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Club Genova
A new cigar lounge for Karachi
Khayaban-e-Sehar witnessed the birth of yet another
restaurant on Saturday night, as Club Genova opened
its doors to a selective guest list, complete with red carpet and fanfare. While a live band played the acoustic
guitar with occasional dashes of the trumpet, guests
sauntered inside the restaurant to be seated. Each level
of the triple-storey building is dedicated to a unique
theme, which owner Rizwan Niazi described as contemporary-cool, classic and affluent cigar den respectively.
The idea behind the eatery comes
from cosy three-in-one cafes tucked
away neatly in the city of Genova.
R estaurateur Niazi visited the I talian city and thought of initiating a
“ one of its kind” hangout in the
metropolis. He pitched the idea to
his friend Fawad Naeem,
who
D owntown and L atte L ounge)
Niazi added, “ We are not worried
about the competition because we
are offering three services under one
roof.”
would agree, as they were seen
making themselves comfortable in
the spacious lounge while they
smoked sheesha. I n a corner of the
cigar lounge stood two bikes which
were the centre of attraction for
The top level of the restaurant has a some guests who hopped on and
small bar with fluorescent lights. The posed for photographs.
seating arrangement is j ust as
The event was attended by a plethora
of media personalities such as
Z ubaida Tariq aka Z ubaida Apa,
VJ s Faizan Haqque and Anushay
Ashraf, Freiha Altaf and Mathira
Mohammad.
While Mathira felt “ this is one of
the places where people won‟ t
j udge you for who you are, ”
Z ubaida Apa seemed concerned
about the culture a place like Club
Genova promotes. “ I don‟ t really
approve of all these ideas because
they mar our cultural values. But
let‟ s face it; this is one of the best
ways to earn honest money in modern times.”
funky as the bar with animal prints
thought that a theme-based crash seating thrown in with a dash of red
pad is j ust the thing that would and black.
tickle the fancy of K arachiites who
The cigar den in the basement transwant to eat and lounge about.
ports one to the sets
“ Z amzama is usually clogged up of Godf ather – you can almost
because of traffic and people often imagine Marlon Brando sitting like a
complain about not being able to morose hawk on one of the camelfind parking there, ” said Naeem coloured sofas. “ The cigar lounge
and Niazi, explaining their choice has pulled me here, ” said fashion
of location. “ For the enthusiasts of writer and critic Mohsin Sayeed,
cafe culture,
Sehar is the new adding that he “ supports everyZ amzama.” When asked about thing that promotes smoking” .
neighbouring competitors ( Cafe Most men present in the basement
Club Genova may be currently focusing on experimental marketing, but
it should really be giving more attention to its food which did not live up
to expectations. The fried chicken
balls were bland and the beef steak
( read carelessly cooked chunks of
cow) should be enough to warn one
about what their taste buds should
expect.
Additionally,
in their ambitious
attempt to host a grand affair, the
restaurateurs invited too many
guests to fit under one roof, which