Salt’n’Pepper Islamabad: has the franchise been spread too thin?

Islamabad is fast becoming the culinary capital of the country but with so much competition Salt’n’Pepper needs to stand out, but does it?

Anyone who has been to Peshawar will know of Namak Mandi and Chief Burger as the places to eat, whereas in Karachi and Lahore have more eateries than one can count though for me personally Hot’n’Spicy and Cafe Zouk really stand out. In Islamabad there are
restaurants aplenty and the market here is more unforgiving than in other cities.

Nearly every chain and restaurant from around the country is looking to open a branch here, barring a few. Barbeque Tonite, Roasters, One Potato Two Potato, Cock’n’Bull and many others are just a few examples of chains expanding their business in Islamabad.

Now it seems that Salt’n’Pepper is looking to do the same with their restaurant that has recently opened in Blue Area.

Let us get a few quick things out of the way: Firstly, the ambience is fantastic, however that is on the first and second floors and barring the fact that when I went there the DJ seemed intent on repeating the same song over and over again.

Secondly, parking is not a problem, which is great for any restaurant. There is valet parking as well for those who prefer leaving the task of finding an empty parking space to a more qualified individual.

Thirdly, the food is average and not worth the price charged. The food is not bad; it just does not stand out. The Chicken Manchurian tasted oddly similar to the Chicken Sashlik and the Chicken Chilli Dry had too much chilli and was a bit too dry for my
liking.

The steaks were decent, but in all honesty one could find a better steak elsewhere. The stuffed chicken on the other hand was rather enjoyable and the barbeque was not half bad either.

Yet, when it comes to competition, Salt’n’Pepper needs to raise its game in ensuring that everything on its menu is as good as the one or two items that really stood out, otherwise it may not find Islamabad as comfortable a place to stay in as some of the
other, more successful, restaurants.

Short URL: https://www.newspakistan.pk/?p=15359

Posted by Musa Afridi on Mar 10 2012. Filed under Opinion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry