NOBU FRIDAY BRUNCH-DOHA

Nobu restaurant at the Four Seasons Hotel Doha is one of the restaurants I reserved only for special occasions when great food and some bubbly are in order. It’s lively, sexy and the food is always fantastic. But fast forward many special occasions post baby, my husband and I couldn’t manage to sneak away for a romantic meal. We gave up on that idea but fortunately dining at Nobu is no longer a far-fetched dream since we found out that they are open for brunch. We immediately booked a table and requested a rather quite corner, so that we could eat in peace without Baby Moon getting agitated with all the noise and people.

I had imagined that we were going to have a mellow brunch experience because in my mind, people go to Nobu only for special occasions like celebrating a birthday or an anniversary (oh, silly mind). We could immediately hear the chatters, the clicking of the cutleries the moment we stepped inside and I got pretty excited. The atmosphere is as lively during the day as it is at night. It felt like one of the swanky restaurants that the girls in Sex and the City frequently go to (forgive me, I’ve watched 6 seasons of SATC during the first few months of Baby Moon being born).

Our request was honored and we were ushered to a quite corner by the sushi station where we easily parked our Bugaboo without getting in people’s way. Our server, Ayu explained the brunch menu. For starters, a selection of small bites will be served for the entire table to share, and then each guest gets to choose one main dish, and one dessert. It doesn’t stop there, there is a long sushi station with a variety of different sushis and sashimi being constantly replenished and there’s another station serving oysters, froie gras, and ceviche.

Ayu came back immediately with our drinks and a high chair for Baby Moon. Shortly afterwards, our plate of starters arrived. Edamame, mini chicken tacos, cauliflower with jalapeno, spicy daikon roll, seabass sashimi, and yellow tail sashimi. We sampled the yellow tail sashimi first and loved it. It was fresh and had a nice hint of saltiness and sourness with the yozu sauce. The seabass sashimi was simple and fresh – also a hit. The edamame was left ignored to be honest as we were busy sampling the other dishes. The chicken tacos were eaten like they were chips – I could have asked for another plate.

Next order of business – sushi! Anthony and I went on a strategic route and decided to pace ourselves with the sushi, so instead of piling our plates with the typical tuna sushi or the spicy tuna roll, we wanted to try something different and I’m glad we did. Praises must be sung firstly to the seared salmon sashimi with mustard miso. It’s got a nice balance of sweetness, buttery texture of the salmon, and crispiness of the shallots on top. Another hit was the new Beef sashimi, which was an explosion of flavours in one mouthful. In terms of sushi, the scallop sushi is worth mentioning as it’s probably the best one I’ve had. It’s so fresh and sweet, it was a delight to eat.

Baby Moon on the other hand is munching on edamame peel and carrot shaves at this point while the wait staff took turns to say hello and play with her. We wanted to share our food with her but they were either laced in spicy sauce or salt and didn’t want to impose on the staff to alter our orders. Then, one of the staff came by to say hello to her and turned to me, “Shall I tell the chef to maker her something?”, “What does she like? Chicken, Beef, or Fish?” It was a pleasant surprise and I beamed with happiness. “She loves chicken”, I said “… with no salt please”. She nodded, gave Baby Moon a pinch on the cheek and came back shortly with chicken skewers with steamed vegetables and mashed pumpkin, all with no salt. She’s obviously a massive fan of the food – I mean look at the pure joy on her face!

Now for the “piece de resistance” – Nobu’s Special Brunch Dishes. We perused the menu items and spotted their signature dishes – eggplant miso, black cod yozu miso, and rock shrimp tempura. I ordered the tempura while Anthony tried something new and went with the Lobster and truffle quinoa risotto with poached egg. As a lover of all things tempura, I thought this dish was quite nice. What I love about it is it’s not drenched with sauce and again, the balance of flavors was evident in each bite. Although, I love me some tempura, having only that as a main dish was a bit much and had to stop myself mid-way. I did however, tucked into Anthony’s risotto is it was divine. The poached egg mixed together with the truffle gave the risotto a unique impact and the dish included a good portion of lobster meat. This dish was surely a great discovery out of the other stand out dishes at Nobu.

Anthony and I were feeling a bit full at this point and Baby Moon is now just playing with her food. We stepped outside the terrace area to get a bit of fresh air and appreciate the calming view of the sea. Nobu is a great location and for a moment, you forget that you’re in Doha.

We came back to our table, ready to tackle dessert. A gorgeous plate of fruits was served and Ayu recommended the chocolate bento box that contains chocolate fondant with matcha ice cream and the Nobu cheesecake. As a dessert person, I absolutely loved the chocolate fondant because it wasn’t too sweet. I also though that the matcha ice cream complimented the fondant nicely. The Japanese cheesecake took us back to when we were in Tokyo. I don’t know if you guys know this but Japanese make really good cheesecake and Nobu’s version is top notch delicious.

At this point, Baby Moon is passed out from food comma and so were we. We bid Ayu and the rest of the staff good bye. Anthony and I contemplated on the brunch we just had (is this a French thing?) and came up with a conclusion that Nobu’s art lies in the concoction and balance of different flavors, it’s the subtle layers of flavors unfolding with each bite. With the countless of expensive brunch options here in Doha, we’d rather put our money into a brunch that serves quality food, freshly prepared dishes, and fast service.

Now I’ll stop dreaming about my romantic date night with Anthony at Nobu because I can guarantee to have the same service and dining experience at brunch along with my little munchkin.

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The Art of Nobu Brunch – Four Seasons Hotel Doha:

Fridays, from 12:30 – 4:00 PM

QAR 355 per person for non-alcoholic drinks and QAR 495 per person for special beverages that include Japanese special drinks and bubbly.

For reservations: +974 4494 8500

Note: Clumsy Chic was a guest of Nobu at the Four Seasons Hotel Doha, all views and opinion my own.