Hidden in the heart of Defence, Lahore is a quaint little cafe, Amavi. The restaurant’s owner Maira has been in the food business for a while now, working for other cafes and restaurants, before taking the leap and opening up her own little space. Maira’s expertise lies in desserts and she has trained herself professionally in the department.
The patisserie’s interior is beautifully done with a lot of attention paid to detail. The chairs are done with deep green velvet upholstery while there are small artsy details on the tables. There is marble flooring and touches of gold, pink and black here and there. It’s almost like entering a painting. Amavi is the sort of place you’d want to dress up and go.
When I went there, the place was buzzing with people. Initially, Amavi was a small space with about two to three tables but given the phenomenal success, the owners had to expand it to entertain more visitors.
Now onto the food. The food was a bit different from the usual palettes, for example, their Za’Atar and Burrata Pizza – Za’Atar is a spice while Burrata is fresh Italian cow milk cheese made from mozzarella and cream. I’ve had Burrata Salad in Karachi but I haven’t come across anything like this before and I was fairly impressed with this dish. It was actually pretty yummy.
Their Salt Beef Toastie with Gouda Cheese and Caramelised Onions was another one of my favourites. Apart from that their Fish and Chips were good too and I also tried their bestselling Buttermilk Chicken Burger which was an absolute treat. The chicken was soft, tender and full of flavour.
Salt Beef Toastie 
Buttermilk Chicken Burger
The only thing I did not like was the French Onion Soup.
I didn’t really try the desserts so I can’t comment on that but a lot of people there were mostly having desserts and coffee, which by the way was also good.
I will definitely be going to Amavi again to try the dishes I didn’t, especially the desserts. For me, the patisserie is a cute and different addition to the Lahore food scene.
