As our time in Doha wrapped up, I thought I would write a quick post to highlight a few of our favorite places to eat.
For the best shawarma in town, we go to a hole in the wall place over in the fabric souq. The coordinates are 25°17'19.0"N 51°32'19.1"E. It is located on Al Tarbiya Street. Of course right now, there is a bit ton of construction.
So it is a bit trickier to navigate getting there (and every time is a little different...lol). Once you are up close, you will see the Turkish flag in the window - so you know it will be good! I guess they also have coffee...lol. Yamal Al Sham Restaurant is open 10 am to 11 pm, 7 days.
I can only vouch for the falafel wrap and Richard likes the shawarma....both are delicious! (Richard gets sad if I mention I was down in the fabric souq and didn't bring him back shawarma). Pre-Covid times there is a small bar where a few people can sit and eat (most take it to go). I partook while waiting for our Uber to arrive....thumbs up...even when it's a 109! Depending on where you are, you can order from them via Talabat also (more on that later).
Next up are two places in Souq Waqif (pronounce 'wog-if'). We have been to both places multiple times. The first is Damascus One. It is located in the heart of the souq at (25°17'13.0"N 51°31'59.3"E) and has the most delicious Syrian food. If you are local and get the Entertainer app - they will have 2 for 1 entree specials (buy 1 get 1 free essentially).
You can check out their
website or just google them to see pictures of their menu. We've taken out of town family there (pre-pandemic) and enjoyed the music and entertainment indoors.
Depending on the weather they have a great balcony with outdoor seating.
As pandemic restrictions have been lifted and dining was allowed again we've gone back for more. We opted to sit upstairs on the patio. Apparently, I was thrilled...(actually, now I think about it, I was worried about having salad in my teeth...lol).
Closer towards the center plaza of Souq Waqif (where
the canon is fired during Ramadan) is Parisa. Parisa is located at (25°17'16.2"N 51°32'00.1"E) and you can check out their
website. They serve authentic Persian food. We've gone twice....both times we've commented how fresh everything has tasted! The servings were huge and we had plenty to eat. Googling their name will also bring up photos of their menu.
Besides the delicious food, there are two floors of extravagant ambiance. So much sparkle and shine!
If you are a girl who dreams of owning your own palace one day...it's a wonderful dining experience! We passed a coworker on our way bringing their daughter for dinner also.
If you go explore the souq after dinner (and save a little space)...you can stop at one of the several Turkish ice cream stands. They move locations so I can't give you an exact location....but there’s always a crowd - partly due to the ice cream guy. Here's a video of Clarissa getting her ice cream cone!
Finally venturing away from the souq area, another place we have gone to many times is Ipanema, a Brazilian steakhouse. Located inside the Marriott Marquis City Center Doha Hotel. It is on the what we would call the third floor in the US...but it is the second floor here.
Why yes, I am still a vegetarian (aren't you saying why would I go to a steakhouse??)....they do offer a vegetarian meal and the grilled pineapple is TO-DIE-FOR!! The meat eaters like it too.
Also, if you are a member of the American Women's Association here in Doha, you get a discount off your check...don't forget your membership card!
For all those nights (especially during the pandemic when nothing was open) and you just don't want to cook dinner....the two delivery apps we used most were Talabat & Carriage. Both apps offer most every restaurant you can think of with all types of food. For some new New York Style pizza (and occasionally a side of Frickles....fried pickles - use Carriage for ordering Pizza Box).
The apps are both available from the app store and relatively easy to use. They both have lots of drivers zipping around town (I also see several other delivery services we haven't used on motorbikes with their little insulated food boxes on back).
The biggest limitations to the apps are your location and how busy they are. For location, we've seen a restaurant not be in our delivery zone, then only be deliverable to work (5 minutes away), then deliverable to our house, then be out of our delivery zone, then reappear again....yeah...don't understand that one. For the busy one, I think it's a limitation of number of drivers and restaurants capacity to provide. I've been unable order something off one app due to the restaurant showing busy and then been able to order from the same restaurant on the other app. So who knows....but it beats taking off the yoga pants and looking presentable to pick up lunch for the kids somedays...lol.....there are sometimes minor hiccups....
