Five-star hospitality is not an option in Doha but an expectation. The capital city’s food and drink scene has fast become one of the most competitive in the world, not only doubling in size when the country hosted last year’s World Cup, but triggering many ultra-luxe hotel groups to get in on the action. Not least of which, Raffles Doha.
Now one year old, the hotel has worked through those inevitable early-doors kinks (its once extraordinarily-expensive menus are now priced accordingly) to become, in my opinion, one of the very best hotels in the world. Particularly for food and drink lovers.
At the all-suite hotel, the F&D extravaganza starts in the rooms themselves, with each suite’s ‘mini bar’ taking the form of a walk-in treasure chest stocked with local and international delicacies—all of which are individually prepared to your personal tastes, including teas, coffees, fresh pastries, cocktails, mocktails, sweet treats and more.
The group’s legendary Raffles Butlers have been known to craft surprise food and drink experiences throughout guests’ stays, in addition to setting up flawless in-suite dining, meaning you don’t actually need to leave your suite if you don’t want to, either.
I’d recommend otherwise, of course, with the hotel’s rooftop bar (Acoustic Music Penthouse) and poolside bites (Aqua Urban Deck) only scratching the surface on Raffles’ gastronomic offering.
First up, there’s L’Artisan; an all-day, ocean view restaurant that defies all expectations of the all-day hotel restaurant. Think lobster rolls for breakfast, wild mushroom ‘cappuccinos’ (with a delicate hazelnut foam) for lunch, and L’Artisan Gold Cappuccinos (with, yes, edible gold) any time of day.
Skilled head chef Thierry Motsch brings years of Michelin-starred experience to the restaurant (and all in-room dining), having trained with culinary greats like Alain Ducasse and Yannick Allenoo prior to L’Artisan. As you’d expect from someone of his pedigree, each dish is finessed to the highest visual and culinary standard you could hope for.
So, too, are Raffles’ cocktails. In the hotel’s Blue Cigar Lounge (aka the Writer’s Lounge), guests not only have access to an exclusive selection of Molinari cigars, made specifically for the hotel, but the city’s most creative cocktails and mocktails.
Surrounded by a floor-to-ceiling selection of pre-loved books (including many-a rare first edition), each cocktail seeks to tell a story of its own. The Exclusive Breakfast (inspired by Dickens’ David Copperfield) is one of the best, blending an artisanal clarified milk punch with vodka and soda water, and the Huckleberry Smokes (inspired by Mr Finn’s meander down the Mississippi River, making cigarettes from the leaves of maple trees on its bank) is an Old Fashioned lover’s dream, pairing bourbon with Pernod maple syrup and tobacco bitters.
Raffles’ dedicated mixologists (who work day-in and day-out, behind the scenes, in a hidden hotel lab) pour considerable time and effort into the bar’s selection of non-alcoholic drinks, too, and have long-term plans to perfect booze-free versions of just about every spirit you could imagine.
Less than a one minute walk away in the lobby, Malaki Raffles Lounge has become a firm favorite among locals and hotel guests alike.
With service split between an elegant atrium, a palatial lounge, and terraced garden, Malaki’s main draw is its elevated, Middle Eastern-inspired afternoon teas. Though the menu is expansive, the lounge’s afternoon tea has become so in-demand the hotel now serves it from 2pm to 9pm every day.
Of course, the pièce de résistance is ALBA by Enrico Crippa (an if-you-know-you-know reference to the Italian chef’s three Michelin-starred Piazza Duomo in Alba)—as it should be. It took the hotel four years to get Crippa on board and, as his first international outpost, it’s safe to say their patience paid off.
ALBA is simply divine; an all-encompassing celebration of white truffle (a.k.a. tartufo bianco d’Alba, which can only be found in dense woods in the small Italian town) and centuries-old Italian recipes, redefined.
From the Romeo and Juliet “truffle balcony” (which overlooks the rest of the lavish restaurant space) to its signature truffle martini (yet another grandiose must) and a large truffle menu, you’d be hard pressed to find anywhere in the world so wholly obsessed with Tartufi.
But they don’t stop at truffles. Head chef D’Alessio (part of Crippa’s long-standing team in Italy) and his own talented sous have put Qatari spins on a number dishes from Piazza Duomo. Crippa’s Ricordo di una insalata di Nizza—or “Memory of a Nice Salad“—which became one of the chef’s signature dishes, turning a “simple” (see: brilliantly-sourced) salad into a work of art, is a personal favorite. A 22-ingredient take replaces it at ALBA, dubbed the DOHA 22, using local chickpea flour, sesame chips, dates, pistachio, and more, eaten with long, culinary tweezers.
From start to finish (at which point I’d be remiss not to recommend the Sorrento lemon cake with almond ice cream), every dish is a delight.
Conveniently, Raffles is also connected to Fairmont Doha—and shares many of the same facilities.
Housed in their respective sides of the Katara Towers (which have fast become visual markers of the city at large), you don’t actually have to leave the hotel to visit Fairmont’s Provok Asian Project, Vaya! Latin Mercado, and Masala Library by Jiggs Kalra (a phenomenally theatrical restaurant which defies all ‘limitations’ and expectations of Indian food).
All of which is to say, these hotels have not just entered the scene, but set a new standard for it.
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