Regardless of how much you adore Chinese cuisine, enjoy Mexican or love Thai food, there are always some days when all you crave is pure desi food. And on one such day, I decided to try out Habibi, the Pakistani restaurant in I-8 Markaz, Islamabad. The entrance did not seem promising but once inside, we were quite impressed.

The restaurant, that already has two branches in Peshawar, is done up in an antique haveli mode. There is a lot of carved wood, hanging rugs, mirrors and even a few takhts for people who want to enjoy a desi meal in a desi style.

Coming to the main thing, which is food, the menu offers a lot of variety. For a restaurant which, according to its General Manager, aims to provide traditional food, including specialties from all the provinces, the starter menu, surprisingly, offers a mix of continental choices, including fish crackers, chicken wings, Russian salad, coleslaw and chicken pineapple salad. They also have five different types of soups available, all very reasonably priced.

However, it’s with the main course that Habibi shows its forte. The restaurant boasts a long list of specialties that include malai tikka, sikandari boti, barbecue fish, chicken makhni handi, mutton roast boti, sesame fried chicken, seekh kebab and Kabuli pulao. We tried the chicken makhni handi and the seekh kebab, both of which were excellent. The makhni handi melts in the mouth with a burst of flavour; the seekh kebabs are perfectly tender and delicately spiced. The waiters told us that the Kabuli pulao is the most popular dish and gets rave reviews. The best part is that most of the dishes are within the range of Rs200 to 400, which is very reasonable in this day and age.

Habibi also does a special taka tak (or kata kat, as some call it). A spicy mix of chopped up organ meat, taka tak is a mouth-watering delicacy that is definitely worth a try if you can take hot food. For those who prefer something milder, the chicken handi with roghni naan and plain raita is a perfect choice!

If there’s one thing Habibi believes in, it’s variety. The menu offers five different kinds of handi along with five types of karahi. Of the karahis, the chicken jalferezi karahi is a personal favourite, which I highly recommend.

I am not a fan of lamb but those who are will be interested to know that the Habibi full roasted lamb is considered to be one of their many specialties; the lamb has to be pre-ordered and comes with a hefty tag, however, Habibi fans believe it is well worth the price.

The rice menu includes chicken biryani, mutton biryani, chicken/egg fried rice, chicken masala rice and vegetable fried rice; the chicken biryani, with just the right aroma and spice balance, is the clear winner on this list.

The most talked about item on their menu, however, is the Habibi special BBQ platter. It serves up to five people and is a lavish combination of Kabuli pulao, malai tikka, chicken boti, batair, mutton ribs, chicken seekh kebab, beef seekh kebab, chapli kebab and fish tikka. The price, considering the amount of food, is quite reasonable. An excellent choice for a party of meat eaters.

By the time we got done with the main course, we were so full that there was no place for dessert but Habibi does offer a variety of desserts which include ice cream, kheer and gajjar ka halwa (available only in the season). Going by the quality of the food, one can safely assume the desserts to be worth a try.

In spite of its unimposing entrance it is obvious that Habibi is highly popular as the place is jam packed, especially on weekends, and you might have to wait up to forty minutes to get a table. The rush speaks for itself so if you haven’t been to Habibi yet, it might be time to give it a try.