Daily Times

LAHORE: About four and a half years back, I heard about this restaurant in town which had created quite a stir in the market.

That’s the beauty of Lahore city. Good or bad, everyone gets to know as fast as possible, especially when it comes to food. But with this particular venture, being a food critic, I was being shamed in public and kind of being ostracised when people got to know I hadn’t tried it as yet. To break these disturbing reactions, I grabbed another journalist friend, set up a time with the owner and headed over to Grill & Bake, nestled on the extension of Model Town.

I remember it was winter season; pleasant during the evening, and so we opted to sit in the adjacent lawn, dedicated to the restaurant. And then Afrin Hussain arrived, greeting us with a courteous smile and briefing to us about his “third baby” – Grill & Bake.

So from that time onwards and up until now, I have personally visited Afrin Hussain’s venture s myriad of times and have by now tried every single dish and meal on the menu, and that included the drink as well. All the recipes of the dishes you see on the menu, have been provided by Hussain’s wife Safana. And so today, five years later, on the restaurant’s anniversary, I’m here to tell my readers why they should be heading over to Grill & Bake and not run-of-the-mill restaurants instead, that we see so many of these days.

The main focus is on the quality, standard and the variety of food, rather than adding pomp and show to the premises, which obviously wouldn’t rake in clients.

There is a something for everyone approach with chicken, mutton and beef varieties incorporated into every meal.

The helpings are aplenty and lavish and make up for the amount which we are paying.

The hygiene element is taken care of. Right from the vegetables to the marination and the seasoning, as well as the dough, and the meat – everything is served fresh. Canned or tin food/veggies is a big no at Grill & Bake kitchen. The veggies and the meat is disposed off after a set time frame. The entire food is prepared in olive oil.

The food is flavourful, rich in taste and exquisite in its presentation. The service is swift and highly accommodating. Grill & Bake sees days when the entire premises are packed.

The cheese naan appetiser is a must-order. It’s light, scrumptious and highly addictive.

The meetha naan and the chai varieties are other specialties copyrighted in perfection by Grill & Bake. Hussain tells me in winter season, people mostly come in just for the meetha naan and the chai which quite literally sell like hot cakes. He says if he had an option, he could just go with meetha naan and chai and let his restaurant earn double solely relying on these two.

Grill & Bake have recently launched their chicken and beef burgers, served with sautéed mushrooms, grilled broccoli and lots of potato wedges.

I feel desi food is the strongest part of the menu of Grill & Bake and so on their fifth anniversary, the restaurant has only gone from strength to strength in that order.

Published in Daily Times, November 11^th 2017.