Chat at Chatterbox

Located on the 3rd commercial street of Zamzama, amidst all the hustle and bustle is a cosy getaway called Café Chatterbox. Despite being one of many cafes in the vicinity, Cafe Chatterbox manages to maintain its distinctive identity.

An expansion of the Pie in the Sky bakery (started 2003) established in 2005 by Naila Naqvi, former food and beverage director at Sheraton, this cafe is the perfect casual coffee house for meeting up with friends. The wooden interior is very warm and welcoming and the impressive collection of coffee table books, cookbooks and catalogues only adds to the ambience.

Considering that Chatterbox is primarily a coffee house, they have an extensive and rather appetising menu.

Forgoing the traditional starters for the chicken and cheese quesadillas was a great idea. Although the tortillas were a bit dry, the white cream sauce dip made up for it.

For the main course we ordered the grilled chicken feta herb sandwich. The sandwich comprised thick pieces of grilled chicken breast with a generous helping of feta cheese, served with a side of fries.

I personally went for the grilled chicken in Moroccan sauce. It comprised two pieces of well-done chicken breasts served with a mound of buttered rice, topped with a sweet orange and olive Moroccan sauce. The dish came with a side of oriental style vegetables; asparagus, mushrooms and bell peppers to name a few.

Although Cafe Chatterbox offers a wide range of juices, shakes and other mocktails, the mint lemonade I ordered was a bit too strong in flavour for my liking.

By the time we were done with the entrees, we were full to the stomach. However, we still went ahead and ordered the chocolate mousse and the chocolate brownie pudding with icecream. The mousse was perfect in its texture and flavour and the brownie pudding beat all other desserts I’ve eaten in the past.

Considering that we enjoyed a threecourse meal and the ambience was great, the Rs 800 per head price tag seemed justified. All in all, definitely worth a visit.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 14^th, 2010.