Lahore is known for delicious, mouth-watering food and a never-ending variety of dishes on offer. We arrived in the city equipped with a collection of recommendations and a list of places to eat in Lahore, kindly shared with me by Lahori people I connected with on social media. There were many ‘best restaurants in Lahore’ – of course, in a city so dense (population 11m), everyone had their own idea of what the best restaurants in Lahore were. It was actually quite overwhelming! As I sat in the bus making the 4-hour journey to Lahore from Islamabad, I was already imagining the food I would be eating over the next three days. Sampling as many dishes as possible whilst making sure to tick off important ‘must-visit’ restaurants in Lahore was going to be a tactical mission with the short time we had and as first-time visitors to Lahore/Pakistan. So based on my own experience, here are my recommendations for the best restaurants in Lahore you should try if it’s your first time in the city.  It’s a short list that includes a mix of modern, more tourist-popular places, and traditional restaurants more frequented by local customers. MAP INCLUDED (end of post).

BEST RESTAURANTS IN LAHORE 

COOCO’S DEN (Food Street)

When in Lahore you will no doubt make a visit to Badshahi Mosque, one of the most popular attractions and things to see in the city. And why not – it’s beautiful! We were urged to visit one of the restaurants located on Food Street Fort Road, which is a traffic-restricted area just south of the mosque. Some of these restaurants, including Cooco’s Den, have open-air rooftop seating which offer an incredible view towards the mosque grounds and surroundings.

^Food Street Fort Road, Lahore The buildings on Food Street looked colourful and quirky, and I thought Cooco’s Den was the most eccentric of them all! Entry is through a lift that takes you to the 3rd floor, and then through stairs that snake though multi-level outdoor seating areas – make sure you go all the way up, until you can’t anymore!

Cooco’s Den serves traditional Pakistani food – so expect a variety of tikka and karahi dishes. Prices are on the higher end for Lahore – you pay for the view! Our meal for two including mutton karahi, chicken tikka, mixed vegetables, rice, and drinks came to Rs4800 (£24 / $32). This was one of the best restaurants in Lahore for me not because of the food (it was average), but because of the breathtaking views that I’m sure you’ll appreciate if you’re visiting as a tourist :). TIP: Visit Badshahi Mosque an hour before sunset to tie it in with a delicious dinner at Cooco’s Den, as you watch the sky turn orange from the top floor.

MUHAMMADI NEHARI HOUSE (Mozang)

One of the dishes that came highly recommended was ‘nihari‘ (also spelt ‘nehari’). My friend Nizeer from Lahore describes the dish:

Much like hareesa, nihari is something one can have for breakfast or lunch. Its thick gravy cooked with mutton or beef, garnished with green chilies, coriander, ginger, and lemon is served with Sheermal, Roti or Naan.

I HAD TO TRY IT. And THE restaurant in Lahore to eat nihari, according to many-a-local, is Muhammadi Nehari House, located in the Mozang area.

Muhammadi Nehari House specialises in nihari, and you can order the dish with chicken or beef. They also offer it with blood or bone marrow – sadly they ran out of bone marrow when I was there. What a bummer! I absolutely loved this dish and it remains one of my fondest food memories of Pakistan. I’m literally salivating now as I remember it. My travel buddy unfortunately didn’t feel the same – she ordered the chicken and felt that it was way too oily! TIP: Make sure to order the ‘fry’ version – that’s the traditional and more tasty version. And don’t forget to squeeze lime juice into the gravy – it really brings out the flavours  ‘Half plate’ serves 1 person and ‘full plate’ serves two. As you can see from the menu, prices here are on the lower end and the restaurant is frequented by many locals. We were in fact the only foreign visitors there that day. We received curious stares from everyone there, as expected – we were used to it by now. The staff were friendly and helpful despite their limited use of English.

MONAL (Gulberg)

Monal restaurant is located on the top floor of Liberty Plaza, a shopping centre/commercial complex in Gulberg, which is a more developed and modern area of Lahore. Our Uber/Chalo car dropped us off in the parking area downstairs, where we had to take a lift up to the top floor to reach Monal. Monal is known for its buffet lunches and dinners, which is popular and what we went for. A la carte is also available but didn’t seem a good choice for a party of two! TIP: Take the buffet option – you’ll get to sample a good variety of Pakistani dishes, including dessert!

The ambience at Monal is modern and trendy, and you can enjoy spectacular view of the city if you sit outside. In addition to freshly cooked chicken tikka and other meats, they also have a few ‘chinese food’ options which I found amusing! There was a salad bar and a good selection of fruits – this was MUCH appreciated. We found that vegetarian options were extremely limited in the restaurants we visited in Pakistan beforehand. Neither of us were vegetarian but after consuming so much meat, we were desperate for fruit and veg! The buffet dinner was about Rs2100 per person – that’s £10.50 / $14. This is again on the higher end for Lahore.

BUTT KARAHI in Laxmi Chowk

Ok so first things first. ‘Karahi’ is a popular/stable dish in Pakistan – it’s a kind of curry cooked in a pan that is called ‘karahi’. It’s like a wok but with steeper sides. So what is BUTT Karahi? Everyone told me I HAD to try ‘butt karahi’ in Lahore. I thought it must be some kind of special karahi that you could only get in Lahore.. and that:

• it was cooked using chicken butts
• it was cooked using a lot of BUTTer
• both of the above

Well, turns out it’s NONE of the above. As my friend Alex of Lost With Purpose explained, ‘Butt’ is actually a common Pakistani surname, and ‘Butt Karahi’ was the name of the restaurant that served what many Lahori people considered the best karahi in town!