This week You! takes a look at the colourful and comfy interior of a cafe in Karachi...
interior
When planning a cafe, it is very important to remember that a good interior design can do as much for a cafe or restaurant as good food and service can. To design an appealing interior is quite a challenging task. Creating an amazing restaurant design is anything but simple.
There are myriads of factors one need to consider - the style of the restaurant, theme, placement of furniture and objects at the right location to make it visually appealing however, ensuring the staff’s workflow is not affected and the list is endless. Thus, to create a beautiful interior is certainly a painstaking experience, one that deserves our appreciation.
Khaadi Kanteen is one such cafe that has taken in consideration all the above factors and the result is stunning! The place recently opened its doors to not just the customers but to public in general. Little would you have known that the swanky store at the fashionable COM 3 would be housing a quaint and unique cafe! And so we discovered this picturesque spot which was soon to become our regular haunt.
The man behind this cafe is Shamoon Sultan. He wanted to give customers an enhanced retail experience - an experience that caters to all their needs. The idea was to create a dine-in space within the store in Karachi that would give customers a holistic experience - a chance to go beyond shopping.
Passing through the enormous, glass doors of the store is to enter another world. Within months of opening the new restaurant, it soon became talk of the town - and rightly so! While the food is quite good, the interior is extraordinary. The beauty of the interior lies in its simple yet quirky ideas.
Once you step inside, the ground floor is all about the store’s creations and designs. A little further down you come to the staircase that takes you to the next level - the first floor.
Once again, while most of the floor has beautiful exhibit corners for the brand’s creations, it’s in the back half that Kanteen has been set up.
The management wanted the cafe to be a brand extension, having almost the brand’s typical vibe.
The cafe offers desi comfort-food with a twist, and the ambiance reflects the same inspiration. The idea was to design a space that reflected the colours of the brand; the colours we have grown up with. The feel is warm and casual.
The interior is rustic with emphasis on greys and earthen hues. Wooden structures have been erected with lights strategically placed within the structure. The varied shades of brown create a perfect backdrop for the eye-catching greens of the liberally scattered plants throughout the cafe.
The furniture is all wooden, accentuating the rustic experience, offset by the brand’s signature colourful cushions. This unique space reflects the sensibilities of Saira Shamoon and Shamoon himself, both of whom have paid special attention to the interior. Together with their in-house design team they came up with an extraordinary space.
One of the many interesting features at Kanteen is the overhead lights, hanging over each table. The lamp shade is actually a kettle in a bright and funky shade!
Everything has been designed to create the right ambiance. The look and feel is a great amalgamation of the current menu being served by Desi Gali - offering food with a fusion twist.
Depending on the time of the day, they have a lip-smacking menu to choose from - parathas and dum keema, to paani puri shots and various chaats, to bun kebabs and khaosuay everything is a speciality here.
The space has been created in a way that customers get the complete experience. They have a choice of sitting indoors and outdoors. One side of the cafe overlooks a busy thoroughfare of Clifton.
The windows are so thick you hear nothing, but it’s fascinating to watch the noiseless commuter chaos below.
