January issue 2017

Paramount

The most anticipated restaurant opening of the year lived up to the hype. This Canadian chain is packed to the rafters every night and offers the best Lebanese food in town. The highlights are the flatbread manakeesh, zaatar with cheese and, for those with a particularly large appetite, the mixed grill offers a selection of the best meats on offer.

Arbor

There is only one reason to go to Arbor: the presentation of the blast cake. The waiter comes with a small jug of chocolate sauce and pours it on the outer covering of the cake until it is ‘blasted’ away. Everything else on the menu is ordinary; the poutine seemed to use frozen fries and sausages, while the stir fry beef bowl did not come in a bowl and was devoid of vegetables.There is only one reason to go to Arbor: the presentation of the blast cake. The waiter comes with a small jug of chocolate sauce and pours it on the outer covering of the cake until it is ‘blasted’ away. Everything else on the menu is ordinary; the poutine seemed to use frozen fries and sausages, while the stir fry beef bowl did not come in a bowl and was devoid of vegetables.

Soi

rying to piggyback on the popularity of Chop Chop Wok, Soi offers a similar menu of stir fries as well as other East Asian dishes but without the same quality. The khao suey is unappetising and the wasabi prawns too doused with sauce, while the stir fries are bland.

Fat Sal’s

Hands down the best chicken wings in town. Fat Sal’s Crack and Cheese sandwich, which incorporates mac and cheese, is also a winner. The burgers may not be the best in Karachi but are still worth checking out.

Zaoq

It may seem odd for a Qatari restaurant that serves Pakistani food to open up in Karachi. It’s not as if we do not have plenty of barbeque options already. But Zaoq, which recently opened up in Dolmen Mall Clifton, does have some unique selling points — the batair biryani in particular. The barbeque kababs are also excellent, but not any better than what you would have at any roadside restaurant.

Il Posto

This Italian restaurant on Khayaban-e-Shahbaz has a great ambience, authentic pizza and appetisers to die for. It is the mains — particularly the pastas — that are a slight let-down but in a city with a dearth of good Italian options, Il Posto has still managed to be the best.

Fat Sal’s

Hands down the best chicken wings in town. Fat Sal’s Crack and Cheese sandwich, which incorporates mac and cheese, is also a winner. The burgers may not be the best in Karachi but are still worth checking out.