THE BEST OF BBQ

By Mohamed Suhaib - February 22, 2023

Mosaic Restaurant

Some two millennia ago envoys of China’s powerful Han emperor ventured west until they reached the borders of the wealthy Parthian empire, which stretched from what is now Afghanistan right to the edge of the Mediterranean. The meeting unleashed an explosion of trade: in spices, porcelain, horses and camels, gold and, above all, silk. The Silk Roads spun their web of economic and cultural exchange from Shanghai and Osaka to Constantinople and Rome. Today a traveller could spend a lifetime retracing those silken threads – or you could do what we did, and let your taste buds make the journey through the flavours of the continents in the course of one wonderful afternoon.

This is the concept behind the newest dining offering from the masters of luxury hospitality at the Mandarin Oriental, Doha, with the Silk Road-inspired Friday BBQ lunch at Mosaic. The restaurant itself is simultaneously calmly elegant and quietly bustling with activity. To our right, floor to ceiling windows and a bright terrace offer views over the cream marble of central Msheireb. Our table is shaded by geometric screens in light wood and intricately worked metal, creating privacy while preserving the airy lightness, while furnishings in cream and sea blue recall woven palm leaves and the interlock of traditional pearling nets. To our left is a hive of energy, where delicious aromas plume from nine open kitchens manned by chefs who are experts in specialist cuisines from Yakitori to Rotisserie via the Tandoor.