This is the second abject-lesson-in-mediocrity meal experience that I have had at the The Butcher Shop & Grill in Doha (located in Villagio Mall in the food court area). You would have thought that I would have learned the first time. The menu does indicate that patrons should be prepared to wait for their meals as "consistency takes time". Unfortunately true, as the restaurant was consistently bad with both visits.
Ultimately, the food is stunningly overpriced. Obscenely overpriced, actually. The service amateur. The ambience is fine, if you like the noise and ambience of eating in a tiled bathroom with 100 screaming kids echoing around the cold impersonal walls, although if you prefer to have any warmth and intimacy suited to dining with friends, eat anywhere else but here. The overall experience, despite great company, was mostly underwhelming.
The Food
The menu is extensive and lures the unsuspecting punter on a promise. Soup of the day: mushroom. It was pleasant enough - about as pleasant as soup from a can - and nothing like the Mushroom soup to be had at neighbouring restaurant Le Petit Quotidien or the simply superb mushroom soup from Biello, across town.
Between us we had the seafood platter, lamb shanks and the double roasted lamb for main courses. The seafood platter lacked variety which is fairly inexcusable in this part of the world. The lamb shanks and double roasted lamb were appreciated. The portions seemed overly large at the expense of really well prepared and presented food. What we received was really on par with a pub counter meal or cafeteria style food.
Although it is advertised that meats may be selected from the Butcher (located in the centre of the restaurant) on both occasions that I visited, the butcher shop was embarrassingly empty with no fare at all being displayed.
Service
The service was poor, as it is in many Doha restaurants. Staff with little or no training, that forget to bring dishes (still waiting for the baked potato...), that interrupt conversion at the table, clear dishes away before all the patrons are finished (and even clearing a soup plate from which one of our party was simultaneously trying to eat!), not knowing who had ordered which drink or meal and staff who mistake constant interruption nervous "is everything ok?" queries as being good service.
The bill includes a non-optional 10% service charge on top of already exorbitant prices - which riles me no end - particularly if, as in the case of The Butcher Shop, the service resembles a country circus act rather than service for a pleasant dinner.
The Ambience
Here is where The Butcher Shop & Grill really fails to shine. The restaurant is located within a food hall - a cavernous tiled featureless space with few redeeming features. There is no division between the restaurant space and the thorough-fares of the food court leaving the restaurant patrons feeling uncomfortably exposed. Less than twenty metres away are the gaudy signs and less-than-fragrant smells of a number of well known fast-food establishments. The tables have a ridiculous molded bevel (as wide as a paperback) around them making them completely impractical for sitting comfortably without continually feeling like glassware and personal items are just about to slide off onto the floor. Most of our party were overly, uncomfortably cold, even while wearing sweaters and outdoor jackets inside.
The Bill
As I mentioned earlier, The Butcher Shop and Grill is simply overpriced. Similar meals in more comfortable climes around Doha may be had for less than half the price.
Overall - it's not surprising that the restaurant was not particularly busy. It has few redeeming features and you certainly won't walk away from dining at The Butcher Shop feeling satisfactorily well fed.
And one more thing: The Butcher Shop & Grill is hardly the "one and only" if it's franchised all over the place is it? Sheesh.
