Sliding into 2025 with some recommendations to start your year as you intend to continue it! Here’s my January Doha dining hit list: the hot, new and just-reviewed places to check out, right now. Curry Night at Isaan I don’t like to bang on about how long I have lived in Doha (blah blah), but I was actually one of the first to dine at Isaan when it opened back in 2010. And I have been a fan of it ever since. Originally it served almost exclusively small plates with a spicy menu from the north east of Thailand. The menu has evolved over the years, with more crowd pleasing…
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Bodrum is your next great foodie travel destination
With incredible food and world class chefs Bodrum on Türkiye‘s Aegean coast should be your next great foodie vacation destination Türkiye’s beguiling capital of Istanbul garners most of the plaudits for its ever evolving food scene. But Bodrum, stretching from the country’s southwest coast into the Aegean Sea, is a culinary destination in itself. The foodie renaissance has also been fuelled by the 2024 arrival of the MICHELIN Guide – with local chefs and produce taking centre stage. Blessed with seafood from the Aegean, wine from grapes grown in the surrounding hills and fresh farm produce, there is a growing community of chefs and restaurateurs showcasing the area’s bounty. Bodrum…
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Doha Dining Hit List October 2024 – new, hot and just reviewed restaurants and bars
It’s been a while I know, but as the city gears up for a busy end of year, it’s time to bring back my monthly hit list. Summer, to put it bluntly, was slow. But time to clear the backlog, shine a light on some great new offers and openings. Sushi spots, steak and chips and a gorgeous new brunch awaits you in this month’s recommendations. So, for October, this is where you should be eating in Qatar right now: Friday Brunch at Sora Rooftop I’ve predicted this place would come good before and finally, it is. A Pan-Asian blended buffet/a la carte menu with multiple options; live entertainment and…
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Doha Dining Hit List May 2024 – new, hot and just reviewed restaurants and bars
It’s been a hot minute but my dining hit lists are finally back… by popular demand. So, here is my Doha dining hit list for May 2024 including all the new, hot and just reviewed restaurants and bars in Qatar. Muru by Mauro Colagreco I waited patiently and it’s finally open. Vast, pricy and very beautiful, Muru’s food is also settling in nicely. The menu is also pretty vast…circumnavigating crudo, ceviches, tartare, maki rolls, several types of grills including Tandoor and more. Starters include a catch of the day ceviche (QR85), made with a surprising cut of barracuda – it’s meaty yet bright thanks to the injection of pomegranate and…
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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…
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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…
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Review: Does Carbone Doha Transcend the Hype?
Carbone’s NYC mother restaurant opened more than a decade ago and it’s still one of the hardest reservations to score. A living room of sorts for A Listers (Selena, Bad Bunny, Beckham offspring, Obama, Kim pre and post Kanye), social media adjacent celebs. It bills itself as an “elevated red sauce joint” with nostalgic overtones. Carbone Doha’s Back Story The Doha outpost opened in a blaze of glory in 2022, one of the gold rush of international names that saw an opportunity in Qatar. Some have gone by the wayside (peace out Pura La Vida); others have thrived (note Beef Bar on a Friday; Cipriani et al). Carbone Doha, from…
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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…
