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Al Nawab eat like a nawab

The Al Nawab restaurant in Sharjah is sure to make you swoon with tehzeeb and zaika

Pakistani food is one of the tastiest cuisines in the world. But that also means that it can be a bit hard to replicate on a foreign soil. But one man, or rather two men, have made this possible right here in the heart of Sharjah.

Talha Sohail, the owner of the famous Al Nawab restaurant and a self-proclaimed foodie, was born and raised in Abu Dhabi. After completing his education in the UAE, Sohail was motivated to join his father’s business, who also has businesses in Pakistan, and open his own Pakistani food joint since he was impressed by the country’s culture and heritage due to his frequent visits to his ancestors’ nation.

Sharing his passion is Jahanzeb Yasin, his partner, who Sohail dubs as “one of the best and a family”.

How it all began

Around a year ago in 2020, Sohail began preparing to launch the restaurant (Al Nawab), which finally opened its doors in Sharjah in January 2021. Coming from an F&B family business, Sohail understood the nuances of the startup. All he had to do was to conceptualise. From the very start, Sohail wanted to open an authentic high-end fine dining Pakistani restaurant, serving authentic Punjabi cuisine with a Pakistani flavour added to it — a concept that was still missing in Sharjah. He has adopted the true culture and is very proud of the way the restaurant is running.

For Sohail, customer is king and therefore must be treated like royalty. He adds: “Nawab means royal in Urdu. We wanted our customers to feel regal, as if they were a royal.” And that was the beginning of Al Nawab.

Its popularity

Flavour makes or breaks a restaurant’s reputation. Sohail explains that the USP of the restaurant is in the freshness of its flavours. They do not use additives and preservatives, and all the raw materials are imported from Pakistan, which gives the dishes the authenticity. Al Nawab does not use pre-made masalas; instead, they make their own in the kitchen. “We believe in showcasing the true wonder of what our hand-picked spices can accomplish!” adds Sohail.

“When you go to other restaurants, you will often find that the meat and vegetables used are frozen. But not at Al Nawab. We import our veggies and meat from Pakistan because we own stores there. It is freshly exported and stored in extremely hygienic circumstances, so our customers have all gone home satisfied,” Sohail says with pride.

Keeping up with everything Pakistani, the head chef at the restaurant has also been hired from Karachi after an extensive search in every major city there by Sohail and Yasin to make sure that he brings authentic Punjabi food to the platter.

Its not just Punjabi, but the restaurant specialises in all regional pockets of food in the country – be it Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (charsi kadhai and chapli kebab).

The ambience also plays a huge role in the popularity of Al Nawab. As soon as you enter, you are welcomed by a gold nameplate etched in Urdu in shape of a leaf, and traditional truck art furniture in wood that remind the customers of their home country. All the dishes are served in traditional wares such as clay handis that makes the dishes more picture perfect.

As exquisitely designed are the interiors, Sohail takes all care to see that even the servers are in their traditional garb – sherwanis — welcoming the patrons that are so akin to the culture of the country.

Everyone’s favourite

Al Nawab is not just popular in Sharjah but sees customers coming in even from Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Catering to a multicultural crowd who are just not South Asians like Indians and Pakistanis (yes, they are a majority), but also Arabs and Europeans. “They love the barbeque, the biryani and everything in between because of the flavours and the spices,” Sohail says.

Sohail’s recommendation

Picking no favourite, Sohail was quick to recommend some of the most popular dishes available at the restaurant. They include the mix barbeque platter (smoked to perfection, juicy and tender on the inside and dry on the outside), chicken handi, chapli kebab, charsi kadhai (the best seller), gola kebab, along with biryanis.

Future plans

Looking at the future, Sohail reiterates that Al Nawab will expand to other emirates. “The overwhelming love and response we have received from our customers invigorates us to spread the royal taste and ambience across the UAE. Nonetheless, we believe in maintaining our quality and standard with the expansion. Moreover, we will be enhancing and expanding our menu with more dishes from Sindh, Baloch and KPK provinces of Pakistan.”

Independence Day celebrations

Al Nawab will be offering amazing discounts to its customers on the occasion of Pakistan Independence Day. In addition to this, Sohail mentions that the restaurant will be serving its special green kadhais and tikkas to highlight the national colour and instill a sense of patriotism and pride in its patrons.

Head over to Al Nawab in Sharjah’s Rolla to discover the spirit of Independence Day today.