The KhyberRestaurant in Sector 35-B, is a very popular restaurant of Chandigarh. Chandigarh is a very cosmopolitan city; more cosmopolitan than Delhi. And the Khyber Restaurant's popularity, in the cosmopolitan city of Chandigarh, is due to the delicious food it serves, and due to its efficient waiters, always ready to serve you with a smile.
Although the Khyber is not in a busy Sector like Sector 16, yet its location does not matter, because its captive customers come to it anyway. Khyber brings into mind the Khyber Pass, the road connecting India with Afghanistan. True, Khyber's menu reflects excellent meat dishes with varieties of Kabbab. I am sure that Khyber's proprietor is an imaginative man, and its Head Chef equally so.
I was the Manager of the Indian Express at Chandigarh for about a year, and I used to visit Khyber with my family and also for business lunches. The Tandoori Chicken, Meat Masala, Chicken Masala and the Kabbabs are the mouth-watering dishes you get here. If it is Chandigarh's winter, you start with soup as your appetizer, and eat to your heart's content. The waiters are quite efficient. Music is very soothing to your ears, and light equally soothing to your eyes.
The cutlery used is very good, and so also the thick smooth linen used on the table and used as napkins.
An average meal here costs about Rs.150/-.
Whenever I have gone to Khyber, I have thought about Indo-Afghan relationship. I have also recollected some passages from Syed Muztaba Ali's 'Deshe Videshe' and Tagore's Kabuliwala. Also I have started singing ( in a low voice of course ) ''Hey Mere Pyare Watan'' from the film 'Kabuliwala'. Wait a minute. There is a recent book titled ''Kabuliwalar Bangali Bou'' ( Bengali Wife of a Kabuliwala ) written by a Bengali woman, who had married a Kabuli, and who had to struggle hard to get back to Calcutta.
Bravo Khyber ! You stand as a cultural link between India and Afghanistan.
- Thank You! We appreciate your effort.