Haute & Happening

Deep

Retail Destination

My recent visit to Wahaj ensconced inside Galeries Lafayette Doha was quite a revelation – this is a high-end outlet for serious shopping. Tourists who make regular trips to Paris will likely know Galeries Lafayette as a department store, and its presence has only enhanced Katara. I was on a tight schedule, so there wasn’t much time to peruse the collections or do much browsing, but I did notice a glass entrance to what looked like a seemingly modest café at the far end of the store behind the escalators.

To the side of the open-plan kitchen was a door, and our greeter escorted us past it to a truly stunning terrace, seating us under a tent-like structure with glass walls. Before long, our waitress Flora came over to introduce herself. A latent snobbery of mine made me think that, because this place was in a mall, the service might be a bit sub-par. But Flora proved me wrong. If she was the benchmark, then the standard is set very high because not only were we treated like valued customers, but she also made informed recommendations based on a comprehensive understanding of the menu.