Doha's Breakfast Central

Where: Villagio Food Court

When: 8 am to 11 am

What’s on the menu: Boiled eggs, mashed potatoes, falafel etc. Photos below for full view of what’s available.

What we ate:

Hani and Kavi: Since we both ate pretty much everything, we’re doing a joint review this time. There’s no beating the price, at QR 19 you’ll never see this much variety anywhere else. But but but… they dish out limited quantities, no seconds. Worst part? Every item you see in the photos including the falafels, the beef bacon, sausages and mashed potatoes are stone cold. Yep. If you don’t mind wolfing down such a vast expanse of food at a low price, head to Wrap It. The warm service of the staff may do what the food can’t.

Verdict:

Hani: Sometimes when something seems too good to be true, it actually is.

Kavi: Bunkumhouse

Where: Movenpick Tower, West Bay

When: 7 am to 11 am.

What’s on the menu: 
Five pre-decided breakfast set menus. Arabic, Energy, Lime Café and Westbay breakfast and not to forget the bread basket. Prices form QAR 30 to 92.

What we ate:

Hani:
As usual I ordered myself the largest combo available, that being the
West Bay breakfast. It comprised eggs, bacon, hash brown, breakfast pastries, sausages, juice and a choice of coffee or tea! Phew, I thought I wouldn’t be able to complete this in one breath.

Taste aspects, the eggs were lightly crisp! Quantity on my plate was not as much as my description would have made you to believe. Places that are not half as fancy usually have at least 2 hash browns, 2 sausages or 2 strips of Bacon. So quite naturally I polished off my plate (except the nuisance halved tomato). They just had one person manning the cash and the floor. He was able to do everything on his own.

Kavi: Against my better judgment, I ordered an “Energy Breakfast” that consisted of Grapefruit juice, brown bread, honey, butter, low fat yoghurt, tea and a fruit platter. Now I would imagine for some who’s a health buff, all of this must be very appetizing. But somehow the idea of consuming sweet stuff for breakfast doesn’t energize me in the least. There isn’t much to be said in the form of review. You can’t really go very wrong with fresh fruits or butter. However, the service was outstanding. With no help whatsoever, one person was able to greet customers, take orders and serve at all the tables.

Verdict:

Hani: Quantity is less compared to the price charged- food is not exceptional.  

Kavi: Biffsquiggle food but FIVE STAR service.

Insterestingness: They serve a small Toblerone with their hot drinks :)

Where: Souq Waqif

When: Sat to Thu 5am (you read this right!) to 11:30 am, Friday 5am (even here you read it right!) to 11:00am

What’s on the menu:  Basic Arabic breakfast items, foul, hummous, Mousbaha and Fata, prices QAR 8 to 22

What we ate:

Hani:
I ordered a Mosbaha which were chickpeas floating in some oil and some white stuff. Sorry to sound like an ignorant prick, but if the staff were able to communicate in a language other than Arabic, I would’ve written it here.
Beirut Restaurant, is probably one of the oldest food places in Doha and any sort of review will have no influence on the throngs of people that patronise the restaurant. After all, this place has a cult following and has become part of Qatar’s history. Free khubz along with the price makes it an ultra affordable breakfast.  Service was quick and attentive. Taste wise, it was alright and the portion is just right.

Kavi: I ordered the same thing as Hani, except it came in yoghurt with pine nuts. I couldn’t quite finish it and it doesn’t feel like breakfast. The day we ate this was a slightly chilly morning and somehow eating cold khubz with cold yoghurt felt very underwhelming. We don’t understand its popularity because this cuisine is still somewhat foreign to us.

Verdict:

Hani: Good value for money, but choose more than one dish, as a single taste will leave something to be desired.

Kavi: Biffsquiggle

Where: Ar Rumaila Hotels, Souq Waqif

When: All Day Breakfast

What’s on the menu: 
Eggs to your liking, London Adria, Continental breakfast and Arabic specialties priced from QAR: 19 to 95 or go for the buffet continental breakfast served from 7:00 am to 11:30 am.

What we ate:

Hani:

The London adria breakfast, my order, includes muesli, 2 poached eggs,
hash browns, chicken sausages, baked beans, bacon, bread and butter pudding and orange juice. All of this was even too much, even for someone with an appetite like mine. Found the sausages to be juicy, hash browns crispy, the bacon chewy, the baked beans soft not mushy, in short, the way they should be.

Kavi:

I ordered fried eggs which supposedly comes with condiments and sauces. The only problem is you have to expressly ‘opt-in’ and say, “please bring everything the menu promises” or they only get you the fried eggs. Fortunately, I mentioned my choice of sauce and they were kind enough to include a small blob. The condiments? None. In theory, condiments include ham, bacon, tomato, mushrooms, hash browns, baked beans, spinach and cheddar cheese. For QR 29, I’d rather go to Bread and Bagels and get a sumptuous sandwich.

Verdict:

Hani: Nice, quiet and sunny breakfast. Nice super filling breakfast. (Not the case with Kavi)

Kavi: Biffsquiggle

Where: Landmark Mall in between Haagen Dazs and The One

When: Daily from 9am onwards

What’s on the menu: Eggs, Labneh, pancakes Coffee with Croissant
Prices between QAR 18 to 31.

What we ate:

Hani: I had The Gambini Omelet which was with butter bread, bacon
The baby potatoes were mushy and sweet, which does not fit my liking. The cheese instead of making the egg crispy was rather cooked to the degree that it formed a film on almost all the eggs (see egg border in the picture).

I had an after eight mint coffee, I am not sure whether it should’ve tasted the way it tasted, also was very sweet as if I was drinking sugar syrup. These guys have good service but it did seem to me as if it was one of those days …..
Even for the non-breakfast meals that I’ve had from here, nothing has been extraordinary.

Kavi: I ordered the Perfect Pancakes which comes up with maple syrup and fruits. The Pancakes were a bit heavy and not light and fluffy as I had hoped. It had a cake/bread like texture as though it had been baked. Not my favourite kind of pancakes. However, their servers are very attentive and will visit your table to enquire if you’re pleased with food or not. We’ve been to some places which serve good food and have terrible service. This feels like awkward change. We want to say great things about this place but the food is only so-so.

Verdict:

Hani:The food and coffee gave me zero appeal although the attentive service is praise-worthy. Almost like a place where you go not for the food but to enjoy the great service.
But then again, good food with bad service still gets a lot more business.

Kavi: Biffsquiggle

Where : Al- Emadi Complex

When: 8AM to 11AM

What’s on the menu: Fixed menus for breakfast- such as continental – oriental, healthy etc. as well as stand-alone omelettes. QAR 12 to 44

What we ate:

Hani : I ordered the Ma Maison set breakfast. This comes with Choice of eggs, bacon, Sauteed Mushrooms, diced potatoes and a choice of tea or coffee. The omelette I ordered was a plain variety and tasted fine without any seasoning. The bacon was more of left overs added to a plate and not the usual complete strip-pan fired to perfection. The diced potatoes were not fried- but rather blanched and had a steam cooked texture. This usually means that they were rather soft and not of starchy uptight, crisp nature. The coffee – a cappuccino was above Doha average.

Kavi: I ordered a good ol’ cheese omelette which I had serious misgivings about. But the weather was nice, cold and windy and demanded a hot cheesy egg and so I caved in. If you’ll ignore the half-hearted vegetables on the side, the eggs were actually quite delicious. The cheese was added in just the right amount, which complemented the eggs without overwhelming it. I always hate it when restaurants just dice up a couple of tomatoes and cucumbers and throw it in to make it look like I cooked it up. Besides, I don’t know who enjoys cucumbers and tomatoes with their eggs. But the omelette was delicious and if you’re “hungover” from the Starbucks near by or going shopping for Cadillac, start here!

Verdict: 

Hani: Average taste but prepared with affection.

Kavi: Delumptious!

#interestingness factor: Ma maison has a weird wallpapered wall with a narrow opening, giving the illusion that the people sitting beyond the opening are actually sitting behind you! Go check it out!

Where: Dar Es Salaam Mall

When: 8 am everyday - all day breakfast.

What’s on the menu: 
Set menu items all priced at QAR 49. Also you have the option of a la carte items like manakish (fatayer), savory crepes etc. priced at QAR 24 to 29. Eggs and specialties menu come in prices QAR 21 to 41, these include eggs (done your way, benedict etc.) foul etc.

What we ate:

Hani:

Healthy breakfast was quite a large sized breakfast but went well with the name. The eggs were were light and were accompanied by fruit and yogurt. Since it was meant to be healthy, I don’t know if I should complain about it being bland. There was nothing memorable about the breakfast, the service however, was accommodating. The bread basket and the butter were left as is. This place is already a busy place despite being new. So don’t expect it to be empty.

Kavi: After having just returned from London, where I was used to having an English breakfast every day, I decided to choose the same to for nostalgia’s sake. I have to say the scrambled eggs were a bit of disappointment. They weren’t fluffy or moist lacked flavor. The bacon, potatoes and sausages were very good. But that is kind of setting the bar low, isn’t it? It would be very hard for a decent restaurant to get that wrong. The furniture and ambience in this place feels a bit tacky at first but eventually warms to you.

Verdict:

Hani:
not ready to write this off yet!

Kavi: Biffquiggle

Where: City Centre Mall

When: 10 am onwards

What’s on the menu:
Croissants, eggs, French toast and breakfast combos. QAR 10 to 49.

What we ate:

Hani: We’ve been wanting to try this earlier but the timings (10 AM) for breakfast and perhaps it being a uselessly overcrowded mall prevented us from going here sooner.
What you see in the picture before I devoured it, is an English Breakfast. Eye eggs! My favorite thing on the plate you ask? Sausages. The standard sized slightly cooked tomato slices were very hard me to finish. Almost ended up wasting these. I didn’t enjoy their coffee either. Richoux remains empty most of the time and that kind of takes away from people trying out this place.

Kavi: Richoux, neatly tucked away on the third floor of the City Centre, has this odd other-worldliness about it which makes you feel like you are not in Doha, when you enter it. I had very low expectations from the food, but I was quite pleasantly surprised. I ordered a portion of scrambled eggs on toast. The eggs were quite fluffy and even had the right amount of cheese and salt in it. Although you can’t see it, the scrambled eggs came on a bed of toasted bread which made it all the more delicious. I recommend this place if you’re looking for a moment of a quiet in a maddeningly busy mall.

Verdict:
Hani: Wasn’t expecting this but it was a good experience dining here.

Kavi: Delumptious

Where: Landmark Mall

When: Saturday to Thursday 10 am onwards

What’s on the menu:
Breakfast buffet, Arabic breakfast (mankeesh, foul, hummus, falafel, saj) and different types of eggs. QAR 15 to QAR 65.

What we ate:

Hani:
Being the fatty I am, I decided to go for the buffet, most items that are part of he buffet are also sold separately in the a la carte menu. The juices weren’t fresh though, which is a downside. When I was asked what type of egg I would like to eat, I ordered an omelette with every available add-on. What I got was an egg with just mushrooms, I wasn’t disappointed though as the eggs were quite fluffy and well-prepared. Looks like their breakfast isn’t big with people yet, as the day we visited, it was rather empty. The fatayer I had were stale ones that were reheated upon selection, this made them rather chewy.

Kavi: I ordered a Gourmet Saj, which was basically Arabic cheese & egg quesadillas. It came with olives, cucumbers and tomatoes. Unfortunately it was far too salty for my taste. However, it has a nice quiet ambiance. Despite the popularity of Wafi Gourmet, it is not my favourite place for Arabic food. I still recommend Zaatar W Zeit in Souq Waqif for the best Arabic breakfast in Doha.

Verdict:
Hani: I can go again but doesn’t mean that I will.
Kavi: Biffsquiggle.

Where: Qatar Sports Club

When: 10 am onwards

What’s on the menu:
Eggs N’ Cheddar, Eggs N’ Bacon and Eggs N’ Turkey. QAR 15 for a 6” and 23 for a 12”.

What we ate:

Hani:
I ordered me a eggs and bacon sandwich, and it was just that!
No Tomatoes, no lettuce, no cucumbers, no cheese! So dry it felt like I was eating a drought. Bacon was sparse and egg was egg. I don’t know why I am surprised, I got what I asked for after all. Service wise, better than subway, as it is delivered to your table. I wasn’t recommended addition of toppings despite the staff knowing that just eggs+bread+bacon won’t be easy to swallow.

Kavi:
I ordered the better sandwich (for a change) - egg and cheese sandwich. Unlike Hani’s, I loved my sandwich and it was absolutely delicious. And unlike all the other bad experiences with cheddar, this didn’t feel so sharp or bitter. If you don’t like driving around a bit for parking, try the Quiznos near Al-Meera Hypermarket, opposite West Bay health centre.

Verdict:

Hani: Trust me, Home-made is better!

Kavi: Delumptious