This quaint little café with a warm, rustic feel will make you feel right at home. Walking in, you are welcomed by warm yellow and brick walls, and a terecotta floor. Delicious smells waft from the stone oven and kitchen, assaulting your senses before you have a chance to seat yourself. A tree planted firmly in the centre reminds one of all that is natural here and an open kitchen encourages consumer interaction. Everything available is seasonal, fresh, prepared as orders are placed and a hundred percent Pakistani!
N‘eco’s serves at the moment, an all natural, partly organic, all-day breakfast, selection of sandwiches, salads and desserts. Planning to branch out slowly but steadily in to main courses, they’re doing a good job of developing and perfecting their recipes. A tree planted firmly in the centre reminds one of all that is natural here and an open kitchen ensures encourages consumer interaction. Everything available is seasonal, fresh, prepared as orders are placed and a hundred percent Pakistani!
The food was simply delicious and each item left a distinct flavour on the palette. The flat-bread with prawn, basil and chilli flakes, drizzled with crème fraiche was unique and bursting with flavour; with the naan-like bread offering a somewhat desi feel to it. The chicken breast sandwich in brown bread with smoky chilli aioli and lettuce was chargrilled to perfection, with a hint of smoky aroma that dazzled the taste buds. N‘eco’s is also the only restaurant in town to offer a mayo-free potato salad!
With fresh juices, chilled drinks, teas and coffees available, we find it endearing that both sparkling and still water are free! On the counter at the deli sit a wide variety of tarts, cakes and pies, both sweet and savoury. The Moroccan tart, with roasted courgettes, tomatoes and pesto was, like most other things on the menu, truly inimitable and though crumbly, a tasty delight. Stuffed though we were, we couldn’t resist the desserts, and scoffed down a slice each of the divine banana chocolate and lemon curd tarts.
Brain-child of Nilofer Saeed, the successful entrepreneur behind Copper Kettle and Hob Nob, n‘eco’s uses all natural, all Pakistani, ingredients, striving to get as much organic produce in as Karachi allows. Boasting a deli and a wonderful basement store N‘eco’s stocks exciting products like rose-infused sugar, lemongrass salt and wooden toys hand crafted to encourage young minds to grow in a less clinical way. Saeed seems to be quite the trend-setter, with all three enterprises being the firsts of their kind encouraging others to follow suit.
Creative Director, Amna Sana, is quite the foodie and accredited her passion with a formal cookery apprenticeship at the prestigious Italian Culinary Institute in Costigliole D’asti, Piedmont, Italy. Her vision for N‘eco’s, where she developed recipes and created the menu, was for it to reflect the feel and atmosphere of, “a simple Italian grandmummy’s kitchen.’ Her extensive knowledge of nutrition, beneficial and curative properties of ingredients, combined with her capability of creating fine food is, as she says, “a labor of love,” and helps her provide customers with “nutritionally sound, responsible food,” never compromising on taste.
Whenever you drop by make sure you try the caramelised bananas on pancakes generously doused in caramel and trickled with cream; absolutely divine.
or check out their facebook page! :)
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