Barack Obama never got a fish restaurant named after him in Iraq but even before president-elect Donald Trump is inaugurated, one of his biggest fans has named a diner after him in Iraqi Kurdistan.
Trump Fish, in the city of Dohuk in northern Iraq, specialises in masgouf – crispy, grilled carp, which is the country’s national dish.
Owner Nadyar Zawiti, 31, decided to name his new eatery after Trump last year after the then Republican nominee praised the Kurdish peshmerga fighters taking on ISIS and called for the US to arm them in their struggle.
Zawiti told CNN, “What I admire about Trump’s personality is that he’s decisive, he’s tough, and hopefully with that toughness he’ll finish ISIS off.”
Seeing him as a man of action, Zawiti has designed the restaurant’s logo showing Trump with a lightning bolt hairstyle.
Trump Fish opened last month in Dohuk, which is only an hour’s drive from Mosul, where Kurdish peshmergas and Iraqi soldiers are trying to dislodge ISIS.
Zawiti admitted he chose the name as a gimmick which he hoped would boost trade but said it came after Trump praised the peshmerga and called for them to be given US arms supplies.
He said, “I personally love Trump for this. The name Trump is beloved in Kurdistan.”
But Zawiti said some online critics have accused him of being an American or Israeli agent and have threatened him because of the name.
The Kurds have carved out their own de facto state in northern Iraq in the wake of the US-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003.
The peshmerga – whose name literally means ‘those who face death’ – have proven to be brave fighters who have helped to turn the tide against ISIS.
Some customers upset with Trump’s campaign pledge to impose a temporary ban on Muslims entering the United States boycotted the restaurant.
Zawiti, who runs Trump Fish with his three brothers, said the business is still not making a profit but he hopes to emulate the wealth of his tycoon hero.
Masgouf is a grilled fish farmed in local rivers and seasoned with olive oil, pepper, lemon and spices.
One customer who enjoyed the food, if not the name, was American visitor David Hirsch, who said, “He is an American, maybe he is not my favourite, but he is still American. So I’m happy to try a restaurant with an American name with Kurdish-Iraqi food.” Zawiti even hopes to bring Trump Fish to America, and chuckled, “Give me a visa and I will go tomorrow.”