L’wzaar is a smart/casual fish market located at Katara Cultural Village in Qatar where diners can either buy fresh fish and cook at home or dine there and have the full experience of choosing their fish and selecting their preferred cooking style.
There is a waiting area at the entrance with sofas and stacks of local magazines and newspapers. When they call out your name, you walk through a glass door to the fish counters that have an abundant selection of fresh fish and shellfish on a 12-meter bench. Most of the fish are flown in especially for L’wzaar while others are caught from the Arabian Gulf. Next to it was the salad bar, with various kinds of local and international dishes.
The interior of the restaurant makes you feel like you're in a big aquarium with all the different shades of blue mosaic on the walls and floor. There are also full glass windows that oversee the Katara walkway. The restaurant has a mixed and family section with pink and blue leather chairs and some wooden booths. There are 12 fish tanks in the middle of the restaurant. They also display open kitchen for diners to see their fish being cooked. On the side, there is a teppanyaki station for those looking for Japanese cooking.
When we sat down, we were served warm bread and a fresh vegetable basket. For drinks, the waiter recommended I try Qatar Magic, a mixture of lime, mint, ginger and diet cola, which was full of flavor and quite refreshing.
The waiter then encouraged us to go over to the counter to choose our fish. I was surprised at the variety of fish including beautiful imported yellow fin tuna, lobster, oyster, sea bass, scallops and local hamour and sheri. We then had to select the cooking method, with helpful tips from our waiter.
Being a foodie, I decided to challenge the chef and asked him to get creative with scallops. Less than fifteen minutes later I was presented with a beautiful shell with two pieces of scallops sizzling inside. The scallops were pan seared with garlic and parsley. I must say, he won me over with those small bites.
We started with the shrimp tempura, soft shell crab tempura and vegetable tempura, that all arrived perfect with different types of sauces. Then came our selection of sushi, which was really nothing special.
The main dishes included an order of Termador, a lobster shell stuffed with a mixture of lobster and mushrooms cooked in white sauce and cheese. This dish is highly recommended because it was full of flavor and cooked to perfection. We also tried the grilled hamour with a side of lemon butter sauce as our waiter recommended. This is also a great dish for those who like to keep it simple.
L’wzaar has a dish of the day five days a week and on the day I went, there were salmon balls - three big balls of salmon and potatoes in a bed of yellow creamy sauce. It was very nice and great for sharing. The salmon was fresh and the whole dish is great for children.
The best part of the meal came at the end when our waiter rolled over a lavish dessert cart filled with international sweets made by Sonali Fonseka who is a celebrated chef for Aspire Katara Hospitality. We chose a wonderful crème brulee, with perfect texture and taste. We also tried the lemon tart and the cheesecake, which were all beautifully prepared.
The restaurant's opening hours are noon to 3 p.m. for lunch and 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. for dinner. Expect to pay about QR 160.
