Situated in Riyadh’s Diplomatic Quarter (DQ), Attaché is a welcoming and beautifully designed community hub dedicated to all things food and beverage, leisure and music enjoyment. Launched in September 2024, it is the brainchild of MDLBeast, a Saudi based record label and creative platform for music, art and culture rooted in the Middle East and shared across the world. (For your information: MDLBeast puts on the yearly Sandstorm festival – the giant music event bringing big names such as Eminem, Thirty Second to Mars, Guns N’ Roses, Amr Diab and others to the Saudi capital).

ABOVE: Simon Whitley, the operations and culinary director at MDLBEAST, describes Attaché as a unique space where design, sound, and taste converge.

Simon Whitley, Attaché’s Senior Operations and Culinary Director, has been involved with the hospitality and music venues for MDLBeast since the very start. When he arrived in Riyadh a little over two years ago from the UK he was part of a team of just three, entrusted with the task of setting up permanent hospitality venues. First, they put concepts together. Then they present their ideas to the board. Once approved, they proceed with the preparations and then handle everything from A to Z, as he explains. “We support them in all aspects of pre-opening: from recruitment to developing and implementing the concept, then allowing the team to grow, develop, mentor and lead from there. Once we’re comfortable with that, we move on to the next one.” This process included Attaché, the members club Beast House in Diryah’s JAX District and the Sindala Beach Club in NEOM City.

What makes Attaché so unusual is its location; it is on the grounds of a former equestrian club with a sprawling area of 70,000 square meters, out of which 42,000 sqm is currently being used. “When we took over the stables there were existing buildings in place and the aim was always to keep them,” explains Whitley. “Yet we wanted to enhance what was there, so we extended areas to make them operational for hospitality, but we’ve kept the core buildings that were on site.” The Attaché restaurant is a circular building, and that is because the original equestrian building was shaped that way. Bricklab, an award-winning Saudi based architecture firm was brought in to do the design work and they did a stellar job of keeping many of the original features while integrating them with modern designs.

It wasn’t without challenges, Whitley points out. “There was no infrastructure, no service to the level that you need to run something like this. At the same time, we had to be very mindful to keep the heritage and existing structures.” One example of this clever integration is seen within Attaché’s clubbing venue, Unstable, which is located on the exact site where the horses once stayed. The club’s nine guest VIP boxes served as the former stalls for the horses. They even redesigned the troughs so they could store ice buckets for drinks! Even the original doors that slide and open onto the stables were kept.

For Whitley it was very important that the food and beverage suited both the taste of locals as well as the expat crowd, as they’re in the Diplomatic Quarter, home to foreign embassies and cosmopolitan communities. “We expected a more international crowd when we opened but 80 to 85 per cent is actually local, so we are very pleased,” shares Simon. The menu at Attaché is quite diverse, with a mix of Italian, Asian and Arabian inspired dishes. They have many signature dishes like Swiss Comté Twice Baked Soufflé and Dammam Beetroot Ravioli. The main menu features delicious fish and meat selections as well as vegetarian options, like the Asian Marinated Cauliflower Steak and the Thyme and Rosemary Tart, although the menu is always evolving with new dishes added regularly to keep things interesting. “Each area has a different menu with different price points. Some more fine dining while others offer comfort food. We have something for everyone”.

ABOVE: Whether you come to Attaché for a special occasion or a casual indulgence, lunch or dinner, it sets a high standard for refined dining in Riyadh. The Dammam Beetroot Ravioli combines goat cheese with beetroots, while caramelised walnuts add crunch under the balsamic glaze. Then the Egyptian Mango Pavlova is quite the treat.

Whitley and his team are working on a farm-to-fork concept having created a well-equipped garden within Attaché to grow their own organic food. They have various citrus fruits and apples, some seasonal vegetables along with thyme, lavender and rosemary that are used in their dishes and flavour their zero-proof drinks (mocktails). As this is only their first year in operation, it’s a work in progress to further develop the garden (luckily plenty of space is available!) and test the seasons. “We hope to grow lots more food in-house and even start a farmer’s market within Attaché in the future,” he adds.

In terms of layout, Attaché is divided into several hospitality spaces: the Attaché outdoor and indoor restaurant; Attaché lounge (serving Shisha); Privé, the private members club; and Unstable, the nightclub. For the outdoor areas the aim was to create the feeling of a ranch so it’s relaxed and rustic, with music playing in the background, and lots of fresh food and plenty of greenery around.

Indeed, music plays a big role at Attaché, which means it can be heard and experienced in most areas. Once a week there are musicians performing live at the restaurant in addition to resident DJs who are present daily, whether playing chilled tunes during brunch or jazzing it up at Privé. Unstable is where the real party starts (every Thursday, staying open until 3am.). It features several DJ’s in a single night – few local and one international headlining, reflecting the style of musical evenings MDLBeast is typically known for.

Soon Attaché will be expanding and by end summer 2025 the Pool Club will be completed. It will include cabanas, a workout gym, and even have nine fully serviced hotel rooms for guests. Simon also plans to introduce an afternoon tea in the traditional British style but with an Arabian twist. Already Attaché has hosted plenty of big corporate and private events, including Ramadan iftars, focussing more on outdoor events in the cooler winter season. Whitley has plans for introducing the food truck concept, so people can also come to get food on the go. Another development still being considered is to have outdoor live cooking stations to reflect the Saudi traditional style where meat is cooked over a fire pit. “We can also do pool parties. There’s so many different activations that we’re still planning,” reveals Whitley. Clearly Attaché is an evolving hot spot with plenty in store. Whatever they launch next we are sure it will continue to enthral customers and keep them coming back.

Photography: courtesy of MDLBeast