Kosebasi Turkish restaurant -review

I was there on the second day of Eid . It is on the  first floor of Gulf Mall . I wished to have some  festive Turkish lunch . As I arrived at this place I saw  a large menu with photos displayed at their entrance  and I could  read  the prices of individual dishes . I stood there minimum five minutes studying the options ,making plans of having some kebabs and salad . A kind waitress invited me inside the restaurant . She was so polite ! I nearly fell into their trap ! Only when we were seated  she informed me that there was only one option that day " Set menu for 100 rials per person " What for  they display the menu if they forbid a la carte dinning ? I was quite upset . After some seconds of hesitating I gave up the idea of Turkish lunch . Never again Kosebasi . I am so happy that there is a new law against this practice that customers are forced to buy more dishes than they wish . Next Eid when the law is implemented it will be regarded as a simple crime -a punishable act. Today all that I can tell you about this place is they have unethical way of treating customers !

Eid buffet offers 2016 Qatar

Celebrate #EidAlFitr at Cosmo- #MillenniumDoha pic.twitter.com/regppYVaHF

— Millennium Hotel (@MillenniumDoha) July 5, 2016

Buffet lunch for families Qr 165 per adult - kids under age  8 year eat for free  - 8-12 years eat for half-price  -special play area for kids with their own buffet
at Cosmo restaurant at Millennium Hotel
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Share Eid happiness with your loved ones. Enjoy with them a delicious #Brunch. Book now: https://t.co/3lUz0tP3KG pic.twitter.com/hfEnMN1Vut

— Oryx Rotana Doha (@OryxRotana) July 3, 2016

Eid Buffet starts from QR 270 at Choices restaurant in Oryx Rotana Hotel

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The Holy Month of Ramadan is nearly over & Eid Al Fitr is coming! Celebrate the Festive week… https://t.co/LVZOn64dJ5

— Megu (@MeguQatar) July 4, 2016

 Eid Special Set Menu - QR150 at Megu , Japanese restaurant ( Pearl )

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_____________________________Isla Mexican cuisine with special music "Rumba Latina " - no price mentioned ( Pearl )

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#Ramadan2016 at Eatopia pic.twitter.com/grwGIjCse4

— Eatopia Qatar (@EatopiaQatar) June 18, 2016

 Eid Buffet QR180 for adults
                   QR 60 for kids   - under age 6 y. kids eat for free
                at Eatopia ,gourmet restaurant at Gate Mall

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Join family & friends at our popular St. Regis Doha Eid Brunch! A gorgeous view & lavish Eid buffet. 4446 0105 pic.twitter.com/Y95PIRoMdp

— The St. Regis Doha (@StRegisDoha) July 3, 2016

Eid buffet at  St. Regis Doha -  QR 350
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 Eid lunch buffet QR125 at a new hotel in Bin Mahmoud area - Centro Capital Doha

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Eid Brunch Buffet at the Azraq restaurant for QR 350 for adults and 250 for children - the price includes the transportation to this wonderful resort island .

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 Eid buffet at Ramada Encore Hotel
Lunch buffet QR70
Dinner buffet QR 80

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 Eid set menu for QR 79 = 2 courses
                             QR99= 3 courses
At Carisma  restaurant in Warwick Hotel Doha

Harry Ramsden - new fish and chip restaurant at the Pearl

 Harry Ramsden is a 75 year old fish and chip restaurant  from the UK . This is their first place in Qatar . It is located in Medina Central area at the Pearl .It  represents the haut-cuisine of Britain . You can expect a lots of fried dishes ,burgers , salads  ,smoked haddock , salmon fishcakes ,Scottish scampi . All the fish comes freshly from Britain .

It is a large place  ready to seat 70 guests . It is a nice family friendly outlet with seaside chic decor !

source

 Well , when I read the news for the first time I was not very excited " one more junk  place to sell fried junks " I thought . But then seeing that everything is freshly coming from Britain  I see it the other way " I might try it a day ...

It reminded me a lovely old English song ...

Japanese restaurants in Doha

 1  Oishi sushi - Royal plaza

Ad Dawha, Ad Dawḩah, Qatar

Located In Royal Plaza 

Phone 4442 8989

Website

 I love their bento boxes  - it is a full lunch menu with soup ,salad ,curry  and sashimi . I love their crepe and sesame ice cream too .And the possibility to dine in a  private room !

2 . Sushi Minto

Salwa road, All Muthannna  Complex

Doha ( opposite the Jarir book store )

Phone

4467 5577

 They have a spacious place  with retro style interior .Their bento was quite good and a bit cheaper than  Oishi Sushi . I did not like that they were offering burgers for kids .

3.Megu

6 La Croisette, Porto Arabia, 

 The Pearl-Qatar, 26663 Doha, Qatar Ad Dawha,

Mon - Sun: 

7:00 pm - 12:00 am

+974 449 538 76 EXT: 2101 - Mob: +974 6611 2115

Megu, which means blessing, is a sophisticated and modern New-York based Japanese fine dining restaurant   - their specialities are  Original Crispy Asparagus, Yellowtail Carpaccio, Tuna and Salmon Tartares, Wagyu Kobe Beef Chateaubriand, not to forget house special rolls and the wide array of sushi and sashimi offerings . 

 see their facebook page

4 . Nobu   - at the Four Season Hotel

Soar to new heights and discover Nobu Doha, coming this Friday! #Doha #Nobu #qatar #nobudoha #foodie pic.twitter.com/Ifxj0J82rV
— Four Seasons Doha (@FSDoha) April 16, 2015

Dinning out with coupons

We have had nearly one year experience with dinning with coupons . We used Qgrab coupons and Mybook vouchers .
Qgrab is something that you have to pay in advance . That is only a problem when the staff is so much unwelcoming ...It happened to me at the Horizon Manor Hotel in July 2014 .The booking was a nightmare and I wished to cancel all the dinner but I have already bought 7 coupons ! Luckily during our dinner everything went smoothly .

Avenue 23 cafe offered breakfast but when we went there with our Qgrab coupons on a Friday morning they were shocked " Breakfast on Friday morning? We got no chef at this time !People are sleeping on Friday mornings " How much they are wrong ! Nice , relaxed Friday morning breakfasts are more and more sought in Doha !No wonder that more and more restaurants are offering it !

The other terrifying experience with Qgrab coupon was the breakfast at Casa Paco .It was advertised as Spanish breakfast but they served nothing special and even that came in very small portion with  stale bread .Well ,after reading the reviews I understood that I should not have bought at all any coupons before reading about the place .

We had nice dinner once at a posh Chinese restaurant and breakfast at the Mercury hotel - iftar  at Ramada Encore  -all with Qgrab vouchers .

MYbook vouchers are the things " Buy one get one free " . We used it for a lots of meals /ice creams ,cafes and at most places they were fair with us . However some restaurants were not fair at all . For example Crepaway in Salwa road denied us the voucher use as it was the time of the " football world cup " and they decided not to allow it . Though in the rules of the voucher book only major holidays are mentioned "Eid , Christmas ,New year " when the vouchers can not be used . At Roger's Diner we were not allowed to use more than one voucher at a time .One place issues 3 vouchers and there were no restrictions in the rules about using them at once or three different times . This Roger's Diner offered one free sandwich /one free salad / one free burger in case we buy one .The waitress told us the manager said only one voucher can be used at a time -we must return another time to use the other ones . We had our salad then we decided not to return here .
Some restaurant do not understand the concept of the vouchers . That they give discount and let the guest be happy with a half price dinner . They can win new customers this way .If they set up unfair rules or they serve something miserable they are the losers .
Biriyani huts had on their menu " tiger or jumbo prawn curry " -we got small prawns and a very small portion ! A handful of cocktail prawn !
The other tricky thing about using BUY ONE GET ONE FREE vouchers is the bill . They calculate the cheapest item . It happened to us that we had family breakfast and we had two identical meals with my husband. We believed that we eat at half price then they calculated the kids smaller and cheaper meal . So we asked for two separate bills . This way we really ate at half price .
But the waitress looked very angry . At some places you are served this half priced meals with great pain like the waitress herself will loose money ...

The bottom line is : 1 . if you go to a restaurant that you do not know -read reviews about it !
2. always call them and let them know that you want to use your vouchers
3 .let the staff know that you want separate bills if you happen to eat out with people who do not use vouchers

Eating out with vouchers is a great adventure ! It took us to places that we would not visit otherwise - we tasted dishes that we had never tasted before !Qatar has every kind of restaurants ! And for most of the times it was a real deal !

Coupons I used and reviewed above was  Qgrabs and Mybook

Anantara Banana Island Resort - coming soon

It is planned to open before the end of 2014.Luxury ferry will take the guests from the Corniche area . It takes twenty minutes to arrive there .Nine restaurants -stand alone villas with swimming pools are waiting for the guests of the resort .It has spa ,cinema , kids club ,teens club ,bike rental . It sounds like an attractive place if you wish to escape the noise of the city .

BREAKFAST AT CASA PACO RESTAURANT - PEARL ,DOHA

Our culinary adventurousness took us to the fabulous Pearl island in Doha . We wished to try the breakfast At  Casa Paco ! 
Enjoy a Spanish Breakfast
was  the slogan of their advertisement ! We were very excited - we have never had a Spanish breakfast in our lives ! I expected  fresh Spanish bread and other culinary surprises .
As we entered la Croisette 22 -23  building we heard relaxing music of syrinx . It must be the music of this Casa Paco - I thought . We   had booked a table and I   told about it to someone who looked like  staff . Then he called someone and a woman came out from the kitchen to seat us .Her mouth was full of food , She was wearing the apron of a chef . Very unprofessional service  - that was my first thought .
 The soft melody of syrinx stopped as well - and  we heard  familiar  sounds of a radio station , Wait - I know it ! Yes - this is Oryx FM live  - the French radio station of Qatar ! How very strange ! This is a Spanish restaurant and I thought the music  should be Spanish too .Later I learnt that she was a parisienne !
 Then we got the breakfast . First came the toast . It was real  sandwich bread of the cheapest kind that is available in Doha - and even it was stale !It came with the cheapest jam and butter and honey  and none of them was Spanish !

It was like an insult ! I looked at the plastic flower at the table and I felt that something was wrong here ...
 When the eggs cooked in tomato sauce came we had no more bread . We had to pay 15 rial for two slices of extra toast from those stale sandwich bread ! The tiny sausages tasted  exactly like those Egyptian ones from the Carrefour !
 The eggs were OK ...but the breakfast finished here . It was the small breakfast . It was really small . Everyone was still hungry . I ordered small because according to previous experience portions are very generous here in Doha  and for 49 rial I expected a meal .. copius  one . The big breakfast came  with some extras   like :  bacon and a tiny portion of patatas bravas  , Two American style pancakes and finally  crispy  bastella pancakes . That was 99 rial and it was still not enough !

We decided to leave quickly . When paying the chef gave us coupons  for 50 % discount for their  buffet dinner . It would cost  us only 60 rials. We  did not feel like coming back ever .
 There is only one reason someone should come here - their terrace has wonderful view to the Marina ...and when the weather is mild it is nice sitting around there  ...

We got into the car and drove to the nearest supermarket as we were very hungry .... That was our  adventure with the Spanish  cuisine in Doha !

Eid buffet lunch at the Sarangi restaurant -review

It all started as a nightmare . I bought coupons for Eid lunch . It was valid for five days .I called them around midnight on the last day Of Ramadan to book a table . " you want to book now, madame ?" -"It is nearly one o'clock" it was 12 :20 - but never mind - all supermarkets and malls and restaurants open at this time in Qatar. I supposed that a hotel's restaurant is open at least for booking a table ."you can call after 9 am "
So did I . I was informed that there are no tables for the first day of Eid .If I want to have one I should submit a written application by sms. At this point I would have given up if it was not paid in advance by the coupons .Written application ? And only by sms ? Plus the unwelcoming voice ...I have never had so much trouble with booking a table . After the first sms I waited ten hours but no confirmation was sent .I called them - the same unwelcoming Indian man answered - he did not get my sms - then I sent it again - five minutes- no answer - called them again - finally it came through .
After this prelude I expected that the staff would be the same at the restaurant - but luckily everything was different..It was a spacious place . The windows looked on other buildings of the area .Some of them were old /others were nicer . - the waiters were welcoming and friendly .Actually very nice to our kids . The Indian instrumental music in the background was really soft and nice .
I started with a mushroom soup and I was amazed . It was very well made . Oh boy ! Later I read that this restaurant have award-winning chefs .It must be true . Some of their dishes were exceptional .I went on with salads which were OK and some grilled veggies .I was happy to find shrimps on the salad table and different sprouts . By this time a tray packed with grilled cubes of fish /chicken etc was placed on our table .It was included in the buffet price . They were excellent .When I finished my entrees and grilled cubes I was full . And I have not seen the main course table yet ! I went there just out of curiosity . Irish stew /dolmas /butter chicken /rice /baked potatoes were the ones I remember .I tried some dolmas which was good and some baked potatoes - that was excellent . My husband was amazed with the molokhia sauce .
The dessert table was packed with traditional Arab /Indian sweets and some French pastry .I tried their fruit custard as my little son informed me that it was very good. Yes, he was faster than me with finishing the main course .It had wonderful natural vanilla taste . So rarely one can taste in Qatar .No artificial flavours- they must have been made of real eggs and vanilla ...Just like mom's ile flottant ...
Finally we had some mint tea .
It was the best buffet lunch of my life in Qatar . If only I could forget the booking procedure !

Are you Celebrating February 14 ?

Are you celebrating Valentine Day ?
There are a few places in Qatar where you can dine out . Otherwise  traidtionally it is not celebrated  .

 See the list of hotels and restaurants where you can have a nice romantic dinner .Nearly 50  places .If I celebrated I would choose a  roof top restaurant or the Victorian style one at the Grand Heritage Hotel .

Adorable little Girl and Boy Postcard by almawad
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Flying Carpet Weekend Brunch at the Torch Tower

If you are for   weekend brunches then try something different . The Torch tower in Doha is the highest building for the time being . It  has several restaurants as well . The Flying Carpet even caters families .( their other restaurant - the three sixty - is only for smart casually dressed adults )

The brunch is an expensive one;- around 200 rials - for kids ;just the half until age 12 . Kids also have a special station with ice cream, popcorn and chocolate fountain . They promise various activities for them as well . So it sounds that parents can have a ; quiet brunch there while their kids are busy with the programs just for them ...


The homepage of the restaurant mentions  smart casual dress code for the place . I think it is better to call them to get more info about it - I can not imagine what do they accept or not . Doha is a multicultural city -many Asians and local people wearing their traditional clothes

chopsticks restaurant - Grand Regency Hotel

Many good reviews have been written about this place . So as we were celebrating several special occasions last weekend then I decided to reserve a table there . It was terribly windy outside .Even there were warnings  on the news that the everyone should stay indoors as the wind lifted up parts of buildings and threw them on the roads/streets . It might be due to this that we were the only customers  in the restaurant .
First I was surprised how small the place was . So was the open buffet .There were only about five main dishes and three kinds of garnishes , Ten kinds of salads and three kinds of sushi and around ten kinds of desserts .
The sushi was  OK - I might have eaten better ones in a Japanese restaurant . The Thai shrimp curry was so tasty that we opted for a second portion of it leaving no room  for the other Thai/Chinese dishes .The salads were also delicious . The desserts were very special ones .I have never eaten before sweet pink caviar looking dish ... then white pudding with corn on the cob ...rice pudding topped with cooked beans . The beignet  of bananas were not as tasty as I had at the Indonesian mums party some years ago .
The buffet was not big but special and delicious and healthy .
We payed only for the adults though children above the age six should pay half price .The kids were the guests of the restaurant  -they told us  when we were considering taking a la carte menu .It was a good reason to opt for the buffet .It was very nice from them ..
All in all it was a special experience for a special occasion We were happy with it .Hopefully we will find another  special occasion to  return a day ,

Sushi Cat Big Fred Posters by CSiravo
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Barath Vegetarian restaurant Doha , Qatar

It is found in the Food World shopping center - it offers traditional North and South Indian vegetarian dishes . It is cheap .Most of the dishes are written in their original Indian names . It is better to read about them in advance ...to be able to choose the right one ...