OHLALA’s Craig Ferriman takes a flavourful trip to South America while dining at Fuego, located at JW Marriott Marquis City Center Doha.
Located at the JW Marriott Marquis City Center Doha, the outlet brings South American cuisine to the heart of Doha. Fuego follows the highest standards, excellent cooking, efficient service, with a rich, intimate vibe.
The restaurant name means fire in Spanish and represents well the style of food you will find there. The Brazilian head chef, Oscar Engmann embraces a pan-Latin American menu. The idea is smart and plays to broader tastes. It also put into practice the chef ’s strengths as I witnessed from testing the new additions to the menu. Even the beverages adhere to the concept as evident from the Ushuaia mocktail we had on arrival named after the most southerly city in the continent. Oscar delivered a variety of appetisers. My favourite was the Mexican taco de camaron or tempura prawn taco with avocado, guajillo mayo and coriander. I didn’t feel short-changed when biting in, it was perfectly portioned, and the ingredients were well-balanced.
Also in the list of ‘Entradas’ were the empanadas, a classic across the region. These arrived piping hot, and as I took a bite, I could immediately tell they were good stuff. After checking the menu, I saw that it had Argentinian Angus beef, boiled potatoes and eggs. The pastry was just right, and the result was perfect.
The steak is still the main event. Grass-fed Argentina Angus is the meat source unless you want short ribs, they come from the United States. There is a choice of rib-eye, rump or tenderloin, and the tomahawk steak, which we had and was simply superb. I am confident that it will be a long time before I have a feast as good as this one again. Cooked to order, we asked for it to be served rare and it came as requested. To me, rare is the only way to eat steak, and most chefs agree. It was seasoned beautifully, and although the salt and pepper were dispatched to the table, there was no reason to use them at all. That should tell you that this kitchen knows how to cook! The panqueque de dulce de leche was delivered to us for dessert, and it was a crepe dough stuffed with this version of the Latin American caramel and banana ice cream. Another hearty way to finish the meal is with the cheesecake and red sauce.
The layout of the restaurant is not pretentious, which scores high points for me. However, it was deeply intimate with low lighting and candles around the edges and very classy with high backed leather armchairs. To me, this was not a place to pose, but a venue to relax, enjoy the fine things in life and experience excellent cuisine. It has the right substance and happens to be stylish and elegant too.
For reservations or more information,
please call 4429 5295.