I’ve been hearing a lot about this Italian restaurant which serves the most authentic Italian cuisine here in Doha (as per some Italian friends). Lo Spaghetto’s been constantly receiving good reviews from anyone who has tried it unfortunately, it didn’t really satisfy my taste buds. Possibly because I’ve ordered the wrong dish? Or maybe, just maybe, my taste is yet to be introduced to the authentic Italian taste. My travels in Italy might not have been enough, a good excuse to go back there I guess?
It was cold, windy and raining the day we decided to visit Lo Spaghetto’s new branch which was a shame because I was looking forward to dining in their beautiful outdoor seating. It’s only a matter of time now when all of the outdoor seating areas anywhere in Doha would be closed until further notice, nobody would dare sit outside when the dreaded heat of summer is upon us. So with a heavy heart, we settled to be seated in the restaurant. The restaurant was packed until we left! Good business they’re having I suppose, goes to show how many people love their food.
We sat by the open kitchen where the chef prepares all the mouthwatering dishes for their diners. The smell from the kitchen made my already grumbling stomach grumble even louder! I need to feed the monster in me so we quickly browsed through their menu and advised our friendly waitress of our orders.
The Greek Mister and I shared a bresaola della valtellina con rucola e grana which came in a huge plate with a generos serving of beef bresaola and huge parmesan cheese flakes. It was wonderful, that was a good start for me. The Dutch friends on the other hand had tortino di verdure grigliate con mozzarella, as soon as their order was laid on our table – I immediately got jealous of it! The mozzarella cheese was perfectly melted on the grilled vegetables. It looks and smelled delicious! The Dutch friends confirmed the same on its taste.
Now here comes the disappointment for me, I ordered cannelloni di manzo stuffed with ground beef and bechamel sauce. What arrived on our table was not the canneloni I’m used to seeing. I was expecting the normal canneloni, huge cylindrical pasta filled with ground beef topped with bechamel sauce. My dish however came in a round serving dish, I had to double check with our waitress if it indeed was a canneloni and not lasagna, she confirmed that it was. I’m probably being ignorant here but I think not seeing the regular canneloni already affected my dining experience. I’m pretty sure I’m not being reasonable at all because there are several ways to serve this dish but I don’t know, I was just really disappointed when I saw it. I’m pretty weird, I know.
It tasted ok, nothing really special about it except that I found the dish a bit greasy. I ate only half of it, The Greek Mister finished the rest. He loved it by the way. To each his own taste, isn’t it? :p
The Greek Mister had pizza alla valtellinese cooked as calzone, he has this weird obsession on calzone for reasons I don’t really understand. I tried out this dish and it was superb! It was actually the exact same salad that we had as an appetizer as a filling for the pizza with lots and lots of mozzarella cheese. I should’ve ordered that instead.
The Dutch friends had pizza alla romana which looked and smelled so darn good. They both confirmed that it’s as good as it looks. They also had spaghetti aglio, olio e peperoncino which looked plain but the empty dish afterwards wiped clean with some bread proved otherwise.
We normally skip desserts but plates of flan al cioccolato con gelato kept passing by in front of us since we sat and we somehow got curious of it so we ordered two plates to share. It was a good decision as it was extremely good! The chocolate syrup inside made a sweet and yummy texture for the cake and the vanilla icecream made such a delightful contrast to it. It was a great way to end our dinner.
I was the only one who wasn’t very satisfied in our group so I guess, I did order the wrong dish. I’m definitely going back to Lo Spaghetto soon to try it again and sit in their fabulous garden area. Next time, I’ll order a pizza. 🙂
QR56 Bresaola della valtellina con rucola e grana
QR47 Tortino di verdure grigliate con mozzarella
QR62 Cannelloni di manzo
QR62 Pizza alla valtellinese
QR65 Pizza alla romana
QR48 Spaghetti aglio, olio e peperoncino
QR96 2 Flan al cioccolato con gelato
QR54 3 Bottles of still water
QR19 1 Bottle of sparkling water
QR8 1 Softdrinks
QR22 1 Fresh orange juice
Lo Spaghetto
Near Toys R Us, Al Kinana Street, Al Nasr, Doha
Tel No. 44341601
You can tell a foodie when they say they’re not going to judge a restaurant by one meal. 🙂
All of that looks delicious, and since I avoid wheat the smaller pasta would be a blessing to me. Maybe your dish was greasy from all the cheese they gave you; that would be my first thought. How was the actual flavor?
Awww thanks although I don’t really consider myself a foodie, I’m more of a glutton than a foodie. Hahaha.
Probably the cheese made it greasy or maybe the oil used on the meat? Not really sure but will have to avoid this dish next time. Flavor was…. ok. :-/
Well ordering the wrong dish just made it easier for you to return and try other items. I hope the restaurant live up to the good ratings that people bestow on it. However, it’s personal taste that matters.
Ordering the wrong dish is a good excuse to go back for more. Lol.
I also heard some rants about the new location. I thought it was weird because the old restaurant (Al Sadd area) was doing so well.
Really? So it’s not just me then! I thought I was the weird one. Lol.