Formal fine dining has made way for personalised casual dining at Al Dana restaurant in an effort to win more customers and appeal to Qataris.
“I am not a fan of fine dining,” confesses Evangelos Liakouris, the chef de cuisine at Al Dana. “People might go on special occasions, maybe one or two times a year, so how can that be successful here?
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“It was an amazing restaurant. But when I came here [about a year ago] I tried to put myself in the positon of the guest — to understand what kind of food and taste that the local people want. For this 74-cover restaurant I had to focus on a completely different way of cooking.”
Liakouris, who comes from the Greek island of Icaria, says that Al Dana had remained popular with European expats, but had lost its local clientele.
“Now we are starting to change this. Slowly, I have built relationships with them and they are coming here every week as regular guests,” he shares.
Al Dana certainly has many factors in its favour. Housed in a characterful stand-alone oceanfront building within the low-rise, Arabesque-style Sharq Village & Spa resort at the south end of the Corniche, with views over Doha bay and its own al-fresco terrace — now called C-Lounge — it is an appealing spot for dinner and drinks, or just light bites and shisha.
“C-Lounge now gives us an opportunity for people to come more regularly without having to spend QAR700 (US$192) for dinner. But then they will know about our food and service so they will come and try also the brasserie. Guests can come here for dinner and go outside for dessert, shisha and beverages, and enjoy this amazing view. It’s something unique; most hotels here are towers,” says Liakouris.
But Al Dana’s real USP is the seafood market that now greets diners on arrival with a colourful array of fish and shellfish on ice and fresh vegetables. Liakouris explains: “Usually we walk with a new guest to the seafood market, and we explain the philosophy of the restaurant and about the healthy side of food. We have so many vegetables, and we guide the guests that fast food is not the perfect way.
“They will leave here having enjoyed the best food — perfect taste and straight to the point. I cook with a lot of herbs, vegetables and a lot of freshness — everything is from scratch; nothing is taken ready-made. Quality cooking is last-minute cooking for me.”
While he has his own strong views on how it should be done, he is adamant that the chef should try to balance the expectation of the guest, not himself, stating: “Many guests here want food that is full of taste and cooked well-done. Sometimes chefs hear ‘well-done’ and get upset. But I have to put myself in the position of the guest and make something perfect for them. So I will provide for them the perfect ‘well-done’.”
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