C-Lounge by Al Dana was what I thought I was going to try when I was invited to visit Sharq Village and Spa last week. We weren’t expecting to have a Mediterranean feast in Al Dana Restaurant itself that night, if I knew – I wouldn’t have eaten all those cheese from the previous food event that I was in that afternoon.
The beautiful Al Dana restaurant is located in Sharq Village and Spa with an amazing outdoor seating area (C-Lounge) overlooking the sea. The interior makes you feel like you’ve walked in an underwater restaurant with the hues of blue and an oversized aquarium on one side of it. We were warmly welcomed by the staff and were immediately sat at a table by the window.
The new Chef de Cuisine, Chef Evangelos whose Greek name means “good news” stays true to what his name means as I think he brought with him the best news for all the residents of Doha who are craving for an authentic Mediterranean flavors. I was elated when I saw familiar Greek dishes on the menu, The Greek Mister was very happy too I can tell.
We were treated like royalty throughout the evening with succulent dishes coming from the kitchen one after the other for us to try. We were happily savoring each and every bite of all the dishes presented beautifully on each plate that was served to us. It’s quite impossible to enumerate all of the dishes that we ate without getting some judgmental looks from you of how much of a glutton we are so I’m just going to talk about only my favorite dishes here.
Sea bass Ceviche
Among the 5 cold appetizers that we’ve had,sea bass ceviche is my absolute favorite followed closely by the chef’s salad and then the beef fillet tataki. The sea bass ceviche is unlike any the other ceviches that I’ve tried before. Al Dana’s version doesn’t have that overpowering sour taste of a citrus marinade. I think I like this version better as it can be eaten on its own since it isn’t too sour.
Chef’s Salad
The chef’s salad was presented in a way that it looks like an actual garden with olive soil underneath the vegetables. It was quite hard to ruin this masterpiece. The sardines which came along with it smelled so good and tasted even better with its crunchy skin.
Beef Fillet Tataki
Finally, the beef fillet prepared tataki-style brings out incredible flavors in each bite. These thin slices ofvery tender beef cooked rare should be eaten slowly. You have to savor each bite as that’s the only way you can fully enjoy this dish.
Greek Shrimps Saganaki
We then moved onwards to hot appetizers, shrimps saganaki which is actually one of my favorite Greek dishes and mussels in cocotte were served. The shrimps saganaki is the real deal as this is exactly how you will get it inGreece. Served in a small pan (saganaki), this dish offers such intense feta cheese and tomato sauce flavors which is both creamy and salty. The sauce is best eaten with bread – dip the bread in the sauce or scrape the bread all over the pan to get as much sauce as you can. Don’t be shy to do it because that’s how it must be eaten. 🙂
Slow-cooked lamb shank
Main courses served were smoked chicken breast and slow-cooked lamb shank. The chicken breast was probably the only dish that The Greek Mister and I didn’t like from this feast. It was very dry and lacked flavor. The slow-cooked lamb shank on the other hand was pure perfection! It was so tender that there is no need for you to use a knife and the gravy used didn’t overpower the taste of the lamb meat. It’s absolutely amazing!
Deconstructed Black Forest
Desserts came afterwards in the forms of poached pear and deconstructed black forest. Both The Greek Mister and I aren’t into sweets but the way it was presented was very interesting specially the deconstructed black forest which actually looks like a mini forest on a plate.
Truly, Al Dana Restaurant won The Greek Mister’s heart. He’s absolutely sure that we’re going back there for dinner in the coming days. I can’t disagree with him as I’m also very keen to try out their Chef’s Menu which is priced at QR250 per person and you get to have a Mediterranean feast similar to what we had but with even more dishes to be served.
I also have to mention the personal touch to the service given to us that night. I was initially invited for the opening of C lounge last week however as it was The Greek Mister’sbirthday, I couldn’t go since we’ve already made plans. I casually mentioned this to them but what I didn’t know was that they will remember it. Imagine my surprise on the day of our dinner when a cake was brought to our table for The Greek Mister. I was so happy because we weren’t able to celebrate his birthday as we both fell sick that day, so the cake they brought and the mini celebration they let us have was very much appreciated. I’m truly impressed.
Here’s a quick video of our visit in Al Dana.
So, when are you going to visit Al Dana Restaurant?
Al Dana Restaurant
Sharq Village and Spa
Tel No 4425 6666
I was a guest of Al Dana Restaurant during this meal however as always, photos are my own and opinion stated are genuine and in no way influenced.
