FACT’s Asad Khan headed to the new hotspot in town, Brewskis and Grub, to catch up with friends and get his hands on some lip-smacking food.

From its serious nightlife scene to hyped-up creative culinary delicacies, Brewskis and Grub, at Crowne Plaza Doha, is successfully on its way to building a solid reputation as one of the coolest places in town. We know about food, drinks and fashion and this place is a physical manifestation of this expertise combined with a hint of fun. If you think this is just another sports bar — you’re quite wrong. Unlike others, Brewskis has a refined food menu as well.

The first thing you notice when you walk into this spacious place is all the flat screens, then the tap-n-pay system, that allows customers to recharge a card and refill their drinks on their own, and next the slick masculine interior —wood furniture paired with fun décor touches. We headed there on a weekday rather earlier in the evening and when we left the place it was almost houseful.

A deliciously-designed menu catered for a perfect catch-up with friends while satisfying our meaty and burger cravings. As with all things at Brewskis, the key to the menu is sharing, so you make sure you order lots and have a little of each other’s choices as you’re going to want to try a variety of dishes. Each waiter had an almost encyclopedic knowledge of the menu which was quite a testament to their training. Best thing? They didn’t keep us waiting long.

Pretzel bites were brought to the table as we perused the menu. We selected a couple of appetisers — and all were blasting with distinct flavours! Our favourite was the Buffalo Chicken Dip, Brewskis Salad and Pecking Duck Tacos.

It’s a well-known fact that people consume an ungodly amount of buffalo wings while watching sports. That’s fine and all, but the best thing one can conveniently eat, hands down, is the dip.

And what’s better than a bubbling cauldron of Buffalo wings in dip form? Nothing. This dip satisfied all our culinary senses to a point where our minds were so focused on the range of textures and flavours bounding around our mouths that we forgot we had other appetisers and mains coming.

Let’s be honest, of all the dishes in Chinese cuisine — one of the most mouth-watering is Peking Duck. It’s complicated and requires last-minute assembling. But the one folded and rolled up at Brewskis was worth all the hard work. The tacos were filled with apricot compote and fried brie cheese that gave the otherwise salty ensemble a hint of sweetness with the right balance of flavours. Also, the Brewskis Salad was such a healthy choice featuring fresh greens, roasted red peppers, spiced feta cheese paired with fresh olives, sundried tomatoes and cranberries tossed in a honey vinaigrette! This is what you must order if you’re on a diet and counting your calories but still want to have fun.

Delving into the mains: our hands-on favourite was the Brewskis Signature Burger. I’ll never forget the glow when my friend bit into his burger. The 250gr rib eye patty was well-done and the cheese and truffle mushrooms were brilliantly balanced — a condiment tour de force. The burger brought back memories of backyard barbecues and family gatherings — ahhh, such comfort food! Everything about it was taste-bud-tinglingly good, plus I could actually bite into it without any form of demolition. Pro tip: If you want to try their different burger options — go for Brewskis Sliders featuring Signature, Blue California and Traditional Burger.

Another thing you need to get your hands messy with is the wings. All on the menu: BBQ, Buffalo and Asian Chicken are airfried. You might not believe this, but I’d never eaten this many wings, they were messy for all the right reasons.

Dessert was another highlight to our evening. Brewskis Cookie Monster (chocolate chip cookie dough baked in a pizza pan and topped with three scoops of ice cream – chantily, chocolate and caramel – and Churros served with chocolate and caramel sauce were a perfect sweet ending to a savoury night of lip-smacking dishes. ✤

GO: CALL 4441 2550 FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO MAKE A RESERVATION.