Karachiites are notoriously finicky diners and due to globalisation have increasingly sophisticated palates. Restaurants have been regularly springing up like mushrooms in the city and equally quickly shutting down- sometimes in the space of a few short months. It really is the survival of the fittest in the restaurant business, where the survival of any good restaurant or café is wholly dependent on the quality of the food that is on offer. Which brings us to one my favourite places to dine: Xander’s Café.
This is one café which is almost always packed full of eager diners of almost every age and description. Expect to mingle with the gym crowd and office goers early morning, and with moms on the school run as the day wears on. Later of course packs of teenagers can be seen happily eating away; suffice it to say that no matter what time of the day I have happened to eat at Xander’s, it is pretty much always packed to full capacity. The fashionable and the not so fashionable people can all be seen filtering in and out throughout the day and as such it is not uncommon to see people dressed in their trendiest, undoubtedly making this a place to see and to be seen. None of this of course would have been possible if Xanders wasn’t consistently serving amazing and quality fare – albeit all non desi, which suits most people including me just fine. I mean the last thing I want to eat when I step out to eat is more desi food. I get enough of that at home. Xanders has an extensive menu offering everything from smoked salmon pizza to tacos and granola bowls. Having tried almost 80 percent of the menu I would have to say that almost everything is of superlative quality, and prepared to the highest standard, even if not to my particular taste. Here is a review of some of my particular favourites from their menu.
1. Xanders Crispy Calamari: this is one of the most popular items on the menu. The calamari is lightly battered and deep fried, and is served on a bed of assorted mixed greens, with a sweet chilli and a soy sauce dip and a generous smattering of finely chopped green onions and crunchy fried garlic slivers. The flavours are a delicious combination of umami, sweet and sour. The calamari is always prepared to perfection and has never been rubbery or chewy. For a deep fried dish it certainly tastes very light.
MY VERDICT: 9.5/10
2. The Norwegian Smoked Salmon Pizza: this is as far away as you can get from the desi style tikka and fajita pizza; which I personally find pretty unpleasant to my taste buds. Their in house wood fired oven ensures that you get the crispiest thin crust pizza. The Norwegian is a delicious combination of a sour cream, dill, capers and onion base topped with a generous portion of smoked salmon. What’s not to love here? A definite recommendation for the diner with a more sophisticated palate.
MY VERDICT: 9.5/10
3. Pasta Alfredo: The word alfredo means a pasta sauce that incorporates cream, garlic, butter and parmesan cheese. Now you may feel like you have put on weight by just reading this sentence! However this very delicious combination of ingredients is like eating big bowl of great Italian comfort food. The penne pasta has grilled chicken in it as well which adds a smoky flavour to the dish. Best to try this calorific entrée when when you are having a skinny day!
MY VERDICT: 8.5/10
4. Dark Chocolate Tart with Salted Caramel: Like most Pakistanis I have an incredible fondness for desserts; it is practically unthinkable to end a restaurant meal without perusing the dessert menu and ordering something. In fact like many people, I find the dessert to be an integral part of the meal rather than an afterthought. I absolutely love this dark chocolate Tart.. it has been known to magically uplift your mood and spirits if you are having a challenging day. It is practically food therapy! The unctuous creamy chocolate dissolves in your mouth leaving a very bittersweet taste of good quality dark chocolate. The salted caramel sauce adds the right complementary flavour to the chocolate and biscuit of the tart. My only minor criticism of this dessert would be the rather tiny helping which always make me wanting more. Xander’s you need to work on the portion size of your desserts!
MY VERDICT: 10/10
For coffee lovers in the city here is a list of all the famous Coffee Houses in Karachi.