Pakistanis opening Arabic, shisha cafes in UK
January 17, 2019
LONDON: Pakistani restaurateurs in the United Kingdom are opening cafes serving Arabic food and shisha as demand for South Asian delicacies declines.
Joints selling traditional Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Indian food are fast becoming less popular as Arabic food and the trend of smoking shisha take the United Kingdom by storm. One of the reasons behind this trend is rising awareness about health in Britain where efforts are being made at all levels to encourage people to adopt a healthy lifestyle.
South Asian food is seen by many as unhealthy and oily, while Turkish and Arabic food is grilled, less spicy and oily in comparison.
One of the many restauranters who have jumped on this new trend is Pakistani businessman Sajid Khan who has opened a shisha and Lebanese food cafe in Ilford which is home to thousands of South Asians. “I decided to open a place to serve Lebanese food after a lot of hard work and surveys,” he shared.
Khan added that South Asian food is not as popular as it used to be. “People prefer to eat grilled and less oily food which is gaining popularity, though it is a bit more expensive.”
“Shisha places are enjoyed by many who find it relaxing. We saw our forefathers smoking hookah in villages in Pakistan and now the same hookah has become shisha. The only difference is that it is less harmful and does not damage health in the way hookah did,” Khan said.
“We are popular mainly because we serve shisha,” he said.
The restaurant called Al Khayma is divided into three Arabic-themed parts: the ground floor is the main food hall, fronted by the shisha cafe where two dozen seats are placed in traditional Arabic style while the first-floor hall has small tents (khaymas) set up.
“The purpose of having these small khaymas is to provide privacy to families. These are exclusive Arabic settings mainly found in Middle Eastern countries," Khan shared.
He added that people under the age of 19 are not allowed to enter the shisha area. The restaurant also has a dress code with hoodies, tracksuits and beanies not permitted. “We want everyone to come to the shisha lounge and relax with expertly-made cocktails and some of the most unique and inventive flavours in the city,” Khan added.
