Chatterbox Deli review: Does it live up to the hype?

The fine dining restaurant offers great service with a good décor and a pleasant ambiance. But what does it lack?

KARACHI: Karachi has no dearth of restaurants. It’s almost like one hears of a new place every day and I, being a food enthusiast, just cannot resist trying as many of them as I can – especially the ones become talk of the town.

Hence, when I heard of Chatterbox Deli – an offspring of the famous, and one of my most favorites, Chatterbox Café – I knew I had to give it a taste.

PHOTO: YASHFA HAIDER

By the time my friend and I got there, we were starving to say the least. Excitement soaring, we got to the outlet on Khayaban-e-Badar and were welcomed by a set up much fancier than I had imagined.

Chatterbox Deli is a healthy, fine dining restaurant. The interior is quite elaborate and personally, I thought it looks a tad bit overboard – especially in the area right in front of the entrance. The seating is congested in one corner, with the bakery and flower décor sections taking over the other side.

PHOTO: YASHFA HAIDER

Nonetheless, the place has a warm and relaxing vibe. As we sat down, a waiter immediately came to greet us with the menus. But as someone who loves her chicken or beef, I found that there were not many options for me choose from. The menu has a greater variety of seafood dishes so more than half of it was automatically cancelled out for me.

Anyways after putting in a lot of thought, I chose to go with the Thai Beef Roast and my friend ordered Chicken Rice Bowl.

The food came about 15 minutes later. It was fresh and looked great, although the serving of Thai Beef Roast was a bit too small, I thought. It had beef slices coated a tangy-sweet sauce and a side salad.

PHOTO: YASHFA HAIDER

Unfortunately, there was too much sauce and too little beef, hence overpowering the flavour of the latter. It tasted good but had the proportions been right, the dish could have been a joy.

PHOTO: YASHFA HAIDER

The Chicken Rice Bowl had a layer of spicy rice, topped with Chicken, yogurt sauce, hot chili sauce and some vegetables – all in all, a fairly big and filling dish. The flavour of the chicken itself was mild. However, the sauces added a whole lot of taste to the dish. This is yummy, comfort food at its best.

PHOTO: YASHFA HAIDER

For desert, we hopped over to the little bakery set up at the other side of the restaurant and opted for a cubic chocolate cake – an excellent decision as it was rich in chocolate and very fresh.

Verdict: Overall, Chatterbox Deli offers great service with a good décor and a pleasant ambiance. It’s the ideal place for a relaxing dinner after a long day or a casual mid-day lunch with friends. The only thing it lacks is variety.

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