Abocado restaurant at Al Sadd Sports Club. Pic: Qassim Rahmatullah / The Peninsula
Going out to the restaurant is always a little celebration. However, there are some spots that will make it an unforgettable experience. Being of its kind in Qatar and Middle East, the ‘Abocado’ restaurant has so much that makes it unique.
The National Tourism Council has recognised it as a touristic establishment.
Giving a different definition to ‘Meals on Wheels’, ‘Abocado’ is a restaurant inside two busses uniquely merged. Stationed at the Al Sadd Sports Club, it is quickly becoming a hot spot for diners. This is because ‘Abocado’ is not merely a Mexican restaurant.
The Peninsula spoke to Jassim Mohammed Al Hammadi, the brain behind creating ‘Abocado.’
“I wanted to open a Mexican restaurant in Doha. But I was certain about giving authentic Mexican food at a unique venue. It took me almost two years to make that dream a reality,” he said.
“My main concerns were safety, comfort of customers and authenticity of the food,” he added. Jassim did not stop by just creating the restaurant. But he also obtained rights for the unique pattern from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. And working on gaining rights globally.
“The pattern includes mention of any two vehicles put on top of another,” he said.
The restaurant has been made with two modified busses. One flipped on the other. The reception, kitchen and cashier are located down stairs. Customers can dine upstairs in the bus which is actually upside down. It can accommodate around 10 people. Also, there is a spacious space for outdoor dining.
The interior is fully decorated with unique old number plates of vehicles collected from Mexico and around the world and hand-made furniture. Some tables are made of wood and others are decorated with Qatari and Turkish coins.
“I was very particular about every small detail of the restaurant. It was difficult to find suitable busses. Finally I got them from the Sheikh Faisal Museum. These buses were made in 1977 and 1978. Then converting the busses as per my requirement was the biggest challenge. I had to look in every single thing, especially the safety. We have adopted extra safety measures from an emergency exit to fire rated materials and electric connections,” said Jassim, a HR specialist by profession now turned into an entrepreneur.
Abocado offers from tacos and nachos to other authentic Mexican cuisine. The name has been generated from Avacado, which is a common ingredient of Mexican cooking. But Jassim has given an Arabic twist to it.
“In Arabic we write as Abocado. And if you see the logo it is like a man with a seed. In Arabic Abo means father. So it also means father of the seed,” said Jassim.
The next challenge he had was how to bring the authentic Mexican taste to the table. Jassim has taken extra affords to hire Teodora, a Mexican chief. “To make the food taste authentic, I had to find a good chef,” he said.
With its uniqueness, Abocado also caters customers at their comfort, by even offering Mexican straw hats for those want to take photos to keep as a souvenir.
