Gifto's Lahore Karahi

From the outside, Gifto’s Lahore Karahi on Southall Broadway looks like it might be a cinema or a sprawling furniture shop. But behind the huge sheets of glass is a Pakistani restaurant that feels much warmer than the stark, cavernous space suggests. The rows of long, canteen-style sharing tables are where families pile in, in a jumble of noise, as sizzling skillets of fragrant chapli kebab are whisked to tables. Booths pushed up against bare walls feel like somewhere you could hunker down in, as attentive staff buzz about. Get the melting spring lamb cooked on the bone if it’s on. If fall-apart meat in a rich, tomatoey, ginger and cardamom-spiked masala sounds good to you, the chef’s special peshwari chicken is also a must-order. There’s nothing to steal focus from the food in a stripped-back spot like this, and Gifto’s clearly doesn’t need the accessories.

photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch

photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch

photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch

photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch

photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch