The best restaurants Qatar

Timetable

As most restaurants are located in hotels, they enjoy a wide range of opening hours, and even continuous service when located by the pool or on the beach, for example. Dinner service can be late, as Middle Easterners like to go out late when the cool of the night is pleasant.

The Souq Waqif is home to a number of restaurants that are open very late at night, which comes in handy when you arrive in Doha hungry after a plane journey. At weekends, the malls and their food courts have long opening hours to satisfy the stomachs of night-time shoppers.

Budget & Tips

Be aware that restaurants are quite expensive, although there are some inexpensive and authentic local addresses in Souq Waqif. But you should also be aware that portions are gargantuan, so don't bite off more than you can chew. If this happens to you, don't be tempted by indigestion: everything can be taken away in a doggy bag in all restaurants.

What costs extra

Service is included in the prices indicated on menus in Qatar, but don't forget the tip, usually 10-15%, which is always much appreciated.

The local way

The service is so fast and efficient that sometimes your plate will be taken away from you as soon as you finish. Don't take it the wrong way, it's part of the professionalism of the restaurants.

To be avoided

It really is taboo and forbidden here: never eat with your left hand. Left-handers will have to put up with this for the duration of their trip to Qatar, as this hand is reserved for intimate hygiene. Right hand only in popular restaurants where you eat with your hand, but let's face it, restaurants are globalized and you have elegant cutlery and glasses on well-laid tables most of the time.

Kids

Lounges are reserved for families without men, to respect the privacy of women who often find it difficult to eat without removing their niqab. A hellish din usually signals these reserved corners, full of wild kids. Apart from this inconvenience, the Qataris, who are not always very chatty, may be willing to exchange a few words with you on the morally painless and therefore harmless subject of children.

Smokers

If you're allergic to smoke, it's often possible to smoke shisha inside many restaurants. In this case, ask to be seated away from potential tables or on the terrace. Cigarettes are perfectly acceptable outside.