Little Karachi — Restaurant in Stockholm

Possibly the only Pakistani/Indian restaurant in Old Town, Lilla Karachi is also a ‘halal’ restaurant which means that you can finally sit down for a meal in a nice touristy area and not worry about having to order fish or vegetables only (assuming you only eat halal)!

I ordered the chicken karahi, daal tarka and a paratha to go with the daal. Service was friendly and efficient. They did initially cock-up the chicken karahi order (pun intended ) and instead brought over chicken biryani but quickly fixed it and had the karahi over in 15 mins; this was while I was working my way through the daal which was tastefully spiced and well cooked (so it’s not that I was without food). If you are wondering, the tarka daal here is made from ‘chana daal’ and not the smaller ‘red lentils’ so has a heavier texture.

The paratha was tasty albeit a generic frozen supermarket variety that was warmed on a flat pan to a slightly crispy texture. So not freshly made or authentic.

The chicken karahi (when it did come) looked just like a chicken curry with some tomatoes and red and green peppers in a brown gravy. Again, not bad in the taste department (the gravy made a good spread for the boiled rice that came with it) though the chicken did taste somewhat ‘pre-boiled’ and like something they quickly slapped in a stock gray sauce.

Proper chicken karahi is supposed to be a bit dry and moist at the same time, when the freshly chopped tomatoes, chili and spices fuse into a tangy-spicy jus and the tomatoes shrivel into almost a paste like consistency… there are no bell peppers. Since it is also always freshly cooked with the spices it hence doesn’t leave behind the distinctive ‘plain chicken’ taste. Nevertheless, the imitation chicken Karachi was saved by the copious amount of gravy it was in, and the gravy was decent enough.

Overall not a bad experience but not exactly authentic. Drop by if you are in Old Town and feel...

The food was okay. Definitely not the best, portion was small and not worth the price.Ordered a Biryani, it did not taste like one. There’s a reason why I was probably the only customer in the store.

To start, I walk in and the wife is eating at the front. I thought she was a customer. Hands me a menu with dirty hands. Placed my order, then she started arguing with her husband in their language. After, started playing music, making video calls and having very loud conversations, until her first daughter came. They were quite loud and she and the mother kept talking so loudly. Shouting across the restaurant that her mother needs to cut her food and that she needs to stop eating her food ( she’s 17+ from what I’ve gathered) Her second daughter came, she’s crying and being loud. There seems to be 0 care that there’s a paying customer in the store.

Definitely not worth it at all. Couldn’t wait to leave. Didn’t even finish my food as I was tired of hearing their other daughter whining and crying about God knows what. All I know is that she definitely found something...

I highly recommend this restaurant! I visited Lilla Karachi with my husband, and we were absolutely impressed.

📍The staff were friendly and professional. I appreciated that they can all speak English, which is a big plus for tourists and visitors.

📍The team was attentive to our requirements and allergies. We requested mild spices, and they ensured our dishes were perfectly balanced not too spicy but still full of flavor.

📍The food was easily one of the best Pakistani/Indian cuisines we've ever experienced.

📍We ordered the lamb tandoori and butter chicken. The lamb tandoori was perfectly tender, and the butter chicken was soft with a beautifully balanced, authentic sauce. Food was served with rice as well.

📍We had the chance to speak with the owner, who shared the story of Lilla Karachi being Stockholm’s first Pakistani restaurant, established in 1979.

📍 The freshness of the food, the attention to detail, and the fact that everything is Halal made the experience...