Cactus Senshi, a new concept restaurant, has launched recently in Qatar. Located at the Al Shoumoukh Towers off C-Ring Road and Al Sadd St, the restaurant that specialises in sushi, offers rolls derived from traditional Arabic dishes, such as chicken mansaf, falafel and lamb maklouba.
Created under Sedriyah Hospitality, the eatery is among the first in the nation — and the world — to serve Arabic sushi. The restaurant aims to appeal to sushi lovers, who enjoy traditional Arab cuisine as well, said Hassan Al Mannai, co-founder. Al Mannai added that, along with co-founder, Mark Boreham, the concept behind Cactus Senshi was developed over two years, despite the fact that it was initially met with general scepticism. “When we started expressing our interest in the concept behind the restaurant, people thought we were out of our minds. We were told that it was impossible to bring that concept to life. However, we were defiant and stuck to our concept of bringing machbous, falafel, biryani and mansaf sushi to life, and here we are celebrating the launch of our restaurant”, Al Mannai said. “Our development team took a year to work out the menu, tasting, reducing or adding spices, flavours and other ingredients, changing the sauces until we reached the perfect recipes.” he added.
In order to elevate their new concept restaurant, they created a character to serve as a recognisable mascot and the face of the eatery, known as Cactus Senshi, or “warrior” in Japanese. According to the restaurant owners, “the mascot represents a Japanese sushi master chef (a cactus) who embarks on a journey at sea to “reignite his passion for his beloved sushi.”
In addition to Arabic sushi, the eatery offers numerous conventional alternatives, such as sashimi and tempura, and some Mexican side dishes like rice. Prices average about QR60 per roll. The restaurant also serves bubble tea and its desserts include a date cake and a pistachio cake with Snickers. Sedriyah Hospitality will soon be launching another two restaurants — 360 Grille with an American idea, and La Marans, a completely new concept restaurant that will serve both French and Indochinese cuisines. Al Mannai said he has received offers to franchise Cactus Senshi in other Gulf nations, yet he said he will just consider joining forces with those who have tried his food.
“Qatar is the main home of Cactus Senshi. We need to substantiate ourselves here to start with, then we will extend outside of Doha,” he said. Cactus Senshi is open every day from 12noon to 4pm and from 6pm to 11:30pm.
