Forget India-Pakistan, Okra and Mews are already at war

Here's what the owners have to say about it

Two of Karachi's finest restaurants appear to be engaged in a war of words as they  display boards against each other.



Although it is not clear what sparked the exchange, black boards have been seen at both the eateries taking a dig at each other. Recently, a notice was put up outside Okra stating, 'The only thing you won't find on our menu is poached staff. It's at Emeuse.'



A similar board was seen at Mews, however, more subtle. "Working for us will not feel like you are serving a prison sentence. That's at *Okra's restaurant sign*," the board read.



Explaining what caused the exchange, Okra owner Ayaz Khan told The Express Tribune, Mews hired their chef and they decided to "amuse the restaurant [owners]" by displaying a board outside the restaurant. "A chef was hired by Mews without resigning properly from Okra. Since there was no communication between the two parties, Okra took this step to 'amuse' restaurant owners by sending out a message," he said.

However, Aamir Tariq Khan of Mews said he and his partner did not 'poach' anyone from Okra. "A little while ago a few friends went to Okra and sent me and my partner Neeshay a picture of the board and asked what this was regarding. We were dumbfounded, but obviously any clever person can figure out what it means and who it was directed towards."



"We actually thought it was quite funny and creative. But we didn't see any reasoning behind it because we didn't poach anyone from Okra. However, we would not refuse a job at Mews if someone from Okra comes looking for one. Everyone knows how hard it is to get good staff in this city so it would clearly be an insensible thing to turn someone away who has experience, especially from Okra," Aamir added.

"Ayaz has been in the industry for ages and we all look up to him. There are no unpleasantries at all. But we thought instead of letting it go, we should put something funny outside Mews to get our point across too. That's all it was. Two institutions in one industry having a go at each other in a fun way."

Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.