Doha’s long-suffering gastronomes probably felt their prayers were finally answered with the city’s latest culinary offering: a French bistro said to be the ‘cantine of the rich and famous’ in Paris. La Maison du Caviar certainly does have a ‘rich’ history; opening in 1956 in the French capital at the regal request of the Iranian Shah. More than 50 years later, it’s come to Doha and it’s every bit as chic as its Parisian counterpart. It’s in the W Hotel for starters, with plush seating, velvety Chesterfield-style padded walls and crisp, white tablecloths.

Even the menu screams decadence, featuring a glamorous blonde clad in a black evening gown, suggestively pouting with a spoonful of beluga. Which brings us to the food. Aficionados will work themselves into a tizzy over the caviar menu – beluga, ossetra and sevruga to name a few. And if you’re not well versed in caviar but want to try it, you can sample a sprinkling served atop deliciously creamy scrambled eggs or an omelette, as we did. Even if fish eggs aren’t your thing, don’t worry; there’s much more than rich roe on the menu here. But don’t be surprised when you leave with a considerably lighter wallet – La Maison du Caviar is on the exclusive side of the pricing spectrum.

But it’s worth it. Delicacies on the menu include mini chateaubriand, open tiger prawn ravioli, or terrine of foie gras with toast. We opted for seafood, choosing the Alaskan king crab salad (juicy, salted chunks of crab tinged with lemon juice on a leafy salad), and the salmon pave mille feuille on a bed of fresh spinach and a creamy potato stack. Everything was artfully presented, for example, instead of ditching the salmon skin, it was fried into a triangular crisp and served protruding vertically from the fillet like the sail of a yacht (we must try that one at home).

The service, as to be expected, also matched up. Staff were impeccably presented, knowledgeable and seemed genuinely delighted to offer explanations of any dish. Desserts don’t disappoint either; we succumbed to the apple tatin – warmed slices of apple baked in a blackened-on-purpose pastry tart, the sweetness set off beautifully with vanilla ice cream. Needless to say, we demolished every dish, trying desperately to eat with decorum but it was tough – the food is that good. Highly recommended. (Want to know more about caviar? We asked an expert, La Maison du Caviar general manager Joseph Farah for a rundown.