Bandar Aden Restaurant — Restaurant in Doha

This was my first experience with authentic Yemeni cuisine, and it certainly won't be my last.

I stumbled upon this hidden gem while exploring Souq Waqif as a tourist.

The menu was a bit tricky to navigate, as it only listed the dish names with small pictures. With the waiter's guidance, we settled on chicken ogda, lamb mandi served on a bed of rice, and bread. The food arrived in about 10 minutes, along with complimentary Yemeni soup and a tomato chili sauce.

The chicken ogda was flavorful, though it could have used a bit more spice for my taste. The lamb mandi was exceptional—the meat was tender, falling off the bone, and practically melted in my mouth. The rice was well-seasoned, and the bread was a perfect balance of fluffy and crispy.

This restaurant is very affordable, and the portions are generous for the price. I highly recommend Bandar Aden as a great introduction to authentic Yemeni food.

My only minor critiques are the plastic table covers, which tend to stick to your skin while eating, and the lack of descriptions on the menu, which would help tourists like me know...

The food is amazing here, it was so delicious we can recommend to anyone considering! We didn't know what to order so we asked for recommendations from waiter. We ordered chicken mandy, buried meat (lamb), mutton curry - which was served with amazing huge fresh bread. We loved all the dishes! The dishes were also huge so great value for money. We rounded this off with a dessert of amisob "maessob gate of aden" which was really nice too! The portions are also huge, we were a group of 5 and had difficult finishing - check out the pics. The hidden gem of the meal however was a lamb soup which I'm not sure if it came with one of the dishes we ordered, or its complimentary for all guests, but it was amazing! So flavourful and hearty! Hope you can try it too!

The place was really busy when we went and we were lucky to get space inside. We shared one of the side rooms with another family and they put a temporary divider in to give us both some privacy. Staff were attentative and friendly and service was good. The deco of the place is very basic, but you are coming here for the food and...

As a chef I wanted to eat somewhere local and authentic while in Doha and this ticked all the boxes.

Getting a table is chaotic - wait by a table until the diners have finished then it's your. Staff are on hand to help and we're great at getting everybody organised and sat down. Chaos when busy but this added to the charm!

The food is simple, lightly spiced and aromatic, cooked and served with care and attention. We had BBQ chicken and Hanid Lamb with rice, salad and Yemeni bread.

All the food was seasoned perfectly, hot and cooked fresh. But let's just talk about the bread!!! I have travelled alot and eaten alot of bread but the Yemeni bread here is simply perfection.. like a cross between a paratha and a naan. Crispy underneath, pollowy soft, crunch on the top and layered throughout. Shout out to the chefs that make these as they are obviously made with alot of skill.

We enjoyed the food so much we went back the next day for more. Our 6 year old absolutely loved it as well.

When we come back to Doha, we will be back at Bandar Aden...