Biella - Great Food, But What Is It?

"Salmone en Padella" at Biella Caffe Pizzeria Ristorante, The Mall, Doha, Qatar.

I am not quite sure what to make of my dining experience at Biella Café Pizzeria Ristorante, located at the ground floor of The Mall in Doha, Qatar - just opposite Chili's. I mean, I think the food is nice but the serving is not enough; the place was cozy but the waiters annoy me; the menu has a wide variety of choices but they are pricey.

The restaurant entrance, mall side. Glass partitions and blue theme looked inviting.

Before I walked in, I found the entrance rather inviting with glass, blue hues and all that stuff. Once inside, the interior is quite stunning and has plenty of nice touches. It felt rather expensive though, with some tables draped with white and blue cotton tablecloth, provided with white table napkins and complete set of silverware. Curiously, an equal amount of tables are plainly laminated and informal - not as elegant as the others. Contradictions, contradictions. Although it says pizzeria in its name, I did not see any pizza in the menu. This restaurant is starting to look to me like a confused one, unsure of its identity. Is it a diner, a fast food, fine restaurant? I have no idea. An Italian restaurant perhaps that does not look like one.

Blue and beige color scheme. Cool to the eyes and friendly but a rather common color scheme.

The menu, however, offers a wide variety of choices. Lots of appetizers to choose from. Lots of soups to choose from. Lots of main course, lots more of desserts, cold and hot drinks and cocktail drinks (none alcoholic though).

The food I ordered was something called "Salmone in Padella". The description in the menu says, "Pan-roasted salmon fillet with grilled aubergine, fennel and herb salad with citrus butter." It was well presented, as you can see in the picture below, and looks palatable. There's plenty of tomato though, and that was not in the menu description. Not that I don't like tomatoes. It's just that there are people who don't and such people might complain when the food they ordered is served not as they expected. Anyway, I liked it. I can't describe how it tasted but the description above should give you a good idea of how it was. There was a thick slice of eggplant under the fish. I think it has nothing to do with the taste. It was there to elevate the fish from the surrounding sauce. While this made the presentation look good, I would have preferred if they did away with the eggplant and let the fish soak into the sauce. I think that would make the sauce seep in better into the fish.

"Rosso" fruit cocktail drink at Biella Caffe Pizzeria Ristorante, The Mall, Doha, Qatar.

The drink I ordered is called "Rosso". It's basically fresh banana, muddle with coconut cream and strawberry puree shaken with pineapple and orange juice. No complaint about the drink. I think it's quite good but it was served to me not quite chilled enough.

Some of the decorations that adorn the informal tables.

For the taste of the food alone, I would recommend this restaurant. Their menu is different from many of the restaurants I've tried so far in Doha. It's rather pricey but I guess that's the cost you have to pay for good food. The whole dining experience though is not quite as good. As mentioned, I'm a bit confused with what image the restaurant is trying to project. Although the waiters are friendly, I think they are too friendly to the point that it becomes annoying. I don't mind being asked what I think of the food on the spot but to be asked twice . . .

Cheers,

alexdpx