I know, it’s hot, it’s humid and the dust permeates everything. But for foodies, there is a lot to love about being here in Doha in July. Restaurants and hotels are working overtime to get you to spend your cash and there are even some new concepts popping up. Here’s where I think you should be eating and drinking this month: Walima It’s been a rocky road for this restaurant at the Mondrian Doha, but I’m pleased to say it seems to have hit its mark finally. It always was a bit of a hard sell – a high end restaurant serving Qatari inspired food. But they have found the…
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Seven Daytime Dining Options in Doha This Ramadan
While I do love seeing the city come alive during the long Ramadan nights (and this year the days will also be long!), it’s nice to have some quality, convenient options around Doha to eat out during the day, especially on weekends. Check my friends at Marhaba for a full list of Ramadan offerings as they occur and Time Out Doha has a great guide to the Holy Month. But I thought I would give you just a handful of good, solid places for breakfast and lunch over the coming weeks. Breakfast Santa Monica Breakfast Club. This has become one of the hottest spots for a weekend breakfast in town. As…
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Is the New York Steakhouse Brunch the Best in Doha Right Now?
Forget your gimmicks, your themed events and fancy dress. For me – good Friday brunch experience has a number of key elements – good food, great service and yes, crowd-pleasing music. And there are many around town – Nobu, Market at the W Doha, Shangtastic at Shangri-La who get it spot-on. But last year, a new and surprising entrant shook up the brunch scene – the Big Apple Brunch New York Steakhouse at Marriott Marquis. Besides my sporadic trips to Quick Bites and Ipanema, frankly I never rated this hotel for its food and beverage. For me, it was a little too cookie cutter – big hotel, no real personality. So…
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Your February Hit List – Where You Should Be Eating and Drinking in Doha Right Now
Don’t be hating on me – it’s been a while I know, and this round up is a little late out of the starting blocks even for me. Bad food blogger that I am. But as you know, I really only recommend places in Qatar and experiences I have personally tried. And this month, well, in Doha it’s been a little slow to move on the dining front (or is it that I have been a little slow to move? Don’t answer that). But we are finally starting to see some traction – new dining offers and new menus popping up in and around the Doha. February, as it turns…
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Eye Watering – Are We Being Ripped Off on Bottled Water in Qatar’s Restaurants?
You walk into one of Doha’s many restaurants with table service and what is generally one of the first questions you are asked? Would you like water? Still or sparkling? Without thinking, we order our preference (sparkling for me but I’m extra like that). but how many of us actually look at what that bottle, ordered without a second thought, adds to the bill? Recently I shared a meal in a restaurant in a five star hotel in Doha. When the bill came I did a double, then a triple take. Each of our dishes had come in around QR70 to QR75 each. Fair enough. The food was good. But…
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Revisiting an Old Friend – Has Yum Yum at K108 Hotel Weathered the Test of Time?
Back in the day (ok around five years ago), Yum Yum at K108 Hotel was the hottest dining ticket in town. With a sun-drenches dining room, views for days and a French chef turning out unique and sometimes challenging dishes. But Doha’s dining scene is one that is driven by fashion and fads – the chef left, other places opened and well, people moved on. But this place continued to deliver. I confess I was one of those diners who moved on to other more shiny objects. So I sheepishly returned recently to see how it was holding up. Sadly, the dining room was empty on our weekday lunch run.…
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Your January 2018 Hit List – Where You Should be Eating This Month
We did it. Made it to 2018 relatively unscathed. It seems my 2018 has started with breakneck speed – with new projects brewing, new opportunities, new travel plans. But with a new year also comes a new opportunity to try eating and drinking somewhere different in Qatar. Here’s my list of where you should be spending your hard earned dining riyals this month (and as usual, there’s a couple of surprises!). The Cheesecake Factory: Speaking of surprises – this one may shock the hard core foodies here. And believe me I was a skeptic – cosigning it to the same dubious dining schematic as fast food restaurants. But a recent…
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Your December Hit List – Where to Eat and Drink in Doha this Month
To use a well worn sports analogy – we’re on the home stretch people! December is upon us and 2018 is almost a reality. It’s that time of year – for overindulging and panic buying. But that doesn’t mean you can’t find some time to dine well in and around Doha. Here’s my December Hit List of where I will be eating and drinking this month (be warned – there is a distinct lack of festive fare here. For a full rundown of where, when and how for Christmas and New Year, head over to my friends at Marhaba. Now…to my list: Megu Many, many moons ago, when I was…
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Doha’s Hidden Restaurant Gems – Stockburger Co
So Stockburger Co at the Holiday Inn Doha may not be so much as a hidden gem, rather, it’s a new entrant on the dining scene that deserves little more exposure. To be upfront – this place is essentially a sports bar, showing hundreds of games and different sports daily. There is even a private area to watch “big games” and devour your wings and shout out the screen in seclusion (although, they are yet to embrace my suggestion this would also be a good venue for Netflix). It’s true there is a bar area a very attractive happy hour from 12pm, but this is also a good place for…
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Happy Sashimi? Does Morimoto at Mondrian Doha Live Up to its Celebrity Chef Pedigree?
It’s a brave move to open a hotel like the Mondrian Doha in the kind of environment Qatar is currently experiencing. But the Mondrian is a rare breed of a hotel for Qatar – lavish and design driven, even a little eccentric, it boasts TWO celebrity chef helmed operations and a lot of confidence. The Japanese restaurant Morimoto is one of those restaurants – the latest outpost in the empire of the mercurial Chef Masaharu Morimoto. Well known to foodies for his star turns on the cheesy yet addictive original cooking game show Iron Chef and later Iron Chef America (The Chairman’s hair and quotes deserved their own TV series), his empire stretches from…
