini-burgers could be and are at other restaurants in Kuwait, these can only be described as dull. (Anyone in Kuwait who has had a mini-burger at Slider Station knows what a good mini-burger is all about!)

Next up was our main course of the pasta with pink sauce. This is a dish I’ve ordered at many restaurants around the world. I can honestly say that this dish would be the only reason I would return to Munch.

Service throughout lunch was decent, but as the only guests dining inside, it was not much of a challenge to look after us.

Based on the above experience alone, I would rate Munch in Kuwait as Almost Bombastic; however, there is more to this story.

When I returned back home, I wanted to learn more about Munch, so I check out their website and came across this ad. “Join us for Valentine’s Day lunch or dinner on the 14th of February and dessert’s on us” See the ad here.

I wondered why they didn’t mention this offer to us while we were there, so I called and talked to the manager. He said the promotion was for “couples” only. I said the ad did not say anything about that. After much back and forth, and with a disgruntled attitude, he said he would honor the offer the next time I was in. I thought, “fair enough”.

A few days later, I went back to Munch to “collect” on their offer. I took my same friend as I didn’t want them to find some loophole and disqualify us. We checked out the dessert section and then asked to see the manager so he could take our order (I didn’t want any problems at the end). We ordered the Nutella crepe with banana and strawberry (2.250 KD) and the cake of the day, a chocolate cake (1.250 KD). We also ordered a double espresso and a decaf coffee (but they don’t have decaf, a big minus in my book!).

As the manager walked away, he said the cake would be free, but he would charge us for the crepe. I asked why, and he said the offer was just for one dessert (of course he picked the cheapest one to be free). I said “the ad never said anything about just one dessert” (look at it for yourself) and he said, with full attitude “that is the way it is”.

I told him to forget the cake, I decided right then not to give a restaurant that treats its customers so poorly another fil. With the plethora of restaurants in Kuwait there are plenty of other place that would happily welcome my business.

The crepe that was delivered to our table was NOTHING like what was in their menu (again, compare the pictures). In terms of taste, it was ok, but never in a million years would I pay 2.250 for it!

When I left, I gave the manager my card and asked him to have the owner call me. I just could not (and still cannot) believe that a restaurant in Kuwait, especially a new one would treat their customers so poorly. Plus, their advertising if not false, it surly is misleading (as is the picture in the menu).

About 30 minutes later, I received a call from the manager. He said that the owner did not want to speak to me and that he was sorry, but the ad was just for couples and just for one dessert, they just did a bad job of communicating that.

My belief in a situation like this is, if the restaurant made a mistake, fix it. Plain and simple. He could have easily said from beginning, sorry, but apparently we were not clear enough in our advertising, but as a gesture of goodwill we’ll make the chocolate cake complimentary. What would that have cost them? Well under 1KD, but their failure to treat the customer right has garnered Munch a rating of Not Bombastic!

If you are looking for a Bombastic restaurant in Kuwait, skip Munch and try one of the many other restaurants we have rated much higher.
There are many other places in Kuwait that deserve your business. I for one will not being visiting Munch again.

What I liked: Pasta with pink sauce

What I didn’t like: The way they treat the customer

Rating: Not Bombastic

Address and Telephone Number:
Munch
The Village complex,
Block 1, Street 208,
Abu Al Hasaniya, Kuwait

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