This article is from hungerist.com

Sometimes you want to treat your bae to a nice romantic dinner so you would chose a fancy restaurant with all the bells and whistles. Clearly, these aren’t economical but they provide the best in ambiance, atmosphere, and food. Karachi has several such restaurants that have earned a name in the growing fine dining scene.

So here are our picks for some of the best that the city has to offer:

Cafe Aylanto

Cafe Aylanto excels at fine dining. From the decor, ambiance to the food, everything is pure class. This is perfect for date nights. The food is a mix of pastas, sandwiches, steaks, soups and desserts include frozen and hot drinks. This is an expensive restaurant to go to but your bae will love your forever. Now that’s priceless!

Cafe Flo

Cafe Flo is another expensive fine dining restaurant but this one offers quality French cuisine. You will feel like you’re sitting in a French villa in Paris when you’re there. You may need to familiarize yourself with the menu or take the advice of your server. It’s another classy place for your date night!

Okra

Okara has only 45 seats that calls itself a Mediterranean restaurant. Okra has some of the best vegetarian dishes available. It’s perhaps the best Mediterranean cuisine you can get in town. This is one of the priciest restaurants in Karachi and it’s best to reserve seats in advance. For one of the finest in fine dining, you can’t go wrong with Okra.

Pompei

Pompei is a top-notch Italian restaurant that will satisfy your taste buds and ensure you and your bae have a good time doing so. You get the best of pizzas, pastas, chicken among other dishes. The stuffed chicken is one you should try when you’re there.

Dynasty

If you’re looking for old school fine dining, look no further than Dynasty at Avari Towers. It’s one of the nicest Chinese restaurants in the country. The menu is quite impressive and myself being a Chinese fanatic, it’s an all-time favorite. Everything on the menu is excellent including the chow mein, chicken, seafood and beef. The service is what you’d expect at a hotel in one of the city’s famous five star hotels. Definitely reserve in advance, because it’s a very popular place.

Al Bustan

Movenpick, formerly the Sheraton, has some of the best fine dining restaurants in the city. Al-Bustan is one such place. The menu is so diverse that you’d be wanting to try everything but your stomach may not have the capacity for it. Eggs, Pakistani, Continental, barbecue and more can be found at the brunch. The renovated decor is quite modern and classy. It’s not just great for an outing with your bae but also a nice option for families to dine in style.

The Patio

The Patio is a nice and cosy fine dining establishment that focuses on Pakistani and Pan-Asian cuisine. Compared to places like Aylanto and Flo, it’s not that pricey. Soups, salads, pastas, sandwiches, burgers, grilled chicken and steaks are a few of the different kinds of dishes on offer here. It’s perfect for a weekend date night that won’t be too hard on your wallet. Who says you can’t dine in style without spending too much!

Cotie Rotie

Cotie Rotie is over a year old and is one of the city’s most popular fine dining establishments. The artisanal breads here are the best you’ll get in town. Other than that, the menu will have something for every palette. Salads, open-faced sandwiches, and the bresaola are some of the best items to get there. It’s worth repeat visits so you can try the whole menu with your bae

via: Cotie Rotie/ Facebook

Sakura

Sakura is an old favorite for Japanese cuisine enthusiasts. You get perhaps the best kind of sushi here. It’s quite pricey as its part of Pearl Continent hotel’s restaurants. The other seafood items are quite great too such as the salmon dishes, lobster tails and King prawn. If your bae loves sushi, you owe them a visit to Sakura!

Fujiyama

Sakura may be the highlight of Pearl Continental hotel, but Avari’s Fujiyama is its closest competitor in terms of hotel-based restaurants. These cater not just to local Karachiites, but visitors from other parts of Pakistan and overseas. The decor and ambiance transport you to Japan. The menu items are a bit similar to those you get at Sakura so if you liked the latter, you’d enjoy Fujiyama as well.

Suzie Wong

Like Avari Towers’ Dynasty, Suzie Wong is another classy Chinese Restaurant. It’s part of Marriott hotel in Karachi and for years it’s been a favorite. It’s a nice restaurant to take your significant other out to and if you liked Dynasty’s menu, you’d love Suzie Wong too.

Marco Polo

Marco Polo is PC hotel’s answer to Movenpick’s Al-Bustan. Having been to both several times, it’s hard to pick a winner. I’ve mostly had brunch and breakfast there. From Pakistani to Continental, it’s an excellent place for families since it’s got a nice kid’s menu in their buffet, too.

The East End

When it comes to fine dining that offers the best of local cuisine, you can’t go wrong with the new kid on the block The East End. The menu is designed to give you a main course along with appetizers. So, every item on the menu will be paired with appetizers. The Lahori Charga, Jumbo Prawns, Kaemari Crabs, and Masala Chops are few of the excellent dishes you can have there. It’s hard to beat The East End so for a nice evening out with your bae when you’re craving desi, head to The East End.

Ambrosia 

For excellent Mediterranean cuisine, look no further than Ambrosia. One of the recent entrants to the fine dining scene. The Poricini steak is quite popular there. You can even get pizzas and seafood on the menu. It reportedly has 100 items on the menu and you’d need multiple visits to enjoy the best of its menu. There’s an open kitchen section as well for live cooking.

Cocochan

Cocochan is a recent entry into the fine dining scene. It offers what it calls an Asian Fusion menu. You can choose from a variety of dishes ranging from Thai to Mandarin. It’s transformed Tipu Sultan Road into a unique food street since its recent opening. It’s been getting rave reviews so far and you could visit Cocochan on your next fine dining trip.

Each restaurant offers their own form of fine dining ranging from decor to choice of cuisine. So do share with us your favorite ones.

If you’ve ever been in a situation where you’re trying to make dinner plans but can’t decide which restaurant to go to, then you should check out hungerist.com

Cover image via: cheflingtales.com