• Brunch,  Restaurant Review

    Brunch Review: ZUMA Doha has Hype and Celebrities but Does it Deliver A Great Brunch?

    Let’s be honest. First impressions were not great – a questionable table and a server with an attitude as chilly as Doha in late February. Our Zuma Baikingu Friday brunch experience was off to a rocky start. We’d already had internal monologue/whatsapp group chat about the QR500 price tag and the “sceney” vibe. But my lack of a Zuma visit was, I confess, a gap in my food writing resume. A generous table move, the injection of Pocket Rocket server called Camilla and a decent Bellini soon had us purring. Let’s be clear – Zuma Doha is a SCENE. So much so that we had a mix of wannabe main character…

  • Best Restaurants in Qatar,  Restaurant Review

    Review: 10 Years After it Opened, is IDAM Still Doha’s Fine Dining Leader?

    With a landmark location and an impeccable fine dining pedigree, IDAM has always stood apart from anything else in the Doha dining scene. But 10 years after it opened, can we still call IDAM Doha’s fine dining leader? The answer is…yes and a qualified maybe. But more of that later. IDAM’s History A decade ago, when IDAM opened in all its white gloved Alain Ducasse elegance, its menu was a blend of near east/Orient and Eurocentric west. Billing itself as Qatari/French fusion, the famed harees with gold foil was a regular item on the menu. Then the empire expanded – Jiwan and its millions of pearls glittered at the National…

  • Hidden Gems,  Hit List

    Doha Dining Hit List November 2023 – new, hot and just reviewed restaurants and bars

    We’re now officially in the “business end” of the year and there is still so much left to explore on the dining scene. To help you navigate that, here is your essential Doha Hit List November 2023 – new, hot and just reviewed restaurants and bars: Thursday Night Churrasco at Toro Toro The Thursday night offering at Toro Toro is simple – a set menu of starters, unlimited “meat cuts” and desserts. We kick off with a glass of merlot and their “signature” smoked guacamole. When Toro Toro opened in 2011, the smoking trick was new. Different! Unique! Now, it’s done everywhere. That said, the guacamole is fresh and tastes…