The ice carvings at the Subzero Ice Lounge.
Subzero Ice Lounge gives its visitors a first-of-its-kind experience in Qatar. The novelty of the experience lies not in the hot beverages served at the lounge though they are extremely good but is mainly due to lounge’s glacial setting.
In an arctic atmosphere below-zero temperatures, surrounded by dazzling statues of ice, visitors at ‘Subzero Ice Lounge’ get a unique experience in Qatar.
The glacial atmosphere gives visitors the feeling as if they are sitting inside an Igloo, where the temperature reaches 9 degrees below zero.
‘Subzero’is the brain child of a young Qatari entrepreneur, Abdulaziz Al Hammadi, who has overcome many obstacles to make his dream coffee shop a reality.
“This idea came when I was at the Hilton Hotel in America. I saw people wearing a jacket before entering a coffee shop. I was curious and checked why would they wear a jacket in hot weather. Interior of the coffee shop was made of ice. I wanted to bring the idea here with modifications by adding local Arabic touch to it. But it was not easy, I had to face many difficulties before making it a reality,” Al Hammadi told The Peninsula.
Upon his return to Qatar, Al Hammadi started working on ‘Subzero’. But it was a challenge to create a coffee shop made of ice, especially due to high humidity experienced in the country. He hired a specialist Italian company for the ice carvings. Another company from Poland provided with the artificial ice. Finally, his dream coffee shop became a reality in January this year.
“We have started receiving very good response from the customers. Most of the people who come here are Qataris and Gulf nationals. There are others who also visit Subzero to feel the new experience,” said Al Hammadi.
Visitors to the ‘‘Subzero’ situated in The Pearl are provided with gloves, winter shoes and heavy Arabian coats known as ‘Farwa’ to protect them from extreme cold inside. Finely-made ice sculptures of cannon, camel and traditional items such as Arabic coffee pots are on display at Subzero. Interestingly, the benches and tables are also made of ice they are covered with thick fabric sheets and tables have holes to keep the served coffee cup hot.
They serve delicious hot drinks such as hot chocolate, cappuccino, apple cinnamon drink, sahlab, and ginger pineapple drink among others. The drinks are served in specially designed cups to keep the drink hot. The temperature inside the coffee shop can been seen in digits on the cups.
“Chiller machines are kept to maintain the temperature low. There will be no harm to the body and health because the cooling system kills all bacteria in your body due to low temperature. The temperature in the corridors also matches the inside temperature,” said Al Hammadi.
“We will be introducing many new features to ‘Subzero’ soon. We will introduce new items to the menu in the future including food items and more variety of drinks. Also we are planning to add more ice sculptures and a play area for children with real snow and games. We will be soon bringing a machine to make crystal ice from Italy,” said Al Hammadi.
Visitors to ‘Subzero’ also have a chance to record their memories at the main door. They can write their thoughts on coloured padlocks and be part of ‘Subzero’s history. Building upon the success of ‘Subzero’ in Qatar, Al Hammadi is planning to take the idea to Oman in a new venture.
