"Mireille Hayek's all-day Lebanese café on Al Maha Island — book the covered terrace and order the mezze spread for a long, shared family lunch."
Em Sherif Café is the all-day café concept of Mireille Hayek, the Beirut restaurateur whose Em Sherif name carries across the Gulf. Set on Al Maha Island in Lusail, it is the group's first café in Qatar — a more relaxed register than the formal Em Sherif dining room, with a large covered terrace looking over the marina. The format is generous and shareable, made for a table of family or friends rather than a solo plate.
The kitchen runs the traditional Lebanese repertoire with the polish the Em Sherif name implies. Order the mezze spread — puffy breads, creamy muttabbal, fattet barek and fassoulia — then the charcoal grills and traditional desserts that follow. Everything is built for the centre of the table, ordered to share and arriving in quick succession. Prices sit in the upper-mid Lusail range ($$$), reflecting the Al Maha Island address and the brand rather than a quick-bite café.
The room is an elegant, comfortable affair — cosy seating, a luxurious finish and a large covered terrace that handles Qatar's climate and the marina view at once. Service is attentive and the pace suits a long, leisurely meal. It reads as a place to linger over coffee and dessert as much as to eat, and it works as well for a family gathering as for a relaxed business lunch.
For a long family lunch, a relaxed first date over mezze or a daytime business meeting on the island, Em Sherif Café is the easy Lusail choice: shareable Lebanese food and a covered terrace. A natural first-date and business-lunch table.
Not for a quiet, formal special-occasion dinner — the café is a busy, shareable, all-day room; for the hushed tasting register, the formal Em Sherif restaurant is the address.
Em Sherif Café is the all-day café concept of Beirut restaurateur Mireille Hayek, founder of the Em Sherif group. The Al Maha Island room is the brand's first café in Qatar.
It is on Al Maha Island in Lusail, Qatar, with a large covered terrace overlooking the marina — a more relaxed setting than the formal Em Sherif restaurant.
Order the mezze spread to share — puffy breads, muttabbal, fattet barek and fassoulia — followed by the charcoal grills and traditional Lebanese desserts.
It sits in the upper-mid Lusail range ($$$), reflecting the Al Maha Island address and the Em Sherif name, though it is more accessible than the group's formal dining room.
Yes. The menu is built for sharing and the covered terrace handles larger tables well, making it a strong choice for a family lunch or a group dinner.
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