Pak Tea House — Restaurant in Lahore City Tehsil

Pak Tea House is an intellectual tea–café located in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan known for its association with progressive academics and left-leaning South Asian intelligentsia.

Traditionally frequented by country's notably artistic, cultural and literary personalities, it was founded by a Sikh family in 1940 and quickly acquired its current name after it was leased to one of the locals in Lahore after the independence of Pakistan in 1947. Intervention of Lahore High Court and personal initiatives of Nawaz Sharif led to the re-opening of the Tea House in 2013. Noted for being the birthplace of influential literary movement, the Progressive Writers' Association (Progressive Writers Association), the place is described as "house of writers and thinkers who serve the nation selflessly.The café is believed to have been set up in 1932 and was owned by a Sikh family in Lahore as its rightful owners; it was later given to Young Men's Christian Association(YMCA) 1940s.After the independence of Pakistan in 1947, a local food supplier named Sirajuddin Ahmad rented the house from the YMCA administration and renamed it as "Pak Tea House" in 1947. The place was traditionally frequented by the city's artistic, cultural and literary personalities. Attendees including were: Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Agha Shorish Kashmiri, Ibn-e-Insha, Ahmed Faraz, Saadat Hasan Manto, Ahmad Rahi, Muneer Niazi, Meeraji, Kamal Ahmed Rizvi, Nasir Kazmi, Professor Syedd Sajjad Razavi, Ustad Amanat Ali Khan, Dr. Muhammad Baqir, Intezar Hussain and Syed Qasim Mahmood

The house became a birthplace of the influential literary movement, the Progressive Writers' Association, which had been known for left-wing politics since its early foundation. Many writers frequented it, and it was also a favourite haunt of the section of Lahore youths with non-mainstream points of view. It maintained a reputation as a forum for people of diverse backgrounds to voice their opinions in a non-judgmental...

I went there expecting a high level of class and good standard of services and maintenance. Of this, only my expectations of the decor of the place were met. The chairs and tables are quaint and the images of poets and writers give a sweet nostalgic touch.

But the services are inconsistent and not at all satisfactory. My first visit was around 11am. We requested donuts and they were not on the menu because it was 'too early'. The tea however was indeed terrific.

My second visit was around 3pm, and even though we took our seats on the first floor, we had to wait for ten minutes before realizing no one was coming to serve us. My friend went down to the counter to place the order. After that 5, 15 then 20 minutes elapsed and we started to wonder if we were supposed to collect the order ourselves too. After some time though, thankfully, a waiter brought our drinks. My friend's coffee was in a standard mug, filled to the brim. My tea was in a mug as well, except it was only half filled: The mug was too big for the serving. The ridiculousness of the situation surprised me, as right after serving us, the waiter then collected the used cups of tea from neighbouring tables, ones made according to their serving size. Perhaps if he had made a round earlier, they would have had teacups in the kitchen. The mere fact that this happened in a renowned establishment like Pak Tea House just adds insult to injury here.

Their one redeeming feature is that they do have a bookcase on the first floor which is is free for the patrons to peruse. Full disclaimer: this particular information was imparted to me by a friend, I myself did not have a chance to put it to the...

Pak Tea House is a historical tea cafe located at Mall road Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. It is known for its association with progressive academics and left-leaning South Asian intelligentsia great poets and writers used to sit here. It was founded by a Sikh family in 1940 and quickly acquired its current name after it was leased to one of the locals in Lahore after the partition of India Pakistan in 1947. Intervention of Lahore High Court and led to the re-opening of the Tea House in 2013. Being the birthplace of influential literary movement, the Progressive Writers' Association (PWA), the place is described as "house of writers, poets and thinkers who serve the nation selflessly. This cafe was set up in 1940 with the name "India tea house" by Boota Singh in Lahore. In 1944, it was taken over by two sikh brothers Surtej singh bhalla and Kaiser Singh Bhalla. It remained closed during partition riots. In 1948, it was allotted to Sirajuddin Ahmed. Siraj uddin renamed it as "Pak Tea House" in 1950 and ran the historic restaurant successfully from 1947 to 1978. After his death, his son Zahid Hasan managed the cafe and restaurant, but due to reducing customers, this cafe was closed in 2000. Its ownership was taken by the Young Men's Christian during this time. It was closed by its owner due to a lack of business in 1999. A decision criticized by the intellectual community of Lahore. It remained closed for 13 years until 2 February 2012 when, on the orders of the Lahore commissioner, Pak Tea House was again put under the control of the YMCA. On 10 March 2013, Pak Tea House was re-inaugurated by the Government of Punjab. And it is...