Trader Vics

A great watering hole and fun eatery in Doha, though not a patch on the joys of Bahrain's Trader Vics! The food and drinks menus are similar to the others in the chain, it is not fine dining but it is quite nice for a pub meal.

Trader Vics in Doha gets a bit crowded on a Thursday night and the staff can't really cope with the demand for drinks. It has a good vibe at that time. The location of the place is good and it's a fun hang out.

I just wish that this restaurant had draught ales and not just bottles!!

Because I love Trader Vic's in Bahrain and it brought to me some of the best memories I thought Trader Vic's Doha would do the same - become my hangout spot. I was wrong. I have been there three times and each time was more disappointing than the one before. The first time I was there I was harassed by a guy and the security who saw him did not even flinch. The second time I went there, me and my friend were given attitude because we wanted to have dinner and had not reserved prior. They only accommodated us when I told them that 1) the branches in Bahrain, Abu Dhabi and Dubai never required me to do so especially that we were two ladies only and 2) the place was empty. The third chance and the last was last night when the waitress decided to clear the table while I was still eating. She took my plate from beneath my hand, held out the dip and gestured for me to take my last chance at the dip because she wanted to take it right away. If they treat all their customers like this I am certain Trader Vic's Qatar will shut down very soon. These three visits were in a 4 month span and thus they've had time to improve. It doesn't come close to the one in Bahrain or in Dubai. They need serious training. As for food, it's a hit and miss. It's average. The drinks are the only thing that are good but with the attitude of the employees, you'll need a lot drink in your system to ignore. Maybe that's part of their strategy of getting you to order more drinks. I gave it three chances and now I am certain I will never go back there again

Never again! And it’s a shame because the location and decoration is nice and they have brought a Latin band. But that’s all. To start with the end, I had a severe food poisoning all night that I never had before. In brief, we made a reservation for 16/11/2012, planning a nice diner and live music but only to regret it. And that’s because the ‘restaurant’ is more like a pub, noise, random and economical service but with hefty prices. They wanted all functions in one, i.e. bar with bar lounge mixed with the restaurant. The crowd is moving in frenzy around narrowed space towards the smoking terrace. The nice band is isolated somewhere among the tables, ignored and covered by the crowd noise. No intension to allow for a dance. The food quality is bad, small portions served for a big price and the meat (NY stake) very hard. Above all I was to discover that what I ate was to poison me. What a waste…

Great atmosphere and decent enough food. Cool place to go with friends for a night out.

The building is in a great location and staff were pleasant and attentive. The more inventive dishes were tasty, but found the stock standard burger (a good lunch choice) was pretty standard for taste (no wow factor on sauce, garnish and was too sloppy). This is something that any good restaurant / chef should get right.
Other than that the band area and bar makes for an interesting evening venue!