1 Pain au chocolat at Paul: This simple classic says everything that needs to be said about French baking in one bite. There’s nothing fancy about pain au chocolat – it’s just croissant pastry and chocolate. But rare is a bakery that can get the execution right. Paul’s version is perfectly fluffy yet flaky, with a dark chocolate core. It’s divinely superior to its imposters.
Villaggio Mall (413 5508).

2 Seafood laab at Thai Snack: Laab (aka larb, aka laap) is the signature, fiery meat salad of Laos and northern Thailand. Traditionally made with pork, chicken, duck or freshwater fish, it combines the classic Thai flavours of sweet, sour and spicy. Thai Snack plops the seafood of Thailand’s coastal south – prawns, cuttlefish, and squid – into the northern dish for a brilliant fusion.
Al Nasr Street, near Al Mirqab Al Jadeed Street (432 9704).

3 Désir dark chocolate coated stuffed date with roasted almond at Patchi: Patchi takes the local favourite stuffed date, and ups the ante by roasting the almond inside and coating the whole thing with dark chocolate. Both treatments are vast improvements over the already tasty original.
Villaggio Mall (450 7862).

4 Seasonal fruit tiramisu at Il Teatro: Il Teatro adds a welcome twists to this classic dessert, refreshing it with carmelised peaches and thyme syrup, strawberries, or other fruits that vary from week to week. The flavours and textures are finely balanced. Call a few days in advance if you want to pick a fruit.
Four Seasons (494 8888).

5 Melone gelato at La Dolce Vita: Doha is blessed with a few places that take a DIY approach to ice cream, and nobody does it better than La Dolce Vita. The melone bursts with fresh cantaloupe flavour, and the texture is delightfully light yet creamy. This is as good as gelato gets.
Souk Wakif (573 4809).

6 Chicken shish tawoosh at Turkey Central: This looks like common street food, but close your eyes and you’ll swear Turkey Central’s shish tawoosh is as deliciously complex as any haute cuisine. Charbroiled chicken, red onions, parsley, spice and citrussy sumac put a kaleidoscope of flavours in your mouth. Order the fabulous Turkish bread and swap out the good but usual pita.
Al Mirqab Al Jadeed Street (443 2927).

7 Power boost drink at Sushi Minto: Dates in a drink? Welcome to Doha. Dates, passion fruit, and cinnamon get tossed in a blender. The result is like a smooth, liquid Christmas fruitcake, only much better. And no, don’t try this at home by putting last year’s cake in the juicer.
Salwa Road (476 5577).

8 Black truffle fontina cheese pizza at Market by Jean-Georges: Pizza gets a 21st century nouvelle makeover at this restaurant by international celeb-chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten. The crisp tanginess of the vinaigrette is a delightful counterpoint to the deep, salty richness of the garlic, cheese and truffles. Which is to say yum.
W Hotel (453 5353).

9 Black pepper shrimp with sundried pine-apple at Spice Market: Spice Market is Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s homage to Southeast Asia, and is now a full-blown chain restaurant with outlets in Manhattan, Atlanta, Istanbul and Doha. In this signature dish, the chef showcases his trademark playfulness with spicy heat and sugary sweetness. The spongy dried pine-apple is as fun as cotton candy.
W Hotel (453 5353).

10 Esh al bulbul at Patisserie Suisse: Beirut has been called the Paris of the Middle East, and Lebanon is the Arabic world’s culinary France. Patisserie Suisse may be far from Swiss, but the Lebanese pastries it makes are gorgeous and refined. Esh al bulbul is the little bird-nest-shaped sweet with pistachio or cashew in the middle.
Al Mirqab Al Jadeed Street and other locations (432 0709).

11 Hamour slices in chilli oil at Wok of Fame: A Time Out colleague recently skewered this restaurant. But while the pseudo-Chinese buffet has its dodgy regions, there are authentic gems on the menu, including this fish in chilli oil. This tongue-numbingly hot Szechuan export lost some heat and oil in transit, but the result is more nuanced, with garlicky notes coming through. The taste remains much closer to mainland China than it is to Chinatown, and if you’ve travelled to China, you’ll know what we mean.
Villaggio Mall (413 5444).

12 Fried chicken at Beijing Express: Doha is such a fried chicken kind of town, you’d think it was the national bird. But while the locals seem to prefer the batter-coated Southern US style, Beijing Express’s chicken is crisp and juicy like Peking (Beijing) duck, and not soggy like that available from some fast food eateries. It comes with shrimp chips and hot sauce on the side, but skip the sauce for a dash of white pepper and let the chicken’s flavour do the talking.
Doha City Centre (411 5819).

13 Kebab bel Zeitoun at Sarai: If there’s ever an argument that the lowly kebab belongs among the great contemporary cuisines of the world, this is it. Kebab bel Zeitoun features tender grilled lamb with black and green olives, carrots and walnuts on a bed of bell peppers, onions, walnuts and pomegranate molasses. Every note from this orchestra of ingredients is played in harmony. The sweet tanginess of the pomegranate perfectly complements the lamb.
Villaggio Mall (413 5246).

14 Murg makhanwala at Chingari: This poultry dish was nearly edged off our list by Chingari’s sublime Peshawari chicken. But while the chicken meat in the Peshawari dish actually tastes better, the makhanwala (aka butter chicken) wins points for elevating a ubiquitous Indian cliché into a dining sensation. The sauce is simply mind blowing.
Ramada Plaza Doha (428 1428).

15 Ginger ale at W Hotel: Exploding with ginger, this soda pop packs real pop. Made in-house, the drink is available at any of the hotel’s F&B establishments.
W Hotel (453 5353).