Xander’s Karachi, since it opened up, has quickly acquired the reputation of a great modern gourmet cafe. Even though it’s located in one of the most cafe-heavy streets in Karachi, it still is one of the busiest cafes in 26th street, Clifton. It just recently opened up another branch at Khayaban-e-Bukhari and we can take that as a sign of its growing success.
First Impressions
Walking into Xander’s is walking by the beach. Its great outdoorsy feel and the fact that its architecture doesn’t stop the winds from coming your way make it one of the best places to enjoy a casual meal out with friends. Their neon green tables are what strike you next and complement the overall fun and carefree vibe of the cafe.
Our Order
For our order at Xander’s, we stuck to the basics. Being crazy about pizza, we ordered their pepperoni pizza for our main course, a trio of mini sliders for our second entree, the caesar salad for the starter and their dark chocolate tart for dessert.
Service & Food
The service at Xander’s is great and does the needful but isn’t extraordinary. You can peg that to the fact that the cafe is always bustling with people and depending on the time you go, you will always find people waiting to get a seat. However, the servers are well-versed with the menu and if you’re stuck deciding what to order, you can always comfortably ask them for recommendations.
The best thing about food that is served at Xander’s is that it’s not boring. Sure, they have the usual Alfredo Pasta or their usual pizza variety but their pasta is cooked with smoked turkey bacon instead of the usual grilled chicken while their pizzas are made in wood-fired ovens giving it an exceptional added flavour. Our order arrived well on time. The Caesar salad and the trio of mini burgers were served first. The sliders disappeared as soon as they had been set on the table.
We were clearly famished. The salad is one of the best sellers at Xander’s and is also definitely a must-try. The pizza is what we were excited about the most and it lived up to its expectations. The golden brown crispy crust and the sizeable pepperoni slices were a great sight to behold and an even better to bite into. Considering we had quite a bit of food as our main course, we decided to share the dark chocolate tart amongst ourselves and it did a fine job of tying a neat little bow to our meal.
Something Special
If you are in the mood to try something special, we have heard great things about the Spicy Peppercorn Salami pizza. It is one of the most popular dishes at Xander’s and the toppings of the pizza including jalapenos, imported mozzarella, parmesan reggiano, fresh basil and of course, spicy peppercorn salami.
The Presentation
The presentation of the food served at xander’s is amazing. While the pizza needs no presentation in itself, the sight of the dark chocolate tart topped with a perfectly rounded dollop of salted caramel sauce was very appetizing. Their cutlery is also edgy but allows great room to maneuver your food as you eat.
Value for Money
The food at Xander’s is considered to be slightly on the pricier side but we thought the the overall ambiance, quality of food and the great outdoorsy feel made it all worth it. The pepperoni pizza was for Rs.860, while the trio of mini burgers was for Rs.690, the caesar salad was for Rs.510 while the dark chocolate tart was for Rs.470.
All in all, great price for a great meal!
Overall Verdict
Xander’s is a must-must-try if you haven’t gone yet. With its eclectic menu and great ambiance, it will surely make for a great place to have a fun time.
Xander’s
Address: c 32, E St, Karachi, Pakistan
Opening hours: Mo – Su, 10.00am -11.00pm
Click here to order online
Riffat Rashid is an independent content and social media strategist who believes in the power of Sherlock Holmes, a cup of Doodhpatti and Burns Road’s Nihari. Interested in pop culture, good food and everything Karachi
