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Best restaurants in Karachi

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Wondering if we can get some reviews and recommendations for places to eat in Karachi?
 
Kolachi

Ghaffar Kabab house

Javaid Nihari

Biryani Center

Afridi Inn
 
Most places on Do Darya(Kolachi,Kababjees,Sajjad etc)

Habib Restaurant,Shahin Shinwari,Dua Restaurant(Highway)

Xanders,Rosatti,Chaupal etc
All of the above are generally expensive.

These are the cheaper places that I frequent with friends:

Javed Nihari,Zahid Nihari,Zameer Ansari,Al-Ghaffar Kabab House,Eaton,Desi Gali,Tooso(for Halwa Puri/Nashta),Baithak and most places on Boat Basin.

Of course it always depends on your taste.You could have the regular fast food places like Burger King,McDonalds,Pizza Hut etc
 
Kowloon. Hands down the best Chinese restaurant in the world, this is coming from a guy who has been to and lived in South East Asian countries. The portions are nice, and the food is insane. Place has been around since the 60s or 70s and employs proper Chinese chefs.
 
Kolachi hands down. Food, service, ambience. Others in do darya are good too, but Kolachi is in a league of its own.
 
Third_Umpire said:
Kolachi hands down. Food, service, ambience. Others in do darya are good too, but Kolachi is in a league of its own.
Click to expand...

Have you had the fortune of having a table in Kolachi that is right inside the waters?



I've only gotten those tables once or twice.... its an awesome experience to have mind blowingly delicious food, with cool sea breeze on hot summer night and waves crashing near your feet.
 
Used to have donizzle by my house in North Nazimabad but I don't know if it's still there. They had a very good kata kut which was pretty popular
 
Syed1 said:
Have you had the fortune of having a table in Kolachi that is right inside the waters?



I've only gotten those tables once or twice.... its an awesome experience to have mind blowingly delicious food, with cool sea breeze on hot summer night and waves crashing near your feet.
Click to expand...

Yes, a couple of times -- you are right, it is an amazing experience. I love the atmosphere there at night, full of life and vibrant. And the karhai among other things is to die for.
 
No one has mentioned Chandni restaurant at Pearl Continental Hotel. Is that still open. BBQ tonight used to be pretty good too.
 
sjahmed23 said:
Used to have donizzle by my house in North Nazimabad but I don't know if it's still there. They had a very good kata kut which was pretty popular
Click to expand...

Donizzle is still there, in fact they expanded. Florence lawn demolished now..
 
Planning a quick trip to Karachi in summer for a wedding.... won't have the time to visit all the places listed in this thread... but which one would you all recommend as the top 2.
 
Last time I visited there was this place next to the beach, I don't remember the name but if you go there you can ask them about the restaurant on the beach. There can't be too many.
 
Pakistanian said:
Last time I visited there was this place next to the beach, I don't remember the name but if you go there you can ask them about the restaurant on the beach. There can't be too many.
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There is a long stretch of beach in Karachi, there must be hundreds of restaurants lining it.... can you narrow down to the patch you visited?
 
Eagle_Eye said:
There is a long stretch of beach in Karachi, there must be hundreds of restaurants lining it.... can you narrow down to the patch you visited?
Click to expand...

The building was like a wooden structure and you could see the sea, it was open air and the food served was the usual Pakistani food you get at most restaurants like kebabs and biryani.
 
Pakistanian said:
The building was like a wooden structure and you could see the sea, it was open air and the food served was the usual Pakistani food you get at most restaurants like kebabs and biryani.
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Kolachi
 
For me for the last 3 years
1. Kolachi
2. BBQ Tonite
3. Shaheen Shinwari. (amazing Karahi Lamb)
 
Alot of great restaurants but the quality service and customer load of Kolachi and Kababjees is almost unparalleled.

Al-Ridan Mandi, those who are a big fan of Arabic rice with chicken/meat. Kunafa in deserts is amazing too., they almost have it as good as the real deal.
 
Suleiman said:
Kowloon. Hands down the best Chinese restaurant in the world, this is coming from a guy who has been to and lived in South East Asian countries. The portions are nice, and the food is insane. Place has been around since the 60s or 70s and employs proper Chinese chefs.
Click to expand...

Yaaar purana hogaya ab Kowloon and Imperial court, I live right nearby :D
 
classic said:
For me for the last 3 years
1. Kolachi
2. BBQ Tonite
3. Shaheen Shinwari. (amazing Karahi Lamb)
Click to expand...

BBQ Tonite used to be good... but now it is severely over-rated. They lost their edge when they massively bumped up their prices and reduced quantities. That being said it is still always a packed house on the weekends.
 
I'm guessing we aren't talking about fast food or street food

Nawab at zamzama is my favourite restaurant. Try their chicken makhni. Their naans are amazing too.
Kolachi and BBQ tonight are also good.
For fine dining, Cafe Flo and Pompeii are amazing
Dynasty in Avari has some really good Chinese food. Their tiger prawn is the best I've had anywhere
Javaid nihari is the best nihari in the world
 
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Karachi easily has the best food out of any city I've been to in Pakistan or outside it. There's just no comparison. Boat basin is full of gems too. I forgot to mention Tipu burger at boat basin which is one of my favourites and is crazy cheap. After eating something from boat basin or even after school (since it was next to my school) I usually used to go to Baloch ice cream and get their chocolate chip. So good. The roll places are also really good
 
For hanging out with friends I recently started going to espresso a lot. Food is surprisingly very good and the ambience is nice too
 
the problem is that there are too many great options in karachi according to sector/budget and cuisine

if your budget is under pkr 1,000 - i can suggest 2-3 options which you would love

if you wanna go fine dining and budget is ok, theres other options where bill will run upto pkr 3,500.

But if its a blind suggestion then taking everything into account Id say Kolachi since it captures Karachi well. Great desi food by the sea side with cool breeze on your face and a nice ambiance. This is an experience you wont get anywhere else in the country because lets say another place can even match the quality of food certainly it wont be able to replicate the setting.

Id still say in terms of quality of food theres other places but for a non-resident Kolachi is the best place for desi food
 
dont go to BBQ tonight

its so 90s...
 
aliasad1998 said:
I'm guessing we aren't talking about fast food or street food

Nawab at zamzama is my favourite restaurant. Try their chicken makhni. Their naans are amazing too.
Kolachi and BBQ tonight are also good.
For fine dining, Cafe Flo and Pompeii are amazing
Dynasty in Avari has some really good Chinese food. Their tiger prawn is the best I've had anywhere
Javaid nihari is the best nihari in the world
Click to expand...

never had nawab. gotta try it

Yes Javed Nihari is the best but recent their owner died and apparently new management has let standards slip a bit. Still prefer it over the overrated Zahid nihari

Ghaffar Kabab house is next level and so is Waheed.... I only had it first time like 15 months ago and I regret not having gone to these places before. In high school i used to hang around with what can be termed as a 'burger' crowd so these places were not on my radar much so its a regret i have discovered them only in recent years..

Still the beauty is that even without being exposed to this plethora of food places, there were still many great options
 
waleed88 said:
Alot of great restaurants but the quality service and customer load of Kolachi and Kababjees is almost unparalleled.

Al-Ridan Mandi, those who are a big fan of Arabic rice with chicken/meat. Kunafa in deserts is amazing too., they almost have it as good as the real deal.
Click to expand...

yes a visitor to karachi should go to ridan to have mandi lol.

These mandi places popping up every week will all go bust soon. Just a fad imo
 
Glad to see Javed Nihari still making the it to the top of the lists here consistently. I have fond memories of eating there with my friends. Best Nihari I have ever had in my life, especially the maghaz Nihari is out of this world good. Not sure how things work there now but if one wanted to eat there they had stand on top of another customer eating at a table and wait for them to finish so you get that table. Imagine eating while another person is watching over you, waiting impatiently for you to finish and I am sure, drooling with hunger and desire.
 
Eagle_Eye said:
So far it's:

Kolachi

Kowloon

Cafe Aylanto
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i suggest take out kowloon from this list. I live here and actually know people in the restaurant business. So if it was really top level id know. (Maybe the inf

Add ghaffar kabab house.

(If Chinese/Asian has to be the cuisine then Id say Ginsoy or Fuschia (thai) would be a better option)
 
just came back from visiting Karachi after 10 years, there sure are a lot of restaurants everywhere, the problem is getting to them, traffic situation is just ridiculous, visited the following;

KebabJees on the sea front, amazing food and amazing location, specially at night.
China garden near Tariq Road, very average.
Arizona Grill, ok if you've tired of eating Kebab Paratah
Chopal, all you can eat buffet with built in bbq grills on the tables, limited food selection but the seafood bbq was awesome.


Question i have is why do people in Karachi think it's ok to abuse and treat restaurant staff like 2nd class citizens in order to get "better" service from them? noticed this almost everywhere, even more so within my own relatives who are working to middle class at best.
 
Salman said:
just came back from visiting Karachi after 10 years, there sure are a lot of restaurants everywhere, the problem is getting to them, traffic situation is just ridiculous, visited the following;

KebabJees on the sea front, amazing food and amazing location, specially at night.
China garden near Tariq Road, very average.
Arizona Grill, ok if you've tired of eating Kebab Paratah
Chopal, all you can eat buffet with built in bbq grills on the tables, limited food selection but the seafood bbq was awesome.


Question i have is why do people in Karachi think it's ok to abuse and treat restaurant staff like 2nd class citizens in order to get "better" service from them? noticed this almost everywhere, even more so within my own relatives who are working to middle class at best.
Click to expand...
it does happen as much as high end places but i get what you mean.

also dont like when families take their help/maids but dont give them anything and make them wait or stand.

its becoming better now though with social media shaming of such incidents.

as for your choice of food places. Kababjees is only one where i would personally go. Kolachi is a slight upgrade on that but tbh its almost same. Kababjees is slightly cheaper and is less crowded so i prefer that sometimes
 
waleed88 said:
Alot of great restaurants but the quality service and customer load of Kolachi and Kababjees is almost unparalleled.

Al-Ridan Mandi, those who are a big fan of Arabic rice with chicken/meat. Kunafa in deserts is amazing too., they almost have it as good as the real deal.
Click to expand...

Al-Ridan is severely overrated.It’s lost it’s uniqueness now.The few times I’ve been there,the service was horrible too.
 
Slog said:
kowloon might be outdated info. never had it
Click to expand...

Is Kowloon one of those Chinese places on Tariq Road?I’ve been to those chinese restaurants like a million times when I was younger.I only remember Imperial but I’ve forgotten the names of the other 2.They’re good but I liked Ginsoy better(although Ginsoy is more expensive).
 
Also if you’re visiting Karachi,you should go to Sindhi Muslim society.It has like 25 restaurants and cafe’s with a lot of variety:Chinese,Fast food,desi etc
 
aliasad1998 said:
Karachi easily has the best food out of any city I've been to in Pakistan or outside it. There's just no comparison. Boat basin is full of gems too. I forgot to mention Tipu burger at boat basin which is one of my favourites and is crazy cheap. After eating something from boat basin or even after school (since it was next to my school) I usually used to go to Baloch ice cream and get their chocolate chip. So good. The roll places are also really good
Click to expand...

Wait a minute which school did you go to in Pak?
 
Slog said:
St Michaels gaya hoga

Kgs kids too Burger to go to tipu burger :))
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KGS crowd never came across as that pappu (ISB for burger). We had quite a few in LUMS and they had a distinct Pindi boy vibe. One of my closest friends was from KGS and he was the most awami, down to earth guy I knew (even compared to people from places like Multan and Sialkot).
 
DW44 said:
KGS crowd never came across as that pappu (ISB for burger). We had quite a few in LUMS and they had a distinct Pindi boy vibe. One of my closest friends was from KGS and he was the most awami, down to earth guy I knew (even compared to people from places like Multan and Sialkot).
Click to expand...

ofcourse its a stereotype

though its also possible the ones you met were KGS only from A-Levels
 
Isn't St Michael's a clothing brand?

The legendary Meera, of Lolywood fame, once stated that St Michaels was her favorite designer. She called him S.T. Mitchell though.
 
Slog said:
ofcourse its a stereotype

though its also possible the ones you met were KGS only from A-Levels
Click to expand...

Brings back memories. Do well in O-Levels or else you wont get into KGS A-Levels. The cream of Karachi's O-Level candidates used to get into KGS for A-Levels back in my day. I wonder if its still the case. A buddy of mine went there and told me that there was a distinct class divide between the Old KGS kids and the new ones that joined in A-Levels.
 
Slog said:
St Michaels gaya hoga

Kgs kids too Burger to go to tipu burger :))
Click to expand...

Wasnt KGS Clifton a junior school only? Or has that changed? I cant picture junior burger kids walking all the way from KGS to Boat Basin
 
namak said:
Wasnt KGS Clifton a junior school only? Or has that changed? I cant picture junior burger kids walking all the way from KGS to Boat Basin
Click to expand...

theirs 2 in clifton

the junior one and on the same road a senior one (o levels and a levels)

the saddar one is middle school now
 
namak said:
Brings back memories. Do well in O-Levels or else you wont get into KGS A-Levels. The cream of Karachi's O-Level candidates used to get into KGS for A-Levels back in my day. I wonder if its still the case. A buddy of mine went there and told me that there was a distinct class divide between the Old KGS kids and the new ones that joined in A-Levels.
Click to expand...

I went to St. Pats.... I got into KGS for my 9As but I missed the deadline for fees payment and they cancelled my offer.


And you are right there is a class divide between Old Grammarians and New Grammarians. The older ones are what you would define as elite class. Alot of my buddies in uni were new grammarians and I gelled well with them, but never with the old ones who were too snobbish. I was only on talking terms with one or two of the old ones.

KGS is too parhai focused. There is no time for extra-curriculars like sports there. At Pats we had more sports than parhai lol.
 
namak said:
Brings back memories. Do well in O-Levels or else you wont get into KGS A-Levels. The cream of Karachi's O-Level candidates used to get into KGS for A-Levels back in my day. I wonder if its still the case. A buddy of mine went there and told me that there was a distinct class divide between the Old KGS kids and the new ones that joined in A-Levels.
Click to expand...

I got into kgs in 7th grade but that divide rumour is mostly not true. Most of my friends are people who were in KGS from nursery or 3rd grade and even in A levels, the new admissions make friends pretty easily. Of course it depends on the person too
 
I thought I had a list of two or three to go with but now I am not so sure reading the rest of the responses.

With no budgetary restrictions..... which two restaurants you guys would recommend to get the best of Karachi ... be it fine dining or street food. Not interested in western cuisine offerings, as I get enough of that in London.
 
Eagle_Eye said:
I thought I had a list of two or three to go with but now I am not so sure reading the rest of the responses.

With no budgetary restrictions..... which two restaurants you guys would recommend to get the best of Karachi ... be it fine dining or street food. Not interested in western cuisine offerings, as I get enough of that in London.
Click to expand...

Go to Nawab, Kolachi, Javaid Nihari and Tipu Burger
 
Funny no one mentioned Hot n Spicy... If I were on a small budget and need to fill my belly, two HnS spicy chicken rolls would do the trick.
 
Syed1 said:
Funny no one mentioned Hot n Spicy... If I were on a small budget and need to fill my belly, two HnS spicy chicken rolls would do the trick.
Click to expand...

Lmao I came back to this thread to post this too. I used to go to the one near Clifton. The insane variety of rolls, damn....

And to answer your earlier question, I grew up in Pak and went there recently.
 
Syed1 said:
Funny no one mentioned Hot n Spicy... If I were on a small budget and need to fill my belly, two HnS spicy chicken rolls would do the trick.
Click to expand...

True. There's also a nice roll place near boat basin called Cool Inn. Their crispy chicken roll is great
 
Arham_PakFan said:
Al-Ridan is severely overrated.It’s lost it’s uniqueness now.The few times I’ve been there,the service was horrible too.
Click to expand...

Yes thats true actually, happens to everything that becomes too mainstream. Their main issue is they are losing quality of service after they underestimated the amount of customers they will make.

Its first branch was at tariq road exactly where I lived, so kinda feel an ownership towards it.

However it caused outrageous traffic jams because random people parked the car anywhere :))
 
waleed88 said:
Hot n Spicy ka Garlic Mayo Rolll
Click to expand...

IDK how old you are but... aek zamana tha we would go to Playdium and get 3 hours game time for 100 ruppees and have dinner at Hot n Spicy which was right next to it. 50 ruppees for two rolls and one bottle.


Boys night out in 150 ruppees. LOL


Times have surely changed.
 
Syed1 said:
How does Kowloon stack up against Ginsoy? I've had Ginsoy and it was AMAZING.
Click to expand...

Ginsoy is great, they had their time. Have gone to both branches, its one of those trendy chinese restaurants that keep opening from time to time, now there is Bamboo and Soii.

Chop Chop Wok is another place if you wanna try Chinese/Thai/Vietnamese noodles, exclusive 'chinese noodle' place.

The best and most expensive Chinese has to be Dynasty. All relatives who come from abroad and are in the mood of getting the most expensive chinese (by Pakistani standards but not that much if you convert it too Dollars or Pounds) should goto Dynasty in Avari Towers :))

What I've noticed about Kowloon and Imperial court, old customers have kept their loyalty they keep going to it despite Tariq Road itself classing down a few notches.

Also Imperial court's serving size is really big, so if you order something it comes in real big size they don't have medium/small sizes.
 
Slog said:
yes a visitor to karachi should go to ridan to have mandi lol.

These mandi places popping up every week will all go bust soon. Just a fad imo
Click to expand...

It started right near my house, so I kinda feel any ownership towards it :D

Before they had it, Hanifia did, but they never advertised it as an exclusive Mandi place,

Al-Ridan actually changed the landscape and introduced something new.

Sitting on floor, arabic style dinner with cubicles. Now its become too mainstream.

Reminded me of Saudi Arabia where I spent a big part of my teenage
 
Syed1 said:
IDK how old you are but... aek zamana tha we would go to Playdium and get 3 hours game time for 100 ruppees and have dinner at Hot n Spicy which was right next to it. 50 ruppees for two rolls and one bottle.


Boys night out in 150 ruppees. LOL


Times have surely changed.
Click to expand...

Lol that so true, now its more like a 100 rupees for a small roll
 
Oh Hanifia hunter fry is a must visit for me whenever I go to KHI..... we used to go to their one and only Saddar branch when we were kids. Now they have other branches too, I go to the Boat Basin one.
 
waleed88 said:
Yes thats true actually, happens to everything that becomes too mainstream. Their main issue is they are losing quality of service after they underestimated the amount of customers they will make.

Its first branch was at tariq road exactly where I lived, so kinda feel an ownership towards it.

However it caused outrageous traffic jams because random people parked the car anywhere :))
Click to expand...
I know what you mean man.I don’t live on Khalid bin Waleed road but my nani’s flat is there,near Sunley motors.Most of my friends also live near there so I frequent Tariq Road/Bahadurabad/SMCHS quite often.I honestly think it’s the best area in Karachi.Not as hi-fi as Defence or KDA,but it has the ‘ronaq’

Have you been to the new Mandi House on Shaheed-e-Millat?Next to Burger Shack?
 
Last edited:
Arham_PakFan said:
I know what you mean man.I don’t live on Khalid bin Waleed road but my nani’s flat is there,near Sunley motors.Most of my friends also live near there so I frequent Tariq Road/Bahadurabad/SMCHS quite often.I honestly think it’s the best area in Karachi.Not as hi-fi as Defence or KDA,but it has the ‘ronaq’

Have you been to the new Mandi House on Shaheed-e-Millat?Next to Burger Shack?
Click to expand...

No I haven't but I've heard its aamazing!!
 
So

Hot n Spicy vs Red Apple?

For me it used to be Red Apple for longest time but in past 5-6 years. HnS has left it behind. But for food asides from rolls Im sure Red Apple is still boss.
[MENTION=135196]waleed88[/MENTION] , [MENTION=138254]Syed1[/MENTION] [MENTION=1113]alias[/MENTION]ad1992 [MENTION=139765]Arham_PakFan[/MENTION]
 
Slog said:
So

Hot n Spicy vs Red Apple?

For me it used to be Red Apple for longest time but in past 5-6 years. HnS has left it behind. But for food asides from rolls Im sure Red Apple is still boss.
[MENTION=135196]waleed88[/MENTION] , [MENTION=138254]Syed1[/MENTION] [MENTION=1113]alias[/MENTION]ad1992 [MENTION=139765]Arham_PakFan[/MENTION]
Click to expand...

100% agree..... I was firmly in the Red Apple camp for so long... besides Red Apple was established quite a while before HnS came on the scene. However, RA tikkay and kabab are still really good.
 
Most of the restaurants mentioned here are cheap ones and they are detrimental to the health.If you are coming from abroad,I would advise to go to fine dining as its likely that you would be able to afford them.I have gone to few fine dining restaurants in Karachi like Chatterbox and they were nothing in comparison to Lahore fine dining restaurants at MM Alam
 
JackTR said:
Most of the restaurants mentioned here are cheap ones and they are detrimental to the health.If you are coming from abroad,I would advise to go to fine dining as its likely that you would be able to afford them.I have gone to few fine dining restaurants in Karachi like Chatterbox and they were nothing in comparison to Lahore fine dining restaurants at MM Alam
Click to expand...

He's specifically said not western fine dining. Even then most mentioned here are fine and hygenic

Also Chatterbox can hardly be termed as a high end fine dining. It's mostly university students who frequent it
 
Slog said:
So

Hot n Spicy vs Red Apple?

For me it used to be Red Apple for longest time but in past 5-6 years. HnS has left it behind. But for food asides from rolls Im sure Red Apple is still boss.
[MENTION=135196]waleed88[/MENTION] , [MENTION=138254]Syed1[/MENTION] [MENTION=1113]alias[/MENTION]ad1992 [MENTION=139765]Arham_PakFan[/MENTION]
Click to expand...

Chicken broast/Masala Broast/Zinger burger is pretty good for Red Apple.

Never really tried anything else, rolls are ok

Eaton has also has a very good chicken boti roll
 
Slog said:
So

Hot n Spicy vs Red Apple?

For me it used to be Red Apple for longest time but in past 5-6 years. HnS has left it behind. But for food asides from rolls Im sure Red Apple is still boss.
[MENTION=135196]waleed88[/MENTION] , [MENTION=138254]Syed1[/MENTION] [MENTION=1113]alias[/MENTION]ad1992 [MENTION=139765]Arham_PakFan[/MENTION]
Click to expand...
I like both.Have to say that Hot and Spicy has good rolls but Red Apple has better variety of everything else.
 
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