Wabi Sabi: A Lifestyle Hub, Wellness Sanctuary and The Region’s Soon-To-Be Go-To Eatery for Vegan Cuisine
The concept restaurant is ushering in a vegan revolution within the Middle East, one dish at a time
Abeer Almutlaq, founder of Wabi Sabi, first came across the concept of veganism when she spent time in India and witnessed the healing power of Ayurveda, an ancient medical practice that is still prevalent in the country. It prompted her to start entertaining the idea of a vegan diet, something she never considered because of her meat-filled childhood meals.
“In the Gulf, meat is such an entrenched part of our diet that many people cannot imagine life without it,” she says. “When I first started looking into a vegan diet, people thought I was crazy.”
Her last year of university and a volunteering stint at a school for autistic children was the final push when she saw her outlook on food and its connection with the human body transform.
“It was becoming increasingly clear to me that food was a huge factor in behavioural issues from mood to concentration, and other conditions such as skin irritations and sleep issues. It triggered a deep curiosity in me to explore this more, for myself and others,” she says.
Born and raised in Riyadh, she worked in real estate for 11 years before eventually starting a small business out of her home, selling cakes and baked goods before launching her passion project, Wabi Sabi.
The concept of Wabi Sabi was not just to be the first vegan restaurant in Saudi Arabia. The bigger picture for the brand is to educate Saudi society about veganism, a community that has yet to warm up to the idea of eliminating a staple ingredient, such as meat, from its diet.
“I wanted to show people that vegan food is as tasty as anything else they will eat,” says Abeer, “To share this passion for the food I fell in love with and bring it to the region.”
As such, Wabi Sabi opened it’s doors in 2019 and has since then expanded to multiple outlets and a retail concept called Boutique which is an extension of the brand; it embodies the Wabi Sabi philosophy of self-care and stocks luxury clothing, selfcare products, accessories, art and more. The idea of the brand comes from Japanese culture and roughly translates to ‘beauty in imperfection.
Not only can customers sample a complete healthy and delicious vegan menu, of which many of the recipes have been formulated by Abeer herself, but also attend sessions by wellness experts and chefs, and connect with people from the local vegan community. The restaurant also serves a variety of gluten free options to make the food more accessible to people with diverse food preferences and dietary restrictions. Some of the restaurant’s signature dishes include the ATM burger, vegan escalope and the ‘not for sharing’ cake.
Abeer studied nutrition herself and understands the importance of quality ingredients in creating recipes. “Quality is key for any business to thrive so making healthy, tasty and visually appealing food has been top of the priority list for me as I grew the business,” she says.
Plans for expansion are on the cards, with branches in Sharjah and Dubai having recently opened their doors. Abeer’s vision for the future of Wabi Sabi is coupled with a desire to see veganism grow and thrive in the region.
“It can seem daunting to commit to such a big change in one’s life and really it’s not necessary to go all in, we can still feel the benefits with a greater addition of vegan whole foods in our diet as well as helping the planet a little by simply reducing our meat consumption,” she says.
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