As Qatar residents cut down on spending this year, many non-hotel restaurants have introduced business lunch concepts to woo diners.
Fortunately, these quick, tasty, and more economical options aren’t just for business folk.
Here’s a list of eight places that offer fresh multi-course meals for QR50 to QR95/person.
Eggspectation
This Pearl-Qatar restaurant isn’t just for breakfast! Eggspectation offers a QR85 business lunch during the weekdays.
For starters, diners can choose between the chef’s soup of the day, fresh house salad or bruschetta. The main dish choices include chef’s pizza, classic mac & cheese or the popular chipotle burger. There’s also a choice of fries, sweet potato or mixed green salad.
The meal also includes either a homemade waffle topped with sweet treats or the “brioche beauty” – a hot buttered grilled cinnamon brioche with mixed fruits, topped with a dollop of yogurt, honey and almonds.
Those who don’t fancy dessert can choose an Italian espresso or a tea to top off their lunches.
Eggspectation, which is located in Medina Centrale, offers business lunch Sundays to Thursdays, from 12:30pm to 3:30pm. For more information, call 5040-9900 or see the eatery’s Facebook page.
Mainland China
This dumpling-themed business lunch in Al Saad’s Barwa Tower is only QR54 a person and includes a four-course all-you-can-eat Chinese meal.
The food is served by course at your table and has something for everyone. There’s a vegetarian option that includes fresh basil dumplings, seasonal vegetables in hot garlic sauce and vegetable hakka noodles.
The non-veg menu has choices like pan-fried chicken & coriander dimsum, lamb in hot garlic sauce and chicken pot rice.
There’s also a dessert that, like the rest of the menu, changes daily and includes hot coconut, almond and honey dumplings with vanilla ice cream. Bonus: there’s complimentary valet parking (be sure to get your ticket stamped on your way out).
Mainland China offers its business lunch Sundays to Wednesdays from noon to 3:30pm and on Thursdays from noon to 4pm. For more information, call 4038-7376 or see their Facebook page.
Nonna Zanon
This quaint, cozy Italian restaurant is located on the ground floor, of the Residence Tower, (near Regency Residence) in Dafna and uses mostly locally-grown produce from farms in and around Doha.
Its QR75 business lunch selection includes a three-course meal with a choice of three starters, three main dishes and three desserts.
A recent menu included capricciosa salad (mixed lettuce, black olive, onion cherry tomato, tuna, and buffalo mozzarella); risotto with beetroot + gorgonzola cheese; and Nonna’s tiramisu. Espresso is also included.
Nonna Zanon offers business lunches Sundays to Thursdays from noon to 3pm. For more information, call 4029-0348/ 5568-2516 or visit their Facebook page.
Café #999
This new restaurant’s three-course business lunch costs QR59 and is more like a value meal, as its served all day, every day. It includes salad, a main dish and dessert. Café #999’s menu changes daily depending on what is fresh at the market on that particular day.
Tasty options include lamb biryani, chicken tajine with couscous, or slow-cooked salmon with raisin pilaf.
Dessert options include le president cake, tiramisu, lemon tart and basboua, a Middle Eastern sweet cake.
The cafe is located at the Fire Station at what was formerly Civil Defense Roundabout on Mohammed Bin Thani Street in Bin Omran. For more information, see their Facebook page.
The French Olive
This restaurant in Al Saad’s Barwa Towers has three different business menus for QR50, QR70 or QR85/person.
The first option includes one appetizer and one main dish; the second adds a beverage; and the third includes dessert and coffee.
Appetizer choices include bruschetta, freshly-prepared soup du jour, insalata romana, arancini + mushrooms and cheese crispy rice balls.
Some main dish options are fish tartine, penne arrabbiata, margherita pizza and mini burgers. Notably, cheeses and pastry/pizza flour are imported from France and Italy.
As for desserts, treats include macaroons, éclairs, French pastries and various slices of cake.
The French Olive serves business lunch Sundays to Fridays from 11am to 4 pm. For more information, call 4444-4777 or visit their Facebook page.
La Varenne
For those seeking a more intimate, higher-end business lunch option, consider La Varenne, a French restaurant in on the 28th floor of Tornado Tower in West Bay.
Its QR85 business lunch has two courses, and QR95 lunch has three.
Appetizer options include roasted pumpkin soup with basil crème fraîche, roquefort and caramelized onion quiche with mixed salad, or goat cheese, aubergine and tomato tartine with green salad and herb vinaigrette.
Main dish options include pan-seared sherry fish, vegetable ratatouille + chive beurre-blanc, or rotisserie chicken au jus + garlic mashed potatoes. Vegetarian options also available.
And lastly, diners can choose various treats off of a dessert trolley, including lemon drizzle cake, chocolate pot de crème or almond crème brulée.
La Varenne offers business lunch Sundays to Thursdays from 11:30am to 3pm. For more information, call 4499-0680 or visit their Facebook page.
Kababs & Kurries
K & K take on business lunch is an Indian “thali” that includes an assortment of food for QR45 (vegetarian) to QR55 (non-veg).
The menu changes weekly and includes vegetarian dishes such as home-prepared cottage cheese BBQ, black dal, pan-fried spinach, paneer makhani (similar to butter chicken but made with cheese), as well as steamed rice and naan.
The non-vegetarian thali includes chicken or lamb BBQ, chicken or lamb curry, lentils, vegetables, steamed rice and naan.
There are also Indian desserts like gulab jamun, a sweet fried treat and rasmalai, a cheesecake-like dessert, as well as yogurt. Both thali options include water, soda, or lassi (a sweet yogurt-based Indian drink).
K&K is located on the first Floor of Zero One Mall at Wadi Al Shaheeniya Street in Ain Khalid. It serves business lunch Sundays to Thursdays, from 12:30pm to 4pm.
For more information, call 4477-4230 or see their Facebook page.
Eatopia
Eatopia, which is located in the Gate Mall in West Bay, offers a QR65 three-course business lunch.
Starter choices include an array of salads, with options changing daily to keep the menu as garden-fresh as possible.
Main dish choices range from grilled chicken with creamy pesto, breaded fish with tartar sauce, hearty lamb curry, or eggplant gratin with white and/or tomato sauce.
The meal also includes something off of the dessert menu, such as cheesecake, black forest cake or mille feuille, a tasty pastry-layered treat.
The business lunch is offering Sundays to Thursdays, from 11am to 3:30pm. For more information, call 4020-6400 or visit their Facebook page.
What restaurants would you recommend? Thoughts?
