When Jordan's King Visited Khashoka in Richardson
A news recap of King Abdullah II's dinner at Khashoka Richardson during the World Cup, the Jordanian national team's post-tournament visit, and the owner's own account of treating the King like any other guest.
What happened, and when
During the World Cup period, King Abdullah II of Jordan dined at Khashoka Richardson, the brand's first U.S. location at 1057 S Sherman St. After Jordan's national team played its final match of the tournament, a 3-1 loss to Argentina in the country's first-ever World Cup appearance, the team visited the same restaurant.
Two separate visits, same address, same kitchen. Richardson, Texas, a city of strip malls and plazas off Central Expressway, hosted a sitting monarch and a national soccer team inside the same World Cup window. That's the whole story before anyone starts explaining what it means.
The owner's account of the visit
Owner Muhammad Albakri has said what the King ate was the same thing every guest at Khashoka gets: "What His Majesty ate is the same thing that every guest comes here and actually takes as an experience." No special tasting menu, no separate kitchen run. He has also said the King asked that the rest of the dining room keep being served while he was there: "He insisted on us serving all the other guests who were in the restaurant while he was there."
Albakri has talked about the crowd that turned out for Jordan's World Cup games in blunter terms, calling it, in his own words, close to half the country's population showing up in North Texas: "I think half of Jordan actually came to Dallas to watch the Argentina game." That's his own hyperbole, not a headcount, but it points at something real: a restaurant that became a gathering point for a diaspora watching its team play in a World Cup for the first time.
Why the owner says nothing about the restaurant changed
Ask Albakri what shifted after the King's visit and, going by his own quotes, the answer is: not much. The meal wasn't rebuilt around the occasion. The restaurant didn't clear the room for a private dinner. The sourcing behind that meal is the same sourcing Albakri has described in other interviews, telling FOX 4, "We're the only restaurant in DFW that imports almost everything from Jordan to maintain the authenticity of our food." A king's plate and a Tuesday regular's plate came out of the same kitchen, cooked from the same imported olive oil, makdous, and labneh Albakri has described using in other coverage of the restaurant.
That consistency is the point he's making. A visit from Jordan's head of state didn't produce a different menu because there isn't a version of the menu reserved for special guests. Mansaf, the national dish, is still $29 whether the table is a king's or anyone else's. Community Impact described the broader menu around it as mansaf alongside fatteh, kofta, hummuses, dips, salads, and skillets, the same lineup that was on offer before the World Cup and the same one on offer now.
Where this leaves Richardson's profile
Richardson opened its first Jordanian restaurant on November 4, 2025, in Al Ameera Plaza. Within roughly a year, that address had hosted a king and a national team. That's not a claim about the restaurant's future; it's just what happened, on the record, inside one World Cup cycle.
What it does confirm is something plainer: Richardson, and the Middle Eastern business cluster it sits inside, is now a real stop for people connected to Jordan, not just a neighborhood restaurant serving a neighborhood. The King's dinner and the team's visit are one-time events. The restaurant, by its own owner's account, kept running the same way the next morning.
If you want to see the same menu the King ate from, check the menu or visit the Richardson location.
Frequently asked questions
Did King Abdullah II eat a special menu at Khashoka?
No. Owner Muhammad Albakri has said the King's meal was the same experience offered to every guest at the Richardson restaurant. There was no separate royal menu prepared for the visit, and the King reportedly insisted the staff keep serving the other guests who were already in the restaurant.
Did the King's visit change how Khashoka Richardson operates day to day?
According to the owner, no. The restaurant still runs on the same hours, the same menu, and the same sourcing it had before the World Cup. The visit is a moment in the restaurant's history, not a shift in how the kitchen or dining room work.
What happened when Jordan lost to Argentina?
Jordan's national team fell 3-1 to Argentina in its final match of the tournament, its first-ever World Cup appearance. After that match, the Jordanian national team visited Khashoka Richardson, and the owner has described the crowd that gathered to watch the tournament games as sizable.
