In a very pleasant stroke of fortune, our team got to visit Doha Festival City once more for the second leg of its incredible taste tour. This time the tour focused on main courses at two of Festival City’s finest, well-liked restaurants.

Our first stop was perhaps one of the most authentic food outlets in Doha Festival City, “Eataly”. Its uniqueness lies in the fact the Eataly is both a restaurant and a sort of marketplace where one can buy refined Italian products imported from Italy.

The products on offer at the market area are the same ones used to prepare all the dishes on the menu. We find this idea terrific because if you like any of the dishes you can make them at home with the exact same ingredients.

The atmosphere in this picturesque restaurant/marketplace is relaxed and chill, while the décor is simple and charming.

Founded by Oscar Farinetti, Eataly opened its first location in Torino, Italy in 2007, and now has 38 shops worldwide. Fortunately for us, one of them it is right here in Doha Festival City.

We tried enough dishes during our visit (lunch time) to say the quality of the food is of the highest standards. The dishes are not only tasty, but beautifully presented. The staff is charismatic and know the menu well.

We started our lunch with a sharing platter consisting of a selection of mouth-watering fried calamari, patatina tonda, arancini balls, mozzarella fior di latte, wild rocket leaves topped with bresaola and shaved parmigiano Reggiano D.O.P., cherry tomatoes and their homemade grissini.

Every single antipasti was scrumptious and enjoyable, to say the least. The mozzarella fior di latte and arancini balls stood out as one of my favorites.

For starters, we also tried the minestrone soup, a vegetable soup drizzled with pesto sauce.

My absolute favorite though was the carpaccio di pomodoro e burrata. This signature dish consisting of a burrata cheese over sliced and fresh basil, drizzled with extra virgin olive oil was sensational.

When it came to salads, the insalata di caprino was fresh and well-prepared. The fusion of beetroot with goat cheese with wild rocket, parmigiano Reggiano D.O.P., orange quarters, sundried tomato, red radish tossed in orange balsamic vinaigrette was just perfection.

If you feel for having a pizza, the margherita and burrata pizzas won’t disappoint you.

The two star dishes of the day were without a doubt the tagliatelle ai funghi and the branzino al forno.

The homemade tagliatelle pasta with grana padano sauce and mushrooms was creamy and rich in flavors. While the seabass cooked in the oven, and served with cherry tomatoes, taggiasca black olives and capers was well cooked and full of essences. It was a fantastic dish.

For dessert, we highly recommend trying the crepe con nutella. This dessert was simply out-of-this-world. What a sweet and fantastic way to finish any meal.

After a lavish gastronomic meal at Eataly, we headed over to our next foodie adventure. Our hosts from Doha Festival City were kind enough to arrange a club car to our next destination because the mall is ginormous and we were just too lazy to walk. Wagamama, that’s where we were heading to.

 
The Wagamama in DFC is quite different from its other outlets. Some of us had been to the outlets in Lagoona Mall and Ezdan Mall, but none of them compared to the one here.
 
The restaurant layout was simple, comforting and almost had a homely feeling to it. They also had an open kitchen, like the Japanese ramen bars, and it was great to see the chefs cooking away. The restaurant had a good vibe.
 
We were immediately welcomed by the restaurant manager, who had everything planned out already. Although stuffed, we were all to try eight of their best dishes.

 To help us truly enjoy the experience, we were accompanied by a cheerful and friendly server who explained Wagamama’s philosophy of ‘kaisen’, meaning ‘good change’—what a great way to pass time while you wait for the food to arrive.

We started off on a high note with a mouthwatering selection of appetizers. They served us their best-selling chilly squid that came with a tangy sauce, some Hirata buns stuffed with bbq beef, chicken and duck gyoza (dumplings) and a super crunchy Ebi Katsu (fried shrimps).
 
Our winner from the starters was definitely the Hirata buns stuffed with bbq beef. The meat, a juicy brisket marinated in Korean red bean paste, was literally falling apart in our mouths.
 
We knew there was going to be a lot of food and it was tricky pacing ourselves. After the starters we just had, the new strategy was to just eat as much as possible because what came next was worth dying for.
 
The main course was served in waves, and every time a new dish arrived, our millennial sensibilities kicked in. We had to take a dozen pictures before we indulged because the dishes looked so good. They first served us some delicious Yaki Soba—egg noodles cooked in a subtle soy seasoning served with vegetables and succulent chicken thighs marinated in a barbeque sauce.

 
Then came Chicken Katsu, a traditional Japanese curry. Japanese curry—the first time I’ve heard of such a thing. From what we found out, the British took this curry from India to Japan.

After having a taste of British imperialism, we moved on to the next chicken dish, Chicken Firecracker! We had to ask the chef to tone it down a little because this was apparently the spiciest dish in the menu with three types of chilly in it.

Finally came Wagamama’s special ramen soup, a dish that’s not easy perfect. We had a go at their signature soup and we weren’t disappointed. It was a delicious mix of different ingredients including chicken, prawns, mussels and wakame, an edible seaweed with many health benefits. This dish had a bit of everything in case a guest was undecided.
 
We ended the day without trying their desserts (sorry, we couldn’t eat anymore). We decided to try some of their fresh juices instead. Wagamama stood out for us because they focused on fresh, wholesome food that was cooked to order.
 
If you’re in the mood for some great Asian fusion food and a pleasant vibe, Wagamama at Doha Festival City is a must try. It certainly was an excellent way to end our very varied taste tour!