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Alba by Enrico Crippa

Doha

Exquisite Italian fare in landmark waterfront building

On the Pass

Antonino D’Alessio

Italian job: The first venture outside Italy from acclaimed chef Enrico Crippa, the Doha restaurant is named after the Piemonte town where his flagship Piazza Duomo (No.42 in The World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2023) is located.

Iconic location: Set within the new Raffles Doha hotel, the restaurant provides a dose of Mediterranean design and flavour on the Arabian coast. The dining rooms blends classical white marble arches with plush dark green and red velvets, surrounded by Italian-inspired scenography. Raffles Doha is itself located in the capital’s famous Katara Towers building, the enormous waterfront landmark whose design was inspired by the nation’s traditional crossed-swords emblem.

On the menu: The a la carte offering takes in a host of Italian classics, such as vitello tonnato and maccheroni alla Genovese, as well as more distinctive plates including taglioni with white truffle and Barolo-braised veal cheeks with ‘red cabbage from the desert’. There’s also an impressive 300-label wine list, including some notable imports from the world-renowned wine region surrounding Alba itself back in Italy.

The Crippa protégé: The kitchen is headed up by the youthful but highly talented Antonino D’Alessio. Originally from Naples, D’Alessio has worked in top-end establishments in both the UK and France, as well as spending four years alongside Chef Crippa in the kitchens of Piazza Duomo.

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