Mews Restaurant Opens its Doors to Karachi

As Pakistani’s we’re either eating to socialize or socializing to eat, so when a new restaurant opens we all storm the gates. Majority of the time its just a reproduction of one of our old favorites, especially in menu or décor, so there’s always a check on our excitement. However, when HTV received their invite to the Mew’s opening we could feel the rumblings of something different. Mews is a Wholesome Kitchen and Co-owner Neeshay Rabbani explains how their menu strives to be healthy and consists of superfoods, with a mix of comfort foods. “We are a completely wholesome restaurant. All of our sauces, breads, and dips are made in-house. We can thank our food consultant, Samar Hussain, for working with us to create our menu.” We at HTV can get behind that kind of culinary thinking.

Even though the outside street was bumper-to-bumper traffic, the minute you walk into Mews the blaring horns and blinding streetlights are left behind. The décor is a careful balance between old England and new Karachi, with airy wood beamed rooms with modern industrial finishes flanked with cobblestoned pathways. Exposed hanging lights and white washed brick walls complete the feel and the tunnels and pathways into secret enclaves truly make it magical. Kudos to Seher Aziz and Ahmad Mia for this labor of love.

By drawing inspiration from London’s quaint and quirky mews, one already has a clear destination in mind. Neeshay told us “we were fortunate enough to land a spot where it would be unique to use our location into the name for our restaurant,” and co-owner Zainab Pasha elaborated that “The name Mews and our restaurant interior and architecture is inspired by the European cobbled streets, specifically ones you see in London.”  Luckily for us the Mew’s team dedicated themselves to this task and we were transported the second our feet wobbled on the actual cobblestone pathway.

On opening night the space was jam packed with the who’s who of Karachi. You were shoulder to shoulder with a fashionista, a designer, media mogul and even a few HTV anchors! This eclectic mix of people suited Mews and just added to the ambiance. One almost felt they were at the hit party of the year rather than a restaurant opening and I could hear the owners being flooded with private party questions. We were lucky enough to get a few moments alone with co-owners Neeshay Rabbani and Zainab Pasha, and they told us how at Mews “the customer comes first” and they strive to give a unique experience to the Karachi foodie.

Let’s get to the food tasting now since it was a restaurant opening. On the menu for the launch were mini burgers, mac & cheese in smallest of little buckets with the cutest of forks, chips in little buckets and pizzas. As soon as the food left the kitchen, there was a horde of hungry Karachites ready to attack! HTV managed to grab some burgers, chips and mac & cheese buckets and were satisfied with all. Drinks were little cups of bartender concoctions, which refreshed us post burger. Deserts were already laid out, although they lacked the punch a finale after a good meal should have. Pistachio cake was dry and the brownie sadly crumbled instead of being able to chew on, but the main entrees had delicious comfort food potential. However, it’s hard to judge a plate by its tidbits when you’re walking and talking. In order to do a proper food review we will be going back and sitting down for a proper meal. It boasts a healthy menu for the more weight conscious of us so going for a meal can be an easy treat.

Waiters ready to serve

Pictured from left to right: Co-Owners Neeshay Rabbani, Amir Pasha, Zainab Pasha

Mews opens its doors on Wednesday 4^th February from 8:30 AM for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Check out their Facebook page for more details and maybe you’ll be seeing an HTV-er chowing down next to you.