For quite some time I had been hearing of the wonders being conjured up by this new eatery in DHA’s DD sector near Masoom’s bakery. The young and bold, and trained at that, chefs at ‘Mouthful’ leave you wondering what next.

Greeting you is a bold poster of Einstein and his E=MC2 with the great scientist sticking his tongue out, one immediately understands that this is a very different sort of place. As I settled down with my partner we decided to try out the traditional with the modern. The cooking takes place right in front of your eyes, and this rules out the raiders of the Ayesha Mumtaz squad from finding much wrong by the ‘rules’. This is a very comforting thought in these ‘hot times’. The best thing is that all their ingredients are ‘organic’ and they cook in olive oil. So our order was very simple.

We liked the open ‘tandoor’ style of barbeque, so we ordered ‘Chillo Kebabs’. The last time I had them was at Baking Versa and they were amazing. But then it is served with amazing ‘Zafraan Rice’. It seems ‘Mouthful’ is out to match anything that the legendary tandoor in Gowalmandi can throw at you. Next we ordered ‘Haryali Paneer’, and this amazing Kashmiri dish is hard to come by in Lahore.

Lastly, and this was so because a human cannot consume more than is humanly possible (a dear journalist friend once could, not now), a ‘Beer Can Chicken’. I must confess the title of the dish was attractive, but we were assured that the beer was non-alcoholic (Made in Saudi Arabia is available in Jeddah… what a laugh!!). This is slow-cooked in a clay pot and the taste just floats through. Uummh.

The ambiance is calming, yet very attractively modern, and the service prompt, sort of. The ‘Chillo Kebabs’ were amazing even though I am not a fan of chicken kebabs. Once cold they acquire a ‘rubbery’ property. But not these ones as they seem mixed with pepper and onions. The rice was excellent and what a nice presentation.

The ‘Haryali Paneer’ came through as well cooked with considerable understanding of this delicacy, and the ‘Beer Can Chicken’ was a masterpiece. The strands of chicken just melted in the mouth laced with a marination that comes because of the slow-cooking. Mind you if you want this dish you must order well before time. So my advice is book in advance. The good things in life take time to overcome … get the drift. My partner gave me a sly look as if this was a double-meaning sentence.

Now let me judge this ‘eating out’ experience on the Michelin Scale of one to nine. For food quality it gets a whopping eight, for taste seven (and well deserved), for service six, for cleanliness seven, for ambiance seven, for quality of crockery and cutlery seven, for prices seven (not crazy expensive at all), and finally for parking convenience it gets six (ample space here). These marks average out to 6.9 out of nine which is an amazingly high score. But then it is well deserved.

If you want a dish with ostrich meat, it is available only on a Sunday. Imagine finding ostrich meat in Lahore. Recommended, but book in advance.

Published in Dawn, June 5th, 2016