Doha’s Pick of the Bunch Brunches 2023
In Doha, we love a good brunch on the weekend. So many of us chow down over breakfast and lunch combos each week; it's almost part of the city's cultural offering!
But why do we love our morning and midday food options rolled into one so much?
For one thing, our weekends are meant for relaxing and strengthening our resolve for the coming working week. So many of us switch off the alarm clocks and take a well-earned lie-in…because we can. However, no one wants to miss breakfast - the most important meal of the day! Brunching allows us to have breakfast regardless of the time we get up.
Plus, the weekend is a chance to catch up on life with our loved ones and friends, and brunch is the ideal option for socialising. By combining breakfast and lunch, we get a long stretch of time in a specific venue with sustenance on tap - no need to rush and hurry; you can eat at a relaxed pace and talk around the table at your leisure in an atmosphere conducive to spending quality time together.
The brunch venues are generally good-looking with beautiful decor, comfortable seating arrangements, and features to awe and amaze - views of beaches, waterfronts, promenades, the cityscape, artworks, etc. What is better than an environment that feels and looks special for making you appreciate your time off and helping you to relax?
Then, there is the food. Oh yes, the piece de resistance. Brunch is all about options and choices. With stations for appetisers, salads, mains, accompaniments, desserts, hot foods, cold foods, grilled, wok-fried and roasted foods, and baked goods, with stands for meat eaters, vegetarians, vegans, the savoury and sweet-toothed and seafood eaters, and with options for international-style to country-specific foods, the choices for your plate are almost endless. And it's all beautifully presented. Plus, it's an opportunity for many of us to try foods and indulgences we have never tried before.
You can find an absolute plethora of venues in Doha offering various brunch types every weekend; they can be casual to fine dining, family-friendly to super sociable, with some offering a little unobtrusive background music to those offering a full complement of additional entertainment to create the perfect fiesta-style atmosphere. There really is something on offer for everyone.
With so many choices, having a few tried and tested recommendations is nice - fortunately, the fact. FINING AWARDS Qatar 2023, annual awards for the best and favourite eateries in multiple categories, have recently been released and include some great options for getting your brunch on!
Excellent Eateries for Brunch 2023
The FACT team award winners have been categorised to cover each day of the weekend and options for families and social bunnies. So take your pick from the following:
Friday Brunch
Image: Facebook - St Regis
Vine is a contemporary restaurant located in the beautiful waterfront St Regis Doha Hotel in West Bay. The eatery offers refined dining with flavours, recipes and dishes hailing from all over the world. In elegant surroundings of cool marble floors and features, arched columns, wide arched windows and Arabian-influenced decor, you can relax and listen to live music while feasting on some truly scrumptious gastronomic delights served at multiple tables and live cooking stations. And, if that were not enough, the views from the stylish windows and open-air terrace out to the sparkling ocean and across to The Pearl make Vine a gem in Doha's brunching crown.
Location: Vine Restaurant, The St Regis Doha, West Bay, near the Katara Metro Station on the Red Line
Hours: 1 pm - 4 pm (brunch hours)
Costs: QAR 350 pp with soft drinks/ QAR 495 pp with enhanced beverages (kids between 4 -11 years dine half price, under fours dine for free)
Contact: +974 4446 0105
Email: [email protected]
Website: https://www.vinedoha.com/
Image: ikadoha
As you may have guessed, IKA - South American is a South American-inspired eatery. The restaurant kitchen, located at the Aleph Doha Residences, is managed by experienced Peruvian chef Luigi Goytizolo, whose menu is full of the unmistakable flavours of South America. Each dish originates from traditional plates of the Latin continent but is given a modern twist and served in a sophisticated and creative style. Brunch options include unlimited family-sharing-style plates, which you can enjoy in a lively atmosphere made all the more authentic by the Latin music playing in the background. The restaurant, surrounded by the iconic towers of West Bay, is modern, sleek and stylish, with colours of greys, browns, golds and bronzes dominating, but with colour splashed from the South American palette giving the dining room a vibrant air.
Location: IKA South American, Aleph Doha Residences, West Bay, near the DECC Metro Station on the Red Line
Hours: 1 pm - 4 pm (brunch hours)
Costs: QAR 249 pp with soft drinks / QAR 369 pp with brewed drinks
Contact: +974 3359 3043
Email: [email protected]
Website: https://ikadoha.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ika.doha/?hl=en
Saturday Brunch
Image: Twitter - Four Seasons
Elements, located in the beachfront Fours Seasons - a grand Arabian-style desert palace hotel, is an exceptional eatery offering international cuisine from the world's four corners. Brunch at the restaurant is a veritable tour from South East Asia, China and Japan to India, Europe, the Americas and Persia. The food served, from open kitchens in a modern, contemporary venue, with serious high-end Asian style, is fresh and refined - using superior quality ingredients including truffles, King Crab, Wagyu beef, lobster, caviar, foie gras, scallops and figs. You can opt to eat indoors or outdoors on a beautiful terrace with gardens overlooking the hotel beach and the ocean beyond. A live DJ sets the tone for the afternoon dining, topping off a truly exceptional experience.
Location: Elements, Al Corniche, West Bay, near the DECC Metro Station on the Red Line
Hours: 1 pm - 4 pm (brunch hours)
Costs: QAR 295 pp with water / QAR 365 pp with soft drinks / QAR 560 pp with more potent drinks
Contact: +974 4494 8888
Email: [email protected]
Website: https://www.fourseasons.com/doha/dining/restaurants/elements/
Facebook: @ElementsDoha
Yum Cha at Deli Kitchen
@Al Messila Luxury Collection Resort and Spa
Winners of the Favourite Saturday Brunch 2023 Award
Image: Marriott Bonvoy
Yum Cha at Deli Kitchen, one of Al Messila's numerous eateries, is a Saturday brunch with a distinct Far Eastern flavour profile. With Michelin-star cuisine, the brunch is by way of delicacies brought to the table by waiting staff using traditional serving trolleys and milkmaid's wooden yokes. The food on offer incorporates many Asian classics, including Dim Sum and steamed BAO, Satay, dumplings and Gyoza, noodles, spring rolls, fried rice, crispy duck, chicken and beef, shrimp and other seafood dishes. The menu is designed to be healthy, fresh and, above all, full of classic flavours. Meals are served in the Deli Kicthen's bright, airy dining room, with floor-to-ceiling windows, plenty of natural light and Japandi-style decor. Despite the palatial setting of Al Messila, you can't help but feel relaxed at the Deli Kitchen with its casual, contemporary style and fantastic service.
Location: deli | kitchen, Umm Al Saneem Street, Medinat Khalifa, near Al Messila Metro Station on the Green Line
Hours: 12 noon - 4 pm (brunch hours)
Costs: QAR 150 pp with soft drinks/ QAR 270 pp with enhanced beverages (kids between 4 -11 years dine half price, under fours dine for free)
Contact: +974 4445 0000
Email: [email protected]
Family-Friendly Brunch
Al Hubara Restaurant
@Sheraton Grand Doha Resort & Convention Hotel
Winner of Best Family-Friendly Brunch 2023 Award
Image: Today
Al Hubara Restaurant is located in the central atrium of the iconic Sheraton Grand Hotel on Doha's waterfront Corniche. Qatar's oldest international hotel has been flying the flag for Qatari heritage and hospitality for over forty years. As a family-orientated nation, it is no surprise that the hotel embraces families across its facilities and services, including their dining experiences. Al Hubara offers a family-friendly brunch each Friday, and the emphasis is on a relaxing family-oriented atmosphere where kids and parents are catered for. Mums, dads, grandparents and other family members over twelve can enjoy a brunch buffet of contemporary-styled local dishes, seafood, barbequed fare, and a host of international cuisine. Kids under twelve can delight in brunch stations specifically designed for kids - at a lower height, with all the usual favourites to eat (burgers, mac 'n' cheese, hot dogs), plenty of healthy options, and their own dessert station. Chairs and tables in Kids' Corner are also sized for little ones, and staff are on hand to help with any questions, desires or sticky fingers. The brunch also offers kids' entertainment and activities, including magicians, face painting, cake and biscuit decorating and colouring. If only for the doughnut wall in the kids' corner, Al Hubara is worth a visit with the family!
Location: Al Hubara Restaurant, Al Corniche, West Bay, near the DECC Metro Station on the Red Line
Hours: 12:30 pm - 4 pm (Friday brunch hours)
Costs: QAR 350 pp with soft drinks / QAR 530 pp with unlimited brewed beverages (kids between 6 -12 years dine half price, under fives eat for free)
Contact: +974 4485 4444
Email: [email protected]
Website: https://www.alhubararestaurant.com/
Image: Sharq Village & Spa
Sharq Village is a beautiful white Arabian-style village with traditional-style buildings set around a stunning pool with access to the Gulf Sea beyond. Al Liwan sits at the centre of the hotel and serves Levantine and international cuisine from generous buffets, grilling stations, a hot clay oven and live cooking stations. The restaurant's Friday family-friendly brunch has a massive menu, including Middle Eastern fare and foods from Asia, South-East Asia, Sri Lanka, India, the Americas and Europe, meaning that everyone can find something they like, even the littlest diners. Plus, the complimentary kids club keeps little ones happy and entertained when they're not busy exploring the buffet. If you really want to make a day of it, you can purchase a Pool and Beach Pass for Sharq's fantastic facilities. The pass comes with a food credit that can be used towards the brunch.
Location: Al Liwan, Ras Abu Abboud Street, near the National Museum of Qatar Metro Station on the Gold Line
Hours: 12:30 pm - 4 pm (Friday brunch hours)
Costs: QAR 350 pp with soft drinks / QAR 525 pp for a full complement of beverages (kids between 6 -12 years dine half price, under fives dine for free)
Contact: +974 4425 6666
Email: [email protected]
Website: https://www.alliwandoha.com/about
Social Brunch
Seasonal Tastes, Bubbalicious Brunch
Winners of the Best Social Brunch 2023 Award
Image: Westin Doha
The Friday Bubbalicious Brunch at Seasonal Tastes in The Westin has long been considered one of Doha's top social events of the week, consistently pulling in crowds of revellers keen to soak up the party vibes. However, despite the pumping DJ music, live bands, party entertainment and games, and strictly over 12s only policy, this weekend social is all about the food. Seasonal Tastes offers 5-star international cuisine, from local favourites, Asian specialities, Indian picks and Italian delicacies to other popular fare from around the world. Sushi, salad and seafood bars, live cooking stations, grills, BBQs and tandoor ovens, pasta stations (with fresh pasta made to order), cheese and charcuterie counters, baked goods stations, and an entire room dedicated to desserts, there is seemingly an endless array of foods to choose from. The venue also offers indoor and outdoor garden terrace seating, perfect for when the party moves outside - in fact, the diner has plenty of space for a spot of dancing too.
Location: Seasonal Tastes, Salwa Road, Freej bin Mahmoud, with the nearest Metro Station at Msheireb (Red, Gold and Green Lines)
Hours: 12:30 pm - 4 pm (Friday brunch hours)
Costs: QAR 360 pp with soft drinks / QAR 480 pp for the full package
Contact: +974 3359 8514
Email: [email protected]
Website: https://www.marriott.com/en-us/hotels/dohwi-the-westin-doha-hotel-and-spa/dining/
Instagram: @westindoha
Image: Trip Advisor
The Iris Brunch is another FACT winner at Sharq Village, but this dining experience has a totally different vibe to the resort's family-friendly brunch. Iris is all about the social atmosphere - good food, trendy music, relaxed, contemporary surroundings, sea views and sunshine. The diner is bang on trend for decor, going with a modern monochrome, minimalistic scheme, with contemporary lighting inside, which is carried through to the outdoor terrace but with more natural hues and pops of colour to reflect the seafront sundeck's more festive feel. Live, chilled DJ music and bars specialising in cocktail mixology complete the easy party ambience. With such a carefully crafted backdrop for brunch, it's no surprise that the food on offer is equally as refined. Iris offers a myriad of dishes using fresh ingredients with mouthwatering flavour combinations - you can find an exceptional fresh seafood counter, marinated meats and fish cooked over an open grill, sushi, sashimi and dim sum counters, ceviche platters, salad bars with endless choices, and a very appealing dessert counter. The food is definitely the icing on the cake at this social get-together!
Location: Iris, Ras Abu Abboud Street, near the National Museum of Qatar Metro Station on the Gold Line
Hours: 1 pm - 4 pm (Friday brunch hours)
Costs: QAR 200 pp with soft drinks and mocktails / QAR 300 with wine and beer / QAR 350 with spirits and cocktails / QAR 450 with prosecco (kids between 5 -12 eat for QAR 100, plus there are complimentary nannies on site)
Contact: +974 5515 1339
Email: [email protected]
Website: https://irisdoha.com/
Instagram: @irisdoha
For more FACT recommendations for dining experiences in 2023, check out the following articles:
Main image: Aleksandrs Muiznieks/Shutterstock.com