Review: Express Lunch at Market by Jean-Georges, Doha

Have you ever left the house to run an errand and ten minutes into the trip decided that you need food, like, right now before something catastrophic happens (usually to your poor, innocent and unsuspecting other half who can not for the life of them understand how you managed to turn from angel to ogre in a matter of minutes)? Or are you one of those people that packs their days so full of meetings and appointments that they sometimes forget to factor in eating and drinking and generally staying upright?

Unfortunately I tend to exhibit both of these unfortunate traits on a regular basis. Trust me, a 'hangry' Miss Sunshine with very little time on her hands is not someone you want to associate yourself with.

Luckily for me, Doha has an excellent range of express and business lunch offerings (three course menus, sometimes including a drink) which promise to wine you and dine you at rapid pace (usually within half an hour). I'm going to tell you about one of my favourites.

Market is a modern and vibrant restaurant in the W Hotel, serving international cuisine mingled with local Arabic flavours. I love its quirky and artistic interior.

But its real selling point is its stunning 'Express Lunch' menu, which at 95 Qatari Riyal (17 GBP) is an absolute steal. Even better, by feeding me three generous courses in half an hour straight, this place has saved me from killing my other half on more than one occasion!

On this particular occasion, detecting my 'hanger', Rich directed me rapidly through the doors of the restaurant. The tables were full, but was he going to let this deter us? Was he heck! (I was really starting to detect his fear by this point). Instead, we opted to sit at the bar (or 'chef's table') by the open kitchen and observe the deft preparation of our food in front of us.

Hastily, our dishes were brought to us one by one, each seemingly tastier than the last.

Starters of spicy calamari for me...

And prawn and avocado salad with the most gorgeous sweet sesame dressing for Rich.

Hanger deflected, I was extra generous, and shared my crunchy morsels of goodness with my man.

Next up for Rich came slow cooked salmon with sugar snap peas, mashed potatoes and black truffle emulsion which was perfectly cooked, rich and warming.

And for me, parmesan encrusted chicken with basil lemon butter, which was sweet, sharp and savoury all at once...and far too good to share!

Chicken, cheese and lemon all on one plate?! You'd butter believe it! It would have been rude to let any go to waste.

For pudding, Rich opted for a cute little creme brulee, with perhaps the best lemon sorbet I've ever tasted.

While I went for my favourite: home made cookies in a little bag to take away.

We'd been incredibly well-fed, and at last I was feeling human again.

With such an innovative menu devised by the famous chef Jean-Georges, it's unsurprising that there are a plethora of industry-standard awards to this classy establishment's name. BBC Good Food ME Restaurant of the Year? Course it is. Conde Nast Traveller Middle East Best Hotel Restaurant? Got it nailed.

And the best bit? It's only a hop, step and a jump from our favourite coffee shop, the W Cafe.

The perfect end to a wonderful meal.

Crisis averted! Where's your favourite place to go when you need food right now?