Doha's Breakfast Central

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: Souq Waqif - as with other places here as outdoor seating space and
is particularly nice to dine outside in this weather.

When: 10 am onwards

What’s on the menu:
Cereals, omelettes, eggs and crepes, Prices from QAR 5 to 30

What we ate:

Hani:
I ordered myself a pizza omelette. In the beginning, I thought it would be an omelet with all the ingredients of a pizza. To my surprise, it was an actual pizza made of egg rather than pizza dough. It was as appetizing as it looks although the quantity was a bit less to be considered as a complete meal. Using your hands to pull out slices to eat the pizza does not work well with this pizza. The combination of the ingredients was well selected and proportionate. There were just two things that were left on my plate from my order. One was the layer of oil left from the egg base and the over-sized onion piece bulging out of the pizza (as pictured above).

Kavi: I ordered scrambled eggs and toast. As you can see the eggs were totally bland, bereft of any traces of salt, pepper etc. I would never order this again from Deja Vu. But I did have a few bites of the delicious pizza like dish that Hani ordered and boy was it tasty. It had plenty of flavor and wasn’t too heavy.

Verdict:

Hani: Late breakfast serving but will get you back.

Kavi: Biffsquiggle scrambled eggs. Delumptious pizza omelet. But watch out for pigeons. They like to take a dump on unsuspecting diners. Let’s just say we had some first hand experience.

Where: Souq Waqif

When: Daily from 10am onwards

What’s on the menu:
Eggs and Roti Canai QAR 3 to 16

What we ate:

Hani:
Had what is known as a Lipat Selendang, an egg crepe stuffed with vegetables.
Much like the prices of this place, the egg was light. Didn’t fill even a bit of my belly. If it weren’t for the cucumber and mint drink, I would’ve been eating up another 2 servings of the dish. Taste was rather good compared to the expectations I had of the taste.

Kavi: I ordered a Roti Canai which is sold as ‘Roti-Prata’ in Singapore. It is essentially a flat bread made of flour, egg and possibly copious amounts of butter. It was served with some curry on the side. The roti is fluffy, slight flaky, very eggy and tastes amazing. Unlike Hani’s dish, this was quite filling. I would say, don’t try the curry because it dilutes the great taste of the roti. For QAR12, this is an absolute steal. Go try it, today! But beware of the terrible music and the tacky interiors. Also, avoid the tea!

Verdict:

Hani: Worthy of a try, prices are good and so’s the taste

Kavi: Delumptious

Where: Mango Tree, 18 La Croisette

When: 9 PM to 11.30 AM -Friday and Saturday

What’s on the menu:

American, thai and healthy breakfast options to choose from. Interestingly almost all priced at QAR 60 and other few items for less than QAR 70.

Hani:

I chose the traditional thai breakfast which are three items from a choice of nine. The traditional Thai breakfast comes with a choice of soup or jasmine rice. As can be seen from the image above, I ordered the jasmine rice. Besides, I wonder how
one can have the above items with soup anyway? Lots of welcoming stuff the moment we sat down: thai coffee (yummy!), salty doughnuts (seen on the top right corner) and a detox shot welcome drink! Phew!!
While choosing the meal, I didn’t pick the right options, as all these items never gave me the impression of lunch and not breakfast. The main ingredients of a breakfast, i.e eggs and dairy products were absent from what I had ordered.

Kavi: I ordered a Thai Breakfast Tofu which is basically scrambled tofu with onions, carrots, soy sauce and vegetables. The picture looks beautiful. Alas, it didn’t taste as good. The soy sauce made the dish too salty to be healthy. However, I did help myself to Hani’s plate and his food was quite good. I’ve always had a good experience at Mango Tree and I would certainly go back to try the other dishes. But this one just didn’t cut it. Perhaps, I am not a Thai breakfast kinda girl.

Verdict:

Hani:
Will have to give this a second try- next time with the breakfast essentials on my plate.

They also had an offer on, which was at the purchase of a breakfast, get another one for free-that halved our bill just fine :)

Kavi: Biffsquiggle but will give this a second chance.

Where: Tiffanys, Merweb Hotel, Al Sadd

When: 6 AM to 10.30 AM

What’s on the menu: A buffet of baked beans, sausages, eggs, sliced meats, cereal, fruits and much more. All for QR 65. They also four set menu options of Mini Continental (QR25), Viennese (QR35), Asian (QR35) and Arabic (QR35).

Hani: I had the buffet breakfast and was very excited when I chose it. I took a full plate of food on the first go. Baked beans, tomatoes, hash browns, sausages and chicken picatta. Don’t let the pictures fool you, other than the eggs and the Foul beans, didn’t find anything worth remembering.
The service I felt was over-efficient though, they were ready to take our orders the moment we sat to dine- taking my tea cup, even before I had finished, without bothering to ask if I was done.

Kavi: I ordered the Asian option because I wanted to try something completely new. And boy was it DELICIOUS. They served me 2 very soft rotis (Indian bread), yummy omelets, pickle, plain yogurt, chickpea curry and vegetables.

They were all so good. My only complaint would be that the helpings of yoghurt, curry and pickle are so generous, there weren’t enough chapattis to finish them off completely. Would I eat this again? Oh yes!

You are very familiar with my love for hot chocolate. This one was different because it came with a large chocolate lollipop that you swirl around in the hot steaming chocolate making the drink so much more creamier.

Verdict:

Hani: I wouldn’t go for the buffet, if I were you.
KAVI: Scrumdiddleyumptious. GO THERE NOW!

Where: Villagio Mall

When: 9AM onwards -All Day Breakfast

What’s on the menu:
Baker’s goods, Breakfast Specials, Hot Breakfast and Breakfast Platters which means from biscotti to full featured combos. Qar 5 to Qar 60.

What we ate:

Hani:

I had a PQ breakfast platter which includes a baker’s basket, choice of pastry and
omelette with coffee. Although, I ordered a plain omelette, it was quite delightfully fluffy.
I really like how they served my mocha, in a bowl instead of the usual mug.

doesn’t the froth look like Africa?

Kavi: In the interest of giving our readers a fair and comprehensive review, I decided to forego the safety of eggs for breakfast and ordered waffles instead. And o boy! It was the best choice. The waffles were just right: not too hard and not too chewy. These are undoubtedly the best waff les I have ever had. The portion was perfect too! The kind that fills you up but leaves you hungry for lunch.

A special note on the breads. Unlike Paul, we found the bread in the baker’s basket, soft and easy on the teeth.

Hani’s Verdict: Good ambience, lots of variety
Kavi’s Verdict: Delumptious but noisy

Where: Hyatt Plaza (also within Caravan complex, adjacent to Starbucks, opp. Jarir Bookstore)

When: Daily 8 AM to 12 PM (the one near Starbucks opens at 7 AM)

What’s on the menu: Eggs, Patties, Pancakes, prices from Qar 24 to Qar 35.

What we ate:

Hani:

I ordered “the works” which was country potatoes with cheese, onion, bell pepper,
chilli and turkey Ham with orange juice.
Although, I managed to finish the dish, but the taste was so overwhelming that I had to stop, although there was quite some space left. Orange juice was nothing to write home about.
And when I tried eating the second dish, everything that went in my mouth tasted
being salt marinated salt. The taste was so overwhelming that even a person like me had to skip lunch.

Kavi: I was super excited about Johnny Rockets because I LOVE their burgers and milkshakes. I ordered a French Toast which comes with sausages and hot chocolate (SURPRISE! not).

No complaints about the taste, whatsoever. But boy, the portions were shockingly small. I was starving after I was done. So we ordered a portion of eggs and english muffins and that did nothing for us too. However, full marks for service.

Hani’s Verdict: The essential taste buds satisfier for american oil rig operator, construction site worker. Too salty for my liking. Medium priced.

Kavi’s verdict: Biffsquiggle

I really hope someone from JR visits the blog and improve their quantity a little. I have big expectations from them, having enjoyed items from their regular menu. I’d love for this to be a favourite, if only they could make the portions a bit bigger.

Where: The Pearl Qatar, Parcel 10 

When: Monday to Thursday and Sunday 10am - 12am; Friday to Saturday 10am - 1am

What’s on the menu: Different kinds of eggs, selection of croissants, fruit salads, costs between QAR 10 to QAR 46.

What we ate:

Hani:

Knowing my hunger (games) I usually end up choosing the largest offering
in the menu, this time I chose Carluccio’s Colazione Magnifica -which had eggs, turkey bacon, mushrooms, grilled tomato and italian bread. With the option of having coffee or tea with fresh fruit juice. Among the very few places to have filtered pomegranate juice- -ah bliss! The mushrooms served with the dishes could as well be anchovies due to the salt factor. There was enough salt in them to cover for all the other items on the plate. Like the eggs, my latte was also well prepared.

Kavi: I ordered scrambled eggs with mushrooms and hot chocolate (as usual). The eggs were light, fluffy and had a dash of cheese and herbs. The portion was just right. Not too heavy and yet filling. But the mushrooms were too salty to eat. I ended up leaving all of them behind. We also had a friend and painter extraordinaire Zoe Hawk with us this time. Here’s her review in her own words, “My eggs benedict was delicious: the Hollandaise sauce was light and perfectly buttery with a hint of lemon, not too thick or heavy. I always enjoy the atmosphere at Carluccio’s in the morning; it’s bright and airy inside, and I like the option to sit on the patio when it’s not too hot outside.”

This is what the eggs benedict looked like

Verdict:

Hani: Breakfast menu is competitively priced over their other menu, if you are the type of person that likes to have breakfast in a place that’s bustling with activity, this one will suit you right.

Kavi: Delumptious BUT the atmosphere isn’t really my kind. It’s a family restaurant which means, expect lots of wailing babies and noisy kids. The first time I visited Carluccio’s a kid next to my table, threw up on the floor and the parents didn’t even bother cleaning it up. Needless to say: super unpleasant. The staff didn’t clean the floor too often leading to crumbs and food lying around the floor. This brings me to my next pet peeve: FLIES. It could be because we were seated close to the door but the flies in the restaurant were just too annoying to ignore and ruins a good dining experience. The waiters however did pay us attention and served us food in good time and inquired if we’d had a good experience.