Grilled Jumbo Prawns and the Chocolate Log are winners on Lahore Social's new menu

A trend a lot of restaurants have followed over the years is doing something fresh to mark anniversaries of their launch.

Instead of only embellishing their premises, some restaurants make the wise decision of offering something new to their customers from redoing the interior to relaunching the menu to introducing celebratory deals to a selection of new entrees to the menu.

Recently, on their second anniversary, an upscale eatery, The Lahore Social, created some buzz on social media where posts indicated the restaurant had made certain changes not only to their menu but also to the interior.

Upon entering, if you’ve been here before, you realise the place is lit better, is more spacious, and even upholstery on the furniture is changed. Not bad for starters. The outdoor sitting area has also been redone with the addition of some greenery – perfect weather these days for utilising this space.

Moving on to the food, the Seafood Bisque soup offers a taste of the sea in a bowl of delicious creamy bisque with generous chunks of prawns thrown in.

Among the appetisers, one would need to acquire a taste for the Beef Carpaccio. This is essentially raw beef hammered into a wafer-thin sheet and marinated with basic spices drizzled with a yummy horseradish cream and fresh rocket leaves sprinkled on top. The Spicy Thai Calamari -- deep fried squid in a crispy batter and tossed in a chilli sauce developed in-house -- is recommended if one can tolerate high levels of spice – it’s Thai, after all. Despite being fiery, you keep wanting more of this one.

From the main course, the Roasted Garlic and Chilli Chicken is, again, high on spices. Tender chunks of chicken and slices of mushroom, onion and yellow bell pepper tossed in red chilli sauce are served with vegetable rice with a fresh Thai veggie salad on the side. Warning: order only if spicy food doesn’t trouble you.

The Grilled River Sole is a Mediterranean delicacy. Blocks of grilled sole topped with a yummy, somewhat tangy balsamic reduction are served with leeks, capers, sautéed spinach and potato wedges on the side. Makes for quite a fulfilling meal.

Grilled Jumbo Prawns are another highly recommended item. Scrumptious jumbo prawns grilled to perfection topped with basil leaves and red chilli flakes are served with the most mouth-watering tangy lemon butter sauce, sautéed vegetables and white rice. The sauce was so delicious that I kept sipping it separately.

In the desserts, the soft, wobbly vanilla panna cotta infused with vanilla beans and served with a yummy raspberry coulis is a perfect combo of sweet and fruity sour. The Bread and Butter Pudding, though, is as good as that at most restaurants.

My favourite was the Social Chocolate Log. A soft bar of delicious chocolate (shaped like a log) resting on a bed of crunchy biscuit topped with a ‘surprise crunch’ and served with a dollop of ganache and caramel sauce is a chocoholic’s dream.

Overall, The Lahore Social offers something for everyone: from very spicy to mild, from Thai seafood to Mediterranean to fast food in a setting ideal for official meetings as well as family dinners/lunches. Just be warned, you might end up with a hole in your pocket.

Originally published in Dawn November 20th, 2016