New “Dynamic Duo” Steps In to Lead Nobu Doha at Four Seasons Hotel Doha

There is a new team shaping the dining experience that entices people from near and far to Nobu Doha at Four Seasons Hotel Doha, and the dynamic duo leading it is primed to deliver the click-heeled service and richly flavoured cuisine for which the iconic brand is globally renowned. Introducing Annavi Galindo and Mauro Baldari, General Manager and Chef de Cuisine respectively, who are taking one of the world’s largest Nobu restaurants to new heights.

Long the favourite dining destination of locals and international arrivals in the capital of Qatar, Nobu Doha has evolved along with the city’s hospitality scene since first welcoming guests in 2015 to savour the signature Japanese cuisine with Peruvian influences of Chef Nobu Matsuhisa.

Set on a peninsula all its own at Four Seasons Hotel Doha, Nobu Doha is an expansive affair with seating for 440 indoors and outside, including a sushi counter, private dining rooms, and a rooftop lounge overlooking the Arabian Gulf. The restaurant offers menus for intimate dining and splashy affairs alike, including dinner through a six-day week, Friday Brunch, Saturday Lunch, sweet finishes for dessert, and cocktails as striking as sunsets over the city with exotic flavour combinations to match.

General Manager Galindo’s story goes back to the very start of Nobu Doha when, as Assistant General Manager on the pre-opening team, she embraced the finer points of service, a working relationship with Four Seasons, and a generous helping of “Nobu DNA” to guide front-of-the-house operations. “We have always aspired to stay at the top of our game here and keep things interesting to bring in first-time guests and reconnect with regulars,” she says, adding that “even with so many big hospitality names in town, everyone still wants to see what Nobu Doha is about.”

Chef Baldari echoes those sentiments. “Every dish we create is a story told through the style and tradition of Nobu that inspire devotion around the world. The fact that Nobu Doha is the brand’s biggest outlet as well as the leader in the city gives us a lot of build on.”

Creating a real connection between the restaurant team and guests is a priority. Galindo notes that the training program for new hires is “intense,” with servers taught every element of individual dishes and drinks, as well as how to detail the same at the table. “We want our waiters to know everything, even about the salt and pepper,” she says, noting, “Many guests have very precise tastes or need to be careful about food allergies, so we give them everything to know what to expect.”

Galindo brings abundant experience to her new leadership role. Hailing from Malaysia where she studied hospitality and tourism management at college in Kuala Lumpur, she first joined Nobu in Dubai in 2008 as a Hostess Team Leader and received training in public relations before being promoted to Assistant General Manager in 2012.

Two years later, she transferred to opening Nobu Doha, leading a diverse team of more than 60 while managing the dining room, bar, and rooftop lounge. She stayed until 2022, when she moved onto other management opportunities, first with a hospitality company based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, then overseeing new venues for an Indonesia-based luxury lifestyle group.

Meanwhile, Baldari has been part of Nobu since last summer, when he joined the brand in Dubai as Sous Chef. He brought extensive experience with Asian cuisine to the position, just as he does now at Nobu Doha.

Baldari first got an inkling that he was bound for a culinary career as a five-year-old growing up in Puglia in southern Italy, where his father ran the family butchery. “He used to take me to the farm to butcher and divide the animals, and I got very passionate about the process.” That passion grew while helping his mother and uncle cook for big family gatherings.

Upon reaching adulthood, Baldari got started at a Korean restaurant in London, and he quickly fell for the art behind that and other Asian cuisines. He later joined the Sushisamba brand in London, where he rose to Senior Sous Chef.

Finally, after shifting gears for a brief run with an Italian steakhouse, Baldari was recruited by Nobu in Dubai. “Within just a few hours, I knew it was the job for me,” he recalls of his year spent as Sous Chef. “The restaurant was busy, and it had a good environment, and we always used premium products. That’s exactly what I wanted as a chef.”

A year later, the corporate bigwigs at Nobu asked if Baldari might be interested in transferring to Nobu Doha as Chef de Cuisine. The opportunity to assume leadership at the world’s largest Nobu and work in tandem with Four Seasons was too tempting for him to resist. Now overseeing a team of 18 in the kitchen, Baldari goes out of his way to satisfy everyone’s desire to learn and grow. “I think about myself when I was in their position, needing someone who could teach me the techniques to advance. It’s great to be on the other side now moving all of us forward together.”

And what of being the new dynamic duo on the restaurant scene in Doha? Baldari cites the “fresh energy and enthusiasm” that Galindo brings to dining at Nobu Doha, while she acknowledges his talent for dreaming up specials that motivate her team to sell at the table.

“We each have our own energy,” concludes Galindo with a smile, “and we’re both motivated to use it to make Nobu Doha shine.”

For reservations and inquiries about the dining experience at Nobu Doha at Four Seasons Hotel Doha, click here or call/WhatsApp +974 4494 8888.