Lilla Pakistan

Restaurant

Restaurant Lilla Pakistan
Sankt Eriksgatan 66
113 20 Stockholm
Sweden

Phone (46) (8) 30 56 46

Website www.lillapakistan.com

Overview

Stockholm has a paucity of good quality Indian/Pakistani restaurants, usually the food is too bland or the decor is that of a cold and uninviting cafe. After some considerable searching on the net, for anything resembling quality, Eva and I came across Restaurant Lilla Pakistan which we decided to try out a few weeks ago.

Lilla Pakistan was established in the early 1990's, and specialises in Pakistani food.

Ambience

Lilla Pakistan is a small, intimate restaurant with dark polished wooden tables, mirrors on the walls and a part open kitchen all of which contribute to a pleasant and inviting atmosphere.

Menu

The menu provided a good selection of Pakistani main courses; fish, meat, chicken and vegetables. However, there were only three appetisers to choose from.

Service

The service was professional and friendly, and advice was also on hand should we have needed it in respect of which wine to accompany our meal.

Food

I chose the Mezban Kae Teen Shorbe to start with. This consisted of 3 different types of soups seasoned with fresh herbs. The soups came in miniature bowls and were excellent. However, one was tomato soup and I would question as to what this really has to do with Pakistani cuisine.

Eva chose the Golshan Barre to start with. This is described on the menu as:

"Lentil dumplings soaked in yoghurt served with freshly chopped onions, tomatoes, chilies, herbs and chaat masala."

Quite honestly this was a complete disappointment, the dumplings were minuscule and hard to detect within the mound of chopped onions etc. Eva was not happy with her choice.

To our view, the appetiser section of the menu requires more attention in terms of choices of dishes on offer, and what actually goes into them.

Fortunately our main courses were better!

I chose the Zafrani Pasanda Fruita; which consisted of marinated tender chunks of lamb roast in a saffron gravy, garnished with fried fruits with ginger, roasted Pakistani pine kernels, with marinated cheese. This was first class, the meat was exceptional tender and flavoursome and was well complemented by the fruits and ginger.

Eva chose the Dahi Gosht for her main course. This was beef cooked in garam masala and yoghurt, a fine dish spicy and stimulating.

To accompany our meal we had Sabzi Ka Pakwan vegetables, potatoes baked with raisins,
fresh herbs and mushrooms; together with two nan breads and rice.

The meal, which included a bottle of sweet German wine, came to 1230SEK before tip.

Overall Opinion

A good quality Asian restaurant, one that Stockholm badly needs. However, as noted, we do feel that the appetisers need more work in terms of choice and content.