New Qatar restaurant fines guests who waste food

A newly opened restaurant in Qatar is fining diners who don't eat all the food on their plates.

For every piece of food left after the meal is finished, diners at Japanese-Thai restaurant Maison De Sushi may have to pay US $1.40 (QR5), reports Doha News.

Located in 01 Mall in Abu Hamour, the outlet offers an all-day buffet menu for between US$22 (QR80) and $36 (QR130) per person, allowing guests to order unlimited amounts of food to their table, which can generate a a lot of food waste.

Local media reports suggest that while some customers have been in favour of the new rule, others have refused to pay the fee - but Doha News revealed that the restaurant is flexible with its policy.

One of the restaurant's managers, Nael Salaheddintold, told the newspaper: “We don’t always charge people because that’s not the point of adding the rule. We don’t want to penalise people. It’s more about encouraging our guests to take extra care and not waste food.”

While Maison De Sushi hopes that its policy will discourage guests from piling their plates too high, it will also wrap up leftovers for guests to take home. 

The restaurant is not the first in Qatar, which is thought to have one of the highest rates of food wastage worldwide, with a rate of 1.8 kg for each person daily, to impose a 'leftovers tax'. 

Korean/Japanese outlet Yee Hwa, located in Al Sadd, has charged customers $1.40 (QR5) for each piece of food left behind during its 'all you can eat' sushi nights for many years.