Hook Line & Sinker: Bringing seafood to Karachi the coastal way!

Karachi needs more eateries like this - they give true meaning to our beautiful coastal city - its true identity.

Arsalan Faruqi April 01, 2013
Hook Line & Sinker (HLS) is located in a peaceful upscale neighbourhood of Block 4 Clifton. Rubbing shoulders with Oishi Sushi and China Kitchen, it is Pakistan’s first fine dining seafood restaurant.

The catchy name is well complimented by the overall nautical ambiance and hospitality of the staff who, by the way, are dressed up as sailors and mariners.

HLS is a breath of fresh air for connoisseurs of high quality fresh sea food.

The moment you step in, you are greeted with live jazz music being played by a pianist-saxophonist duo that keeps you entertained, throughout your dining experience with soft music.



The entire restaurant is divided into split levels.

The ground floor has been carefully designed keeping in mind the necessary aesthetics of a fine dining sea food eatery.

This floor gives a full view of the kitchen and men at work.



The first floor has an open wooden deck area with a seating capacity of around 25 people and a covered smoking lounge which is adorned with comfortable sofas and a cosy atmosphere.



After admiring the ambiance and freshness of the venue we ordered a serving of Chilli Garlic Prawns and Thai Prawn Soup as appetizers which were done to perfection.



Our main entrées included a mix of desi and oriental cuisines. From the desi menu we had Sabzwari crabs and sea food Katakat. The crabs were drenched in mild spicy garlic sauce and were mentioned as a recipe from the dastarkhwan of the coastal commanders of Sindh during Mohammad Bin Qasim’s time.



The sea food Katakat was equally scrumptious with hot, freshly prepared naan and comprised of fish, shrimps and squid cut into tiny cubes and marinade.



Our third entrée was a European delight, a Grilled Red Snapper with Pepperonata which we thoroughly enjoyed along with some refreshing mint lemonades.

The server also recommended their Fish Karhai and Lobster Thermidore which we left for our next visit, which will probably be very soon.



Among their other specialities which we didn’t try on our first visit are oysters, crab gratin, fish masala, caviar, high graded lobsters and New York cheese cake in dessert.





The HLS experience left us with nothing to criticise.

From the warm hospitality of the staff to the delicious quality of food and of course the amazing ambiance, I would give them a whopping nine on 10 for an overall 360 degree fine dining experience.

They are open for brunch, lunch and dinner with some very interesting deals to offer. Karachi needs more eateries like this - they give true meaning to our beautiful coastal city - its true identity.

PHOTOS: Hook Line & Sinker Facebook page.

Read more by Arsalan here.
WRITTEN BY:
Arsalan Faruqi An entrepreneur with a degree in computer engineering and an MBA from IBA Karachi. He tweets as @arsalanfaruqi (https://twitter.com/arsalanfaruqi)
The views expressed by the writer and the reader comments do not necassarily reflect the views and policies of the Express Tribune.

COMMENTS (7)

Sohrab Karboy | 10 years ago | Reply @SK: You make a good point. But, question is would the local connoisseurs of food enjoy the method of cooking you have described. From what I have seen, unless the meats and seafood is overpowered by spices and mouth burning peppers, and heavily garnished with ghee or oil, it is just not "tasty" enough for most of our people. Choosing and cooking perfect fish and shellfish; grilling lobster tails; steaming crustacean crabs and removing the cooked meat from the crab shell; and similarly preparing clams, mussels, scallops, and oysters is an art form that you will not see in the environs of Karachi. Even the quintessentially Mughlai seafood dishes prepared and served in the years gone by at restaurants like Delhi Muslim Kali Hotel, AlFarooq, Alfa, Café George, and others have gone the same way that trams run by Muhammad Ali Transport Co have. So just enjoy what is now available and count your blessings!!!
Asif | 10 years ago | Reply I visited HLS on the 2nd of March with family and friends, we were a group of 8, 5 of us had starters and all main course, no deserts. Bill came to 14k. The food was excellent, specially the Kat-a-Kat, its nice and spicy and with a garlic nan bread you just can't stop and to feel good, the dish was cooked in olive oil.
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