Nammos, Zuma, Gaia, Shanghai Me, Billionaire, Sushisamba and Beefbar have all set their sights on Doha ahead of the huge sporting event…

If you’re heading to Doha for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, fine dining fever is taking over the city alongside football fever, with a huge array of restaurants you know and love from Dubai making their way to Doha.

Qatar-based hospitality group Aura will add 36 new restaurants across three destinations in Doha: Lusail Boulevard, Al Maha Island and Hamad International Airport. While some will be their own homegrown concepts, others will be partnerships with world famous brands, with a mix of both permanent and pop-up restaurants enhancing Doha’s dining scene. If you’re a seasoned Dubai diner, you’ll likely be familiar with upscale Japanese restaurant, Zuma; luxurious dinner and a show concept Billionaire; sleek steakhouse Beefbar; and acclaimed French restaurant, LPM. Rafael Nadal’s Spanish Mediterranean restaurant, Tatel; and Italian-American restaurant, Carbone, are among the other international concepts set to make their mark on the Qatari capital.

Aura will also partner with renowned Mykonos beach club Nammos, which is also a highly popular Dubai hotspot, for a Doha pop-up on Al Maha Island. On the subject of beach clubs, Doha is the chosen city for the first ever Sushisamba beach club. A permanent addition to the culinary scene within the soon-to-open Waldorf Astoria Lusail, Sushisamba Doha will feature the brand’s signature restaurant – complete with open kitchen, cocktail bar and sushi counter – as well as a day-to-night beach experience.

Elsewhere, Dubai-based Bulldozer hospitality group will export pan-Asian venue Shanghai Me and award-winning Greek Mediterranean restaurant Gaia to Doha in time for the FIFA World Cup. Seven Management, the hospitality company behind brands including Cafe Beirut, February 30 and Seven Sisters, will bring their Amalfi Coast-inspired restaurant, Lucia’s, to the Sheraton Grand Resort Doha this season too. Slated to open in November, expect the same electric Dubai vibes in a brand new city.

Another huge addition coming soon to Doha will see Al Maha Island transformed into a huge leisure destination. Alongside a string of upscale restaurant, it will also become home to Lusail Winter Wonderland, where guests can expect festive fun across over 50 rides and attractions, stalls, live entertainment and lots of festive food and drink.