Cafés in Aspire & Al Waab

Getting there on the Gold Line

Both districts are on the Doha Metro's Gold Line. Al Waab station, on Al Waab Street, opened on 25 November 2019, and the underground Al Aziziyah station serves Al Aziziya.²³ Al Waab Street itself is known for its arching streetlights.² The district's name is explained as a vast area that holds things, a nod to its greenery, level ground and fertile soil, and the planned Al Waab City development is meant to house over 8,000 people.²

Al-Hayat Medical Center stands on Al Waab Street, and South Al Soudan Park is on Al Saham Street.² Aspire Zone also has the Hamad Aquatic Center, with an Olympic-size pool.¹

Aspire Park

Aspire Park covers 88 hectares and is the biggest park in Doha, with fountains, playgrounds, a small hill, a coffee shop and what is described as the only lake in Qatar.⁴ Aspire Tower, a 300 m hotel, stands beside it.⁴

Aspire Academy, a youth sports school, opened at the center of the complex in 2004, and Aspetar, beside it, opened in 2007 as the first sports medicine hospital in the Middle East.¹

Evenings in the cooler months are the time for a walk there: from November to March, Doha's average daily highs stay below 30 °C, and January's is 22.6 °C.⁵

Al Aziziya Street and Othman Bin Affan Street

FRAME Speciality Coffee on Al Aziziya Street serves specialty coffee, is air-conditioned and takes cards; Gulf Tea and Bluedan Modern are on the same street. On Othman Bin Affan Street, SIP COFFEE is open 24 hours and does takeaway, and Toastie is at No. 55.

Meseta and Al Gharrafa Coffee Shop are on Salwa Road, and Aghadeer Coffee Shop and Al Shauara Coffee are on Equestrian Street. Branches of Caribou Coffee, Bacha Coffee, FiLLi Café and Starbucks are also in the area.

Cafeterias and coffee with dates

Smaller cafeterias sit on residential streets: Jaal Cafeteria and Star Zinker Cafeteria on Al Muthanna Bin Haritha Street, Zayhan Cafeteria on Al Madaress Street, Royal Cafeteria on Khaled Bin Al Waleed Street and Shahi Hyderabadi on Al Shatha Street.

rzeez sells coffee and dates (قهوة وتمر), the pairing that on the Arabian Peninsula almost always comes together, the dates there to balance the bitterness of the coffee.⁶