By Kamran Hashim
“Lucknow is a fine dining restaurant based in Nishat Commercial Area of DHA phase 06 and we serve authentic & traditional Luckhnawi food which dates back to old lucknow times of early 20th century. With traditional Luckhnawi food we also serve continental cuisine to cater fast growing class of 9-5 office-workers”. This was stated by young and budding restaurateur / entrepreneur Usman Tanveer, while he was talking to BizToday team.
Usman Tanveer, a software engineer by qualification, comes from a family with strong roots in industrial sector had thoughts of venturing into food sector since school time. On his idea of opening Lucknow he is said; “I have been business minded since my childhood time and always wanted to do something of my own rather than working for someone. I once discussed the idea of opening of a fine-dining restaurant with friends and eventually we came up with an idea that traditional & authentic taste of Lucknow is not being offered by anyone. We started working on the idea and with every passing day idea of opening a fine-dining restaurant with traditional & authentic taste of Lucknow very workable”.
He went on to say that; “at this moment no fine-dining eatery in Karachi is offering qorma, tunday-kabab, garrawatti-kabab, bae-chita, lucknawi-kabab, lucknawi-tikka, zafarani-biryani (beef, chicken & mutton). Our internationally trained chef specializes in traditional cuisine and draws on Chinese and Thai methods to create exciting new flavors. Lucknow also boasts a sophisticated cocktail range and delectable desserts inspired by cultural flavors. Our some of the most popular items are also traditional Lucknawi cuisines like qorma, tunday-kabab, garawatti-kabab and bar-b-que items.
On question why continental food in a very specific fine dinging outlet like Lucknow, Usman Tanveer said; “we added continental cuisine to cater fast growing class of 9-5 office-workers who are mostly in a hurry to meet deadline and they mostly opt for quick snacks. For them we have sandwiches and burgers. We have tried to come-up with something for everyone. Currently we are trying to develop taste for traditional Lucknawi cuisines which is not common among Karachi’s eatery circles. we also have an open kitchen, where diners can view and enjoy live cooking. Our ambiance is based from the theme derived from Lucknow city of mughal’s era to give a vintage and royal feel to our royal diners”.
On public response to traditional Lucknawi cuisines Usman Tanveer said; we got an overwhelming response from the Karachiites. Due to this overwhelming we had to expand our restaurant and now we have a capacity of 70 seats. Currently we cater upto 50% occupancy during weekdays and 80% on weekends. We offer upto 100 items on our menu which tastes varying from traditional Lucknawi cuisines to conventional desi cuisines, continental cuisines, Chinese cuisines and fast foods. Most of the traditional Lucknawi cuisines are prepared by our chefs from the recipes that are provided by us, which we have gathered from within our families”.
He further added that; “now food lovers can also enjoy authentic and traditional Luckhnawi food at their home or either at their office as we have a dedicated team of delivery riders and with that we also have collaborations with Food Panda and Bykea”.
on future plans he said; “we are striving hard to make our first restaurant a success. From this Sunday we plan to launch our very own Sunday Brunch, which will have traditional desi break-fast items like nihaari, karri-chaawal, mutton-qorma, chicken-biryani, halwa-puri, lucknawi-taikka, brain-masala, shahi-tukray, bae-chita etc. etc, with that on continental break-fast Lucknow offers Alfredo Chicken Pasta, Omeletes etc. etc. We are very hopeful for its success and once we get this, from here we will move on to implement our plans to open couple of more branches here in Karachi and then one in Lahore. After that we have plans to open an-outlet in Dubai. We also have plans to get affiliated with All Pakistan Restaurant Association (APRA) and Pakistan Food Association (PFA)”.
on concluding note the young entrepreneur said; “message that I would like to flash-out to budding youngsters who would want to try their luck on being an entrepreneur is, don’t be double minded on your future plans/goals, be focused on your plans/goals and go for it with full dedication and honesty, Allah will definitely reward you for your hard-work and honesty”.
