10 Best Qatari Foods and Where to Find Them in Doha

Saloona is a classic Arabic stew that's often cooked at home for family dinners. It's designed to be made with whatever you have on hand, but usually starts with beef, lamb or fish plus seasonal vegetables flavoured with garlic and ginger. It should be eaten with a generous helping of bread to soak up the broth.

Walima does a contemporary twist on this and other Qatari dishes at their gleaming modern restaurants, which are decorated with light colours and Middle Eastern touches like coloured glass lamps. Their take on saloona is a rich and satisfying version, based on chicken and served with thin slices of lime.

Stuffed vine leaves are common to most Middle Eastern cuisines, but the Qatari ones are especially tasty. Warak enab usually contains minced beef or lamb and rice, seasoned with garlic, pepper and coriander. It's best to enjoy this Qatari dish with slices of fresh lemon.

Located in the courtyard of La Cigale Hotel, Shisha Garden makes you feel like you've escaped the hubbub of downtown Doha. The verdant greenery and soft waterfalls create a lovely, peaceful atmosphere. It's a great place for casual snacking on finger food like warak enab and enjoying a cup of coffee or a shisha.

Madrouba is a savoury rice porridge that can be eaten for any meal. It's cooked with milk, butter, cardamom and chicken, and sometimes beans, then simmered for hours until it has a thick, sticky texture. Each place has its own unique recipe, but toppings often include cardamom ghee or fried onions.

The maze of courtyards and alleyways at Souq Al Wakrah is a great place to eat this traditional dish. Café Easir is housed in a cool clay building near the waterfront and serves up a range of Qatari snacks and delicacies, including a mouth-watering chicken madrouba.

Kousa mahshi are Middle Eastern courgettes stuffed with minced lamb and vegetables and seasoned with parsley and mint. You can also find many Doha restaurants serving chickpea versions for vegetarians. Dip them in tomato paste or yogurt for the complete experience.

Dining at Al Shami Home Restaurant often results in a unique mealtime. It's decorated like a traditional Amazigh tent, with fabric hung from the ceiling and a marble fountain. The authentic kousa mahshi here are packed with flavour and come in generous portions.

A ubiquitous dessert in Qatar, luqaimat are sweet dumplings flavoured with cardamom and saffron, which are deep-fried and drenched with sugar syrup, a little bit like a doughnut. The ideal luqaimat is crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside.

Chai Halib offers luqaimat in a staggering range of flavours, from the fairly traditional date to chocolatey Snickers. The café is modelled after a traditional Arabic tearoom and your luqaimat pairs well with a cup of strong Arabic coffee.

Umm Ali is a type of dessert most associated with Egypt, but Qatar does its own equally delicious version. It's similar to bread pudding, made with raisins, chopped nuts and sweetened milk and baked until brown and crispy on top, then sprinkled with cinnamon. It's probably one of the sweetest of Qatar's desserts.

Even though Karaki specialises in the sweet Karak tea it's named for, they're also making a name for themselves with desserts and pastries. The Umm Ali here is creamy and filling, with lots of dried fruit and a beautifully aromatic blend of spices.

Khanfaroosh are something in between a biscuit and a cake. Discs of dough made with rosewater and saffron are deep-fried before being served with either a dusting of icing sugar or a drizzle of honey. The rosewater gives them a slightly floral fragrance and a delicate taste.

Hawn Café may have a small menu, but just about everything is done brilliantly. The khanfaroosh are no exception, as they're fried until crispy on the outside and then completely drenched in honey. Grab a seat by one of the café's high-arched windows, order a platter of this local snack with some mint tea and watch the world go by.

You can see India’s influence on Qatari cuisine in rogag, a thin layer of batter, similar to dosa, that can be filled with meat, eggs or vegetables. It's traditional as a breakfast dish but delicious at any time of the day, with cheese and honey an option for anyone with a sweet tooth.

The rogag at Shay Al Shoomos comes with all the fixings. Egg with thyme is especially tasty. This cosy restaurant in Souq Waqif is always busy, and you can watch the food being freshly prepared in the open kitchen before it's brought to your table. Order a pot of sweet tea for a perfect Qatari breakfast.

Kunafa is a sweet traditional dessert that’s popular across the Middle East, with some variants of the recipe making their way into European cuisines. It was supposedly invented and even prescribed by doctors in Egypt to hungry caliphs during Ramadan. Given that it’s made of a sugar-soaked pastry and melted cheese, it's an easy story to believe.

While kunafa is traditionally an iftar treat, you can enjoy it at any time of the year. One of the best places in Doha to try it is Al Aker Sweets, located right in the middle of Souq Waqif. If you want an extra dose of sweetness, their Nutella kunafa is a must-try.