The Three-Hour Lunch

One of the most indulgent experiences of my life was the lunch that I had at the Jiwan Restaurant. After navigating the exhibits of the Qatar National Museum and dropping a lot of riyales at the gift shop, I traveled up to the restaurant on the museum's top floor. Before we sat down at our table inside, we checked out the stunning views from the balcony. The Doha waterfront stretched out before us, and view of the West Bay skyline was impressive. We were also able to spot Stadium 974, the World Cup venue made up of shipping containers.

Jiwan is dedicated to presenting traditional Qatari foods in an elegant and contemporary way. The interior of the restaurant was classy and sleek, and a long table was set up for us in the center of the dining space. What we experienced was an overwhelming selection of food, carefully crafted, beautifully presented, and expertly served. I counted fourteen courses that came to our table, plus four separate drink options. The entire meal took nearly three hours to eat, and we were equal parts giddy and awed by the end of it. 

We were served as pairs, so that each dish was to be shared by the guests sitting across from each other. The elegant setting, the quality of the food, and the joy of the experience made this meal a highlight of our time in Qatar. It is one of the first stories that I share when people ask me about the trip. So, here's a look at the courses and my thoughts on each. 

First up was a pair of dips with seeded crackers and a mocktail. I'm going to call this the first pre-course.

• Presentation: 4/5, it was a good start. The tiny size of these shared dips should have been an indication that we were pacing ourselves for a marathon of eating.
• Taste: 5/5. Drinks were on point. Like most Gulf countries, non-alcoholic drinks were the norm in Qatar. If you want the best restaurant experience when you travel, order what the locals drink.
• Originality: 2/5, I don't really remember it. I had to zoom into my picture just to describe what the dips were, so I'd say they weren't the most memorable.

The second pre-course included Za'atar and Arabian bread. The Za'atar came as the spice mix, and then we added olive oil to it at the table. 

• Presentation: 5/5, cute little pitas
• Taste: 5/5, It was bread, and it was good. That's always a 5/5.
• Originality: 4/5, The pita was unique. I liked that I mixed the Za'atar myself.

We were finally on our first course: Camel Rissole and a falafel. 

• Presentation: 4/5, in all fairness it didn't arrive to the table how I captured it in the photo.
• Taste: 5/5, falafel was great. The camel rissole, which sort of looked like a samosa, was really good. The meat was shredded, and it had a barbecue-like sauce.
• Originality: 5/5, I didn't anticipate trying camel. But I did, and it tasted pretty good. I'd call it a successful exposure.

Second course: Crispy Lady Fish. Yes, that really was its name. It was served with this creamy aioli.

• Presentation: 5/5, that's pretty striking in appearance
• Taste: 4/5, it was a oily fish, and I usually prefer mild. But it was also a small bite, so it wasn't overwhelming in its fishiness. The breading and the sauce were great. 
• Originality: 5/5, I had not previously tried fried lady fish. Or any lady fish. Or heard of lady fish. Definitely unique to me.

Third course: Beetroot with smoked cheese. The menu says "smocked" cheese, but that has translation error written all over it. 

• Presentation: 5/5, Doesn't this look amazing? The colors, the wooden bowl. Looks great.
• Taste: 1/5, these flavors were not for me.
• Originality: 3/5, I've never seen beets and cheese paired before, so yes, pretty original. 

 

Fourth course: Spelt tabouleh and labneh. The next drink came out as well: 

• Presentation: 5/5, looks great, very appealing. The two-tone of the drink looks pretty cool as well. 
• Taste: 5/5, really good. This was the first time I had labneh, and the tabouleh was excellent.
• Originality: 5/5, I've only seen tabouleh with smaller bits of grain and a lot more parsley. But this was so much better than what I've had previously.

Course Number Five: Harees. This dish cooks together wheat and meat until they're soft enough to whip together into a pudding or porridge-like texture. In this case, the harees was made with chicken.

• Presentation: 2/5, looks-wise, maybe not the most appealing. It basically looks like baby food.
• Taste: 5/5, this was probably my favorite new dish. It's creamy, salty, sit-to-your-ribs, hearty food. Tastes like home.
• Originality: 5/5, I've never heard of it before. This dish is significant to Qatari culture, but it's more of a home cooking dish. To have this at this nice of a restaurant, and prepared in such a delicious way, was pretty unique.

Sixth course: Barracuda with kale.

• Presentation: 4/5, while the colors and the design of the plating looks good, I was a little uncomfortable with the shape of the fish. 
• Taste: 3/5, It tasted okay, but again, the shape of it and its texture threw me off.
• Originality: 5/5, I didn't even know that people ate barracuda. Now, I get to say that I have too.

 

Seventh course: Confit lamb shank. 

• Presentation: 4/5, not the most colorful dish. But it looked interesting, and it came with this impressive knife.
• Taste: 2/5, tough to judge. I don't eat red meat, so I didn't try the lamb. Everyone else thought it was great. I did request a serving of just the rice. It was okay. It was sort of like rice-a-roni but with dried fruit and dried onions in it. Those two flavors did not blend well together. 
• Originality: 5/5. The lamb in the Gulf is not like lamb at home.

 

The Pre-Dessert: Another mocktail, this time a cranberry spice. When we asked if this next dish was dessert, we were told that it was the "pre-dessert." It was a green apple and fennel sorbet.

• Presentation: 5/5. Looked good.
• Taste: 5/5, wow. I could have taken this as my actual dessert. Cold, sweet, and refreshing. I would love to have this again. Or as a daily pre-dessert.
• Originality: 5/5. I don't think I've had fennel in a dessert, but it worked.

 

The Dessert: A deconstructed hazelnut baklava. 

• Presentation: 5/5, this was stunning. I later learned that it was shaped to look like the desert rose formation that inspired the structure of the museum.
• Taste: 4/5, again really good. I'm not the biggest hazelnut fan, so that's why I didn't go higher with my rating.
• Originality: 5/5, desserts that look like desert rock formations.

The Post-Dessert: Coffee or Tea and sweets. There was a chocolate and nut candy and an almond paste. 

• Presentation: 5/5, yet again beautiful. I liked how the paste was scored into a design. 
• Taste: 4/5, really good. It tasted okay, but again, the shape of it and its texture threw me off.
• Originality: 4/5, the almond paste was pretty unique.

Even with our lengthy meal, we had to speed up the service in order to make our next appointment. This menu was the perfect way to experience a cross-section of Qatari cuisine. We asked to see the chef and we took the opportunity to commend him and his staff for the efforts. If only I could bring something like this back for our next staff appreciation luncheon.