Lahore has seen an exponential growth in the last decade, proven time and again by the rapid rise of lifestyle options available in the city. The biggest evolution, of course, has been the mushrooming of restaurants. There are a million and one options in the Mughal city today and some, more than others, are trying their luck to become the ‘new’ talk of the town. The latest is a new Mediterranean restaurant called Kuzgun.

Situated near DHA Phase 5’s up and coming landmark Penta Square, Kuzgun is the newest entrant in a crowded plaza space that already hosts restaurants like Veera V and Jessie’s. But, with its shining new facade, it hopes to strike a deal with discerning customers that would opt for this particular area for dining options.

Done up and brightly lit in hues of gold, the restaurant adds a bit of glitz to the space, particularly with hints and niches of blues, corals and browns added to perhaps showcase a strong and unique aesthetic.

Reviewed when COVID-19 SOPs called for outdoor dining only, Kuzgun offered an open space concept in what otherwise would have been its parking space, which - on a particularly sweltering night in Lahore’s heat - spelled disaster. Although not a fault of the restaurant, the heat would make even the most excited of customers run for their air-conditioned cars rather than dine out. Believe us, the mist fans did no wonders at a night where mercury levels hit the roof.

Onwards to the one thing that kept our minds off of the heat, the menu, which was done up in a particularly rich hue of green and beige, offering quite an adequate number of options to select from. Although not particularly Mediterranean at all in its variety, there was a bit of everything available on the menu – in what classically one would call ‘continental’ in colloquial Pakistani Minglish. We couldn’t believe that still is a thing in this day and age, but it is. Beef Chili ala Greek, anyone?

From this ‘global’ menu, the options chosen were Chicken Cheese Rotoli and Mozzarella sticks as appetizers; Smoked Alfredo and Spicy Gratin as pasta options; Polo Tuscan, The Kiev, and –ahem, the Beef Chili Dry as mains along with signature iced mojitos in Passionfruit & Strawberry flavour and Cucumber & Green Apple flavor.

The dishes, which were brought out swiftly, were all presented quite well in an array of different plating options that ranged from classic white ceramics to beautiful brass crockery. It definitely added some points for the restaurant where other things may have not. Food, for example, left much to be desired as nothing went on to impress as much as one expected.

The appetizers, which already sounded a bit mundane when ordered, proved to be exactly that. The Rotoli, which was basically a stuffed chicken with cheese, had no proper seasoning and left, literally, a bad taste in the mouth. The mozzarella sticks, in comparison, were just what one wants them to be – stringy and rich - but nothing else. Onwards to the mains, the pastas were every Italian nonni’s nightmare; the opposite of al-dente. The Smoked Alfredo lacked any smoky taste as its name suggested, and was just what basic Pakistani-style roux-based pastas are like. The Spicy Gratin, which we’re still trying wondering why it was called Gratin (which is a whole different dish altogether), was relatively better. Slightly spicy and with a kick, it definitely was able to excite us a bit.

The other mains, Polo Tuscan and The Kiev, were both overcooked. There’s perhaps no timer in the kitchen when it comes to cooking the chicken, and both the mains looked good but tasted like they had gone through all the nine circles of hell. The sides, strangely, were the real saving grace to both these entrees. One doesn’t wish to be a Debbie Downer, and hopes that it was just a bad night for the restaurant and not something they’d repeat.

Now, here’s for the surprise.

For a restaurant claiming to a Mediterranean flavour while serving just about everything else, the real winning dish turned out to be – drumrolls – the Beef Chili Dry. While no one can really fail in making this Pakistani fusion of a Chinese dish, this one was particularly good. If there’s any prize for being able to make one good dish out of so many ordered, we’d give it to this and to the two specialty iced mojitos, which made everything palatable.

In a city where there are tons of options, opt for those until Kuzgun gets over their – what we hope are – teething problems.