Al Roof Restaurant, Gali Duhok. September 2019
Ironically, a relative of the owner of the Rooftop Bar [see: Rooftop Bar], Ryan, opened a restaurant down by Duhok Dam called "Al Roof". Built on top of some traditional ice cream and fast food shops ungraciously lining the narrow street to the dam, Al Roof lifted customers away from the traffic and hub-bub below. Once up inside the restaurant, the focus was actually the roof deck facing not onto the perpetually traffic clogged road below, but instead on the towering mountain behind. It was a lovely setting to say the least.
Of course, because recommended by Ryan, I had to give it a try, so I invited Duhok bestie WMF to come with me one Friday morning. In reality, we discovered just a very ramped up Turkish breakfast [see: Turkish breakfast] that I had already experienced several times at the Hotel Rixos. Unfortunately for me, I was late to realize that at the same price point, I could have been eating nearly treble the amount of food. Deliciously prepared and presented, Al Roof's breakfast was an instant hit with us.
The Iraqis of Duhok (Kurdish and Non-Kurdish) readily admitted they did not excel as restauranteurs. Everyone said, "Lebanese people know how to run restaurants". From my limited sampling in Duhok, I tended to agree. With the melt down of the Lebanese economy, many aspiring entrepreneurs headed off to Iraq to try their hand at the restaurant business. Easy to get a visa and work in Iraq, the Lebanese showed up in droves. In spite of all the years of conflict, the Iraqis still loved to eat out, so there was a whole country just waiting to be served. Compared to Saudi Arabia, one of my biggest culture shocks of "little Duhok" was that there were a lot more restaurants than in my former home Abha - with a greater variety of food.
Al Roof then became WMF and my splurge on a Friday. We both knew it was better not to go every Friday lest the specialness of the place be lost. It gained in popularity over time as well (for good reason - no other place was like it in Duhok). So there ended up being two rooftops that I loved in my Kurdish adopted city - the Rooftop Bar and Al Roof Restaurant - owned by members of the same Lebanese family. I was grateful for them both as they made my stay in Duhok more enjoyable.