Last weekend, on my way to Karachi’s French Beach with my son Shakir, we stopped at the French Bakery in Khadda Market for a baguette and some cheese. I was reminded of the days when I spent all my weekends at my rented hut, and cooked dinner on Saturday nights for friends who dropped in. Even when I was by myself, I would barbecue a piece of fish bought from the villagers. Breakfast overlooking the sea was usually in solitary splendour and consisted of a desi omelette and coffee. Those were the days. But the point here is that the French Bakery has gone upmarket since my regular stopovers, and its array of olive oils would now put most Western supermarkets to shame. Unfortunately, the baguette was terrible.

On my current visit to Karachi, I have been impressed by the number of new restaurants that have opened. While pretty pricey, they seem to attract many diners. So clearly, the foodie scene is experiencing a boom, and people are investing in our favourite pastime of eating out. Sadly, standards aren’t very high; but then customers aren’t exacting enough either, though at these prices, we should be getting far better food. It’s easy to drop around 10,000 rupees for two people on a three-course meal. Without wine, this would be considered steep in most restaurants in the West.

A couple of meals at the new (for me, at least) Deli restaurant illustrates this point. My steak on the first visit was acceptable, but as I have pointed out here earlier, even the best piece of undercut needs to be hung for at least a fortnight to lose moisture and concentrate flavour. Nobody I know is doing that here. My main course on my next visit was spaghetti with scallops, and I warned the waiter not to let them get overcooked. In the event, they arrived a bit undercooked, but the pasta was a disaster with mushy strands showing all the signs of amateurs at work. The best thing about The Deli are the desserts which are thoughtfully prepared and beautifully presented. The huge menu, however, does not inspire confidence as it’s hard to imagine a kitchen capable of producing so many dishes at a single meal. It’s far better to have a smaller selection that the chef can handle.

Do any of Karachi’s popular upscale restaurants hit the mark for this food connoisseur?

Côte Rôtie, located at the Alliance Francaise in the space once occupied by Café Flo, is a bit of a mixed bag. Offering sandwiches and a few more substantial dishes, it was a bit of a hit-and-miss on the two occasions I had lunch there. While adequate, it clearly lacked the wow factor. My espresso was burnt, and far too bitter.

Koel, the wonderful art gallery created by Noorjehan Bilgrami, has recently been expanded, and its popular casual café now has more space as a result. Sadly, the menu is a bit uninspired, and the cooking could do with a lot more oomph. I had asked for medium rare steak, but the meat I was served was overcooked beyond redemption, and I left half on my plate.

Xander’s, the restaurant the young flock to, continues to flourish, and under its owner Sikandar Rizvi’s professional guidance now has three new siblings. On my solitary visit, however, my red snapper was a bit overcooked. This is my common complaint, and I think most local chefs have a hard time in judging when the fish is perfectly cooked, or they leave it in a hot pan for a couple of minutes too long.

Going to the upper end of Karachi’s eating establishments, I return to my old favourites: Sakura at the Pearl Continental has an imaginative menu of Japanese dishes cooked with flair. Café Flo capitalises on its wonderful ambience, polished service and occasionally excellent food. But the one restaurant that’s hard to criticise remains Okra, where the cooking is highly assured, and the presentation faultless. Its consistency over the years is due entirely to Ayaz Khan, the owner, who has a meticulous eye for detail, and has put in the hours to make Okra the success it deserves to be.

Published in Dawn, EOS, February 11th, 2018