Welcome drink is very nice and refreshing. It was a fresh drink made out of mango, mint and lime.
2 salads as starter: Pomegranate with cheese Tomato
The pomegranate salad was absolutely delicious. The mix of pomegranate, honey and cheese is something I hadn't tried before but is absolutely delicious. It's not overly sweet but just right, blended with the cheese and salad it makes for a fresh summer salad. The cheese is a mix of mozzarella, goat cheese and beef cheese. Also the cheese is delicious and while there is goat cheese it doesn't overrule the other cheese.
The tomato salad was nice and fresh too mixed with onion and paprika. It's a nice fresh salad as well, however not as nice as the pomegranate salad.
Mains: Beef tenderloin wagyu, beef shawarma, lamb saddle
Beef tenderloin was amazing! It is soft, lightly smoked and full of flavour. It was prepared next to the table on a hot plate. The preparation is inspired by the Turkish cuisine and absolutely amazing. The tenderloin gets prepared on a hot plate which is decorated by a bone. Via this bone, a bone marrow mix gets poured on the hot plate to prepare the meat. This is one of the factors giving it the great taste it has.
I usually am not a big fan of lamb meat but I must say that this lamb saddle is delicious! The spices on the lamb give it an exceptional taste and flavour and the usual lamb taste and smell are not noticed at all. The lamb is marinated for 12h and therefore not always available. We were advised that it's best to make a reservation as to assure that the meat would be available if we would like.
The shawarma is another great dish full of delicious spices. While being very good my favourite remains the lamb! The shawarma is rich in flavorful and not your every day shawarma. It's all made fresh and not like in other restaurants off the large spinning skewer. This gmyou can notice as there is less fat and the taste is more intense.
Juice: cucumber and berry hibiscus
Both juices are homemade and very fresh. While both juices are delicious my personal favourite is the berry juice.
The berry juice consist of raspberries, blueberries, strawberries and hibiscus. The whole blend give for a sweet but refreshing tea like juice. It's not mixed with any sodas but still gives you a little sparkling sensation because of the mix.
The cucumber juice is a fresh juice consisting of cucumber, apple, lemon and honey. While being a refreshing drink as well the flavorful of the cucumber was a bit too much overruling for me personally and therefore my personal favourite is the berry juice.
Both juices match with all of the meat perfectly and provide you a fresh taste over and over again.
Desert: Turkish baklava, chocolate fondant
The baklava is a traditional Turkish baklava and it tastes just like that! It's like you're in Istanbul while eating this baklava. A very nice touch is the Turkish icecream in between the layers which I had never experienced anywhere before, not even in Turkey while I was living there for 3 years.
The chocolate fondant was like a chocolate brownie on the outside and chocolate lava on the inside. The fondant was amazing but it's a heavy desert because of the filling. Never the less it's a must for every chocolate lover!
The entire experience in Doors is amazing! All staff were very friendly and our waiter, Walfry, took the time to explain everything about the food and how it gets prepared. We were offered the chance to prepare our own tenderloin at the table which gives it a great personal touch.
The restaurant has it's own mixology lab in which all the juices are freshly being prepared.
Upstairs in the restaurant is the Shisha lounge (indoors and outdoors) and the Bentley room. You also find the second area of the restaurant upstairs.
The environment is nice and calm and with the views over the creek and the Dow boats and abras sailing by it gives for a wonderful location. I would like to highly recommend the restaurant to everyone and take your time to try the different...
Read moreDespite being in Qatar, I had heard rave reviews about ‘Doors Free Style Grill’ from my friends and family who had been to this relatively new luxe steakhouse at the Al Seef creek in Dubai. A conference in Abu Dhabi offered the chance to try out the place for myself and the two-hour drive across the emirates was so worth it in the end.
Being a group of eight allowed us the opportunity to try a variety of dishes rather than stick to the standard starters-main course routine. Apart from a few items on the menu that I had decided were a ‘must have’ and booked in advance due to the 8-hour slow cooking process, we gave our engaging waiter the full liberty to serve us their top recommendations or best sellers.
The fit out of the restaurant was absolutely topnotch and the serene outdoor waterfront setting added to the charming atmosphere. I was particularly impressed by the classy black, gold and rose gold combination and was delighted to see that even the infant high chair was also matching the overall color palette. Nice attention to detail! We arrived for a relaxing Friday brunch, but I was told by my companions that the real fine dining vibe was in the evening, where the show put on by the torching or flaming of the meat dishes really came to life.
I was pleasantly surprised by the variety of vegetarian dishes on offer for a steak restaurant. The pick of the veg starters were the crusty avocado pizza and the fabulously presented snowfall salad. The little ones in the group were seen eagerly tucking into the perfectly cooked corn on the cob and the marinated fries. I managed to sneak in a few fries myself and was amazed by the flavor and crispiness of this simple dish. Very hard to go back to the bleak offerings from McDonalds after this!!
The above dishes were great but the scene stealing starters were without a doubt the Doors Iskander, Wagyu Beef Pida and the caviar bread dumpling. Each dish out did the other and the burst of flavor one got with the melt in the mouth bread dumpling was truly heavenly. Accompanying these delicacies was a unique chilli flavored red mango concoction, the tangy spicy flavor perfectly matched to the food.
The slow cooked chef special mains, Beef Asado and lamb neck were a 360 degree sensory experience. Amazing presentation, which I struggle to describe in words and it is best experienced in person. The energetic wait staff took great effort in describing the cooking process, the key ingredients and their passion for the craft was truly on show. I can vouch with all honesty that this was by far the best tasting meat that I have had in my life. The freshness of the ingredients, delicate use of spices and the perfect cooking left us all craving for more. To top it off the ‘instagrammable’ presentation with smoke and flames, just added to the overall sense of theatre.
While waiting for the much anticipated dessert, we were served a superbly fragrant ‘rose’ cappuccino with petals included and a siphon tea combination of root chakra with seven spices. Again gloriously presented and we could really taste the notes of cardamom, cinnamon, lemon peel, orange peel, mint leaves, clove and for the life of me I can’t recall the 7th ingredient.
We had seen a few pictures of the ‘Garden of Eden’ dessert platter with a dark chocolate sphere, tres leche cake and a sugar free baklava. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, this was a feast for the sight and taste buds in equal measure. The kids and adults in the group were left mesmerized by the sphere melting before our eyes accompanied by the embedded fire crackers and ice.
There were a few leftovers from our meal, which I did not have the heart to let go to waste and requested to have it packed. I must say even the takeaway boxes oozed class. We were also fortunate to run into Head Chef Kemal Ceylan as we were leaving the restaurant and I congratulated him on a superbly curated menu, which was cooked and served with...
Read moreToday I will share with you a special restaurant that I tried this week. Doors Freestyle Grill that is located at Al Seef Village brings a twist to the contemporary freestyle grill and steakhouse landscape. Doors Freestyle Grill has recently launched a new menu that I highly recommend you to try. Below are a few dishes that I tried. The service was top and the food was outstanding! Our waiter Burak was exceptional! He made sure that everything was perfect at all time and he explained to us each dish. They asked me to cook the last main course that we ordered and I was so happy of their proposition and idea of me cooking and preparing my dish. It was an unforgable experience! Thank you to all the Doors team for this awesome evening… We started with the Pomegranate Salad! A Garden fresh salad with mix lettuce, pomegranate, sweetcorn, raisins, baby peppers with mixed creamy cheese. The presentation was so nice and the taste was wow! We enjoyed it so much… Then because I love avocado so much, I couldn’t resist not trying the Avocado Salad. A Healthy salad with a combination of avocado and potato, finished with avocado sphere and ponzu sauce. He also the presentation was amazing and the combination with avocado and potato was something completely new for me. The Chef’s idea mixing these 2 ingredients together is a premiere. Oh and this is the divine Smoked Beef Honey Roll! A special Beef Carpaccio… A Homemade smoked beef roll with honey wrap roasted kadaif and bread crumb with ponzu sauce. The waiter will roll it in front of you then cut in several portions. Usually I am not a big fan of Pia because I try to avoid carbs as much as I can but on that night I decided to give the pita a try at Doors and I chose Lamb Pida. For the Lamb lovers, Pida stuffed marinated and stuffed with lamb tenderloin and antrikot (means Entrecôte), fresh vegetables and cumin flavored cream sauce. It is not only tasty but also the dough was so thin and I was really happy to eat for the first time a very thin pida. It was so so good! Who haven’t tried the Turkish Iskander dish? I can tell you that the Doors Iskander is exceptional and I far far better than any Iskander you ate in your life. Amazing Iskander with grilled tenderloin and homemade bread tossed with tomato sauce and finished with honey yogurt and creamy potato espuma sweet pepper. The waiter then mixed it all together and served it to us. It was scrumptious… A must order! We will move now to the main courses and we will start with the Beef Rib Eye Tail. A Slow cooked wagyu rib eye tail crispy caramelized and so juicy. You have to check my highlighted stories on Instagram to see how the waiter has prepared it in front of us. Juicy, Tender, Flavourful, Exceptional Taste… And now we are reaching the last main course and here is where I will start the action. I was asked to cook the last dish as I am Cooking with Ralph and as of course I love cooking so much. Yes cooking is one of my main hobbies… I will prepare the Butterfall Fish. An Unforgettable oil fish that will win the heart of seafood lovers. Below is how the dish looked like and of course you can see the highlighted stories on Instagram for the video. It will melt in your mouth… Divine! A must try! I highly recommend you to visit and try Doors Freestyle Grill at Al Seef Village. You...
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