LA SPIGA: A VERY SPECIAL BIRTHDAY MEAL

Sunday 15 February 2015

Part two of Jemma's birthday celebrations took us to the W Hotel and involved drinks at Wahm, followed by dinner at La Spiga.

I could literally eat at La Spiga all day, every day. It is no secret that it is my absolute favourite restaurant in Doha (I have gushed about it countless times on the blog before!), so when Jemma chose to celebrate her birthday here I knew a lovely evening would be in store for us.

The birthday girl looked gorgeous - her family had sent her lovely gifts from home, and Marion and I gave her our presents before we got ourselves ready and set off for an evening at the W.



It was Happy Hour at Wahm Lounge, and we kicked off the evening with Pimms out on the terrace.


Wahm is one of the outlets at the W that I rarely give a mention to (normally because I come to the W to eat myself into a food coma, rather than drink!), but the last two times I have been here I have been really impressed with the service. The staff have always found us a table, even when we didn't have a reservation, and provided attentive table service. When I came last week with my French colleagues, they even brought over platters of complimentary hors d'oeuvres which were delicious.

When we had finished our drinks, we made our way downstairs to La Spiga.

Originally we were taken to a table by the terrace doors, however it was a little bit cold for us so we asked if there was another table available. The manager, Dennis, came over immediately and told us that there were three glasses of bubbles waiting for us at the bar, and in the meantime he would arrange a special table for us.

We were in no rush, so were happy to relax on the sofas in the bar area, sipping delicious pink bubbles and chatting until our table was ready.


When Dennis returned to take us to the table, it became apparent that La Spiga had gone all out to make the evening very special indeed for our birthday girl.

The table was decorated with tiny silver stars, and two beautiful red roses.



Absolutely set on our decision to have dessert (we had turned down the temptation of milkshakes earlier that day at Banana Island), we went straight for the main courses.

Jemma and I both opted for the gnocchi. Jemma had hers as per the menu in the tomato and cream sauce, and I asked if I could have mine in white sauce. One look at Jemma's and I thought I had made a mistake as hers looked so good...


However as soon as I tried mine, I was in food heaven. The white sauce was absolutely beautiful and full of flavour, and the gnocchi was cooked to perfection.


Marion opted for the fussili pasta with shrimp and zucchini, which she displayed very proudly!


The three very empty dishes at the end of the meal were hard evidence that we enjoyed our food!

Just when we had decided that, even after promising to have dessert all day, we were too full to eat anymore, our waiter very kindly brought over a 'Happy Birthday' Panna Cotta with a candle for Jemma.



Deciding we could probably definitely manage one dessert between three of us, we all dived in! The Panna Cotta at La Spiga is beautiful and light - the perfect dessert to have if you're "too full" to have dessert ;)

Our lovely waiter then brought over another complimentary dessert for us - the Tiramisu - which looked gorgeous, although I had to sit this one out as sadly I'm not a coffee lover!


Dennis and his team at La Spiga really went all out to make Jemma's birthday special - they really could not have done more for us.

I can't recommend this restaurant enough - not only is La Spiga in a prime location at the W Hotel, so perfect as a post-drinks dinner destination, but the staff are fantastic and the food is amazing, every single time.

I also must mention the social media team behind the @WDoha Twitter handle - they make booking a reservation so easy - not just at La Spiga but for any of the W outlets - and get back to you within minutes. After Jemma had made her birthday reservation, I tweeted @WDoha to ask them if the chef could write a happy birthday message on her dessert plate, which they happily organised and more!

I can't think of any other restaurant where I would choose to spend a special occasion - so thanks for having us, La Spiga - I can't wait for my next visit already!




If you missed part one of Jemma's birthday celebrations, you can find our Banana Island adventures here :)

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