One would think with so many new eateries opening up this side of the bridge, it would take time for the word to spread of their establishment, let alone to develop a clientele. However, that sure doesn’t seem to be the case with the newest entrant, Pantry that has recently opened its doors where the erstwhile Gun Smoke used to be, off Zamzama, Karachi. Hardly has the café opened its doors and there’s already a twenty-minute to half-hour wait — and this for lunch on a week day.

Admittedly, the double-storey café is not too spacious to begin with, so it doesn’t take too many people to fill up the place, and although the seating is casual and décor simple, the niches on both floors to facilitate service do take up seating space. The windows overlooking the street add an illusion of space to the room though, while the bright paintings on the sponged wall, dark-polished wooden chairs, sofas against the wall and grey granite table tops all serve to drive home the casualness of the décor.

The tag-line of the restaurant is ‘Comfort food with global influence’. However, while there really isn’t so much variety on offer as to boast of global influences the fare available is certainly what most cafes would offer. From the limited fare on the menu we decided to order a couple of starters to whet our appetites before trying the entrees. We opted for Pantry Salad which comprised grilled chicken, lettuce, tomatoes, corn, black beans and mozzarella cheese. Although the ingredients making up the salad didn’t leave anything to be desired, the dressing was far below par. Lacking in salt and far too minty for most, the salad definitely needs a different dressing.

The other starter we tried was lettuce wraps. Basically comprising lettuce cups with a sprinkling of grilled chicken, carrots, cucumber and bean sprouts in them, it came with a choice of three sauces — a sweet and chilli sauce, peanut sauce, and mint chutney. The unanimous verdict was that the wraps tasted the best with peanut sauce, although a combination of all three wasn’t bad either.

From the entrees we ordered one of each category on offer — a sandwich, burger, pasta and pizza — so that we could get a fair idea of the quality of snacks available. The chicken Acapulco, a sandwich in a baguette with avocado, gouda, cilantro and salsa, was disappointing to say the least, as the baguette was not fresh and the sandwich tasted bland. The classic burger, on the other hand, was delicious — the patty was juicy, the bun fresh, and with simple trimmings like onions, pickles, tomatoes and lettuce, the burger was a delight.

The BBQ chicken pizza was also scrumptious. Made with thin crust, the pizza was big enough to be shared by at least two and boasted just the right flavour and toppings. However, the dish that scored full marks and was undoubtedly the best offering from all we tried was Cajun Jambalaya, a pasta entrée comprising linguini, grilled shrimps, peppers and Cajun spice. Moist and with a perfect blend of spices it is a must-try item on the menu.

From the desserts on offer we opted for the chocolate éclair — as it came recommended by the waiter and we were informed that it is made in-house — and the three-layered chocolate cake, which is out-sourced. Our party by and large felt the eatery should stick to out-sourcing its desserts as the former was nothing to write home about, and was in fact, quite dry, while the cake was soft, moist and delectable.

To wash down our meal we ordered green tea and regular tea, as well as Pantry lemonade and peach iced tea. Considering that five of us had ordered green tea the two small teapots brought were not sufficient for all of us so that some of us had to wait for the additional green tea to arrive. The regular tea however was sufficient in quantity, strong and flavourful. A word of advice to the management though — the complimentary biscotti with the tea is much appreciated, but it is imperative that it should be fresh and crisp. The two coolers — Pantry lemonade and peach iced tea — were both refreshing.

The service was surprisingly fast with the starters and entrees although we had been warned that there was a shortage of staff owing to a strike call in the city that day, but the tea took forever to arrive. Perhaps, that was also the reason why some of the items hadn’t tasted fresh. Hopefully, it will prove to be an exception rather than the norm, and the eatery’s pantry will be well-stocked in future with only fresh ingredients!