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Weekend grub: Dhaba-style BBQ meets fine dining at Islamabad's Baradari

Weekend grub: Dhaba-style BBQ meets fine dining at Islamabad's Baradari

The menu at Baradari is what we call "wishful thinking”
Updated 13 May, 2016

Dhaba-style BBQ meets fine dining at Baradari, a seasonal restaurant that opens its doors on summer nights at the pool-side gardens of Islamabad's Serena Hotel.

The buffet at Baradari, though highly priced, is a BBQ haven, and also offers a spread of local dishes and desserts.

The restaurant opened for spring recently, and I decided to take my friends to dinner. It was a treat. Here's how:

What to order

The menu at Baradari is what we call "wishful thinking”.

The four of us split up at the buffet and reunited to discover that each had brought back something different.

Baradari offers a buffet under an open sky
Baradari offers a buffet under an open sky

There were pakoras and haleem in one plate, biryani, tawa machli and nargassi koftas in another. Potato cutlets, mint chutney and mutton nihari was on a third, and I was the only calorie-conscious among the lot who opted for BBQ. How's that for diversity? Baradari checked out on this first buffet essential.

With a focus on Pakistani cusine, Baradari offers a diverse buffet
With a focus on Pakistani cusine, Baradari offers a diverse buffet

As for taste, the biryani tasted a bit bland despite the right mix of veggies and garnishing of dry fruits. The nargassi koftas, however, were a winner! The dish got full marks for presentation: hard boiled eggs, coated with minced meat, were laid on a bed of tomato curry. And it tasted like a grandmother's classic recipe on the very first bite. Piping hot tandoori roti and melt-in-the-mouth kofta was an experience that makes Baradari worth the second trip.

Each recipe is an invention of the head chef's Rehmat Hunzai
Each recipe is an invention of the head chef's Rehmat Hunzai

“Whatever you eat here, is our own recipe, which you will not find in any other restaurant, even in Serena,” claims head chef Rehmat Karim Hunzai.

We were also served two fresh cheese naans on our table as appetizers. The naans were thinner than the usual varieties, and the marriage between cheddar and mozzarella with a light sprinkling of coriander was a success.

Charpayes and gao-takiyas or wrought iron tables, customers can take their pick of setting at Baradari
Charpayes and gao-takiyas or wrought iron tables, customers can take their pick of setting at Baradari

After the first course, a cascade of meat - skewers carrying fish tikka, seekh kebab and chicken boti - soon descended on our table. It was the mutton seekh kebab that's worth recommending to others. The kebabs were tender and spiced just right. It had us going for seconds.

I feel it's hard to get fish tikka wrong, unless it's marinated for too long, which was not the case here. There was nothing special about the chicken boti.

BBQ is Baradari's specialty
BBQ is Baradari's specialty

Although the sound of 'kat-a-kat' and aroma of chicken sajji tempted us to eat some more, we thought it best to now round off our meal with dessert. Kheer in clay pots, kulfa falooda in rabari syrup, mithai made from figs and pumpkin halwa were just some of the options.

“Fig mithai and kulfa are our two most popular desserts. It takes a lot of time and effort to cook these desserts,” Rehmat told us as we helped ourselves.

Damage on the pocket

The buffet at Baradari comes highly priced at Rs 2350+tax.


Baradari is open from 7pm to 11pm. The restaurant is closed on rainy days.

Comments

iRFAN UK May 13, 2016 02:01pm
I don't like eating from outside anymore in Pakistan because of so many stories of below average hygiene in the kitchens. I think the only way to get people like my self to start eating outside again is that all customers should be invited in the kitchens so we can feel satisfied with the level of cleanliness and then really start enjoying the dining out experience once again
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prafulla shrivastava May 13, 2016 02:16pm
Yummy Yummy, I had Nalli Nihari once in a Pakistani Hotel in Bahrain with Butter Nan, it was so delicious, so learned now how to cook it. I have tried it in various Indian Hotels but I could not got that taste which I got in Bahrain. My two brothers are living in US, whenever they for dinner outside their first preference always remain a Pakistani hotel since the quality of food they get in Pakistani Hotel, they donot get anywhere.
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50 Shades of Khaki May 13, 2016 02:28pm
I am sure it must be tasty but I am tired of having same food over and over again. Why don't we experiment with our dishes? And by experiment I do not mean the foreign cuisine - by experiment I mean that our chefs should 'mix and match' and come up with something brand new
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