While the best food is generally found in hotels, Chinese, Indian, Persian, Thai, US and Western cuisine is also available. All the major hotels have good public restaurants and most offer outside catering of high quality; waiters, crockery and cutlery will be provided on request. There are a reasonable number of places to eat in Doha, including snack bars serving fast foods, as well as the traditional Levantine shawarma and Egyptian foul and taamiyeh. Restaurants are scarce outside the capital.
Alcohol is prohibited and should not be consumed in public, though some international hotels may serve alcohol.
Tipping: Taxi drivers do not expect a tip. A service charge is often added to bills in hotels and most restaurants, otherwise 10 per cent is appropriate.

Public entertainment is rather limited. Doha has a cinema showing English-language films, and there is also the National Theatre. Live entertainment is infrequent, but some international artists do perform in Qatar.

There are several large modern malls, with cinemas, restaurants and other facilities as well as brand shops. The old souks remain popular for bargains. Shopping hours: Generally Sat-Thurs 0800-1200 and 1600-1900 or later, with the malls open until 2100 or 2200. Some shops close on Friday.