Written by: Sadaf Shahzad
Posted on: July 29, 2019 | 
| 中文
Pinch & Co. Tacos
Pinch & Co. is a new cutting-edge Mexican restaurant, located in a quaint neighborhood in Clifton behind Emerald Mall. A group of friends and I decided to visit this eatery on Friday, which, coincidentally, is also Taco Night. The restaurant’s exterior looked fun, with lots of potted plants and fairy lights hanging up, along with some colorful chalkboards.
What really blew me away, however, was the interior of the Pinch & Co. There is a beautifully done mural of Frida Kahlo that graces the main sitting area on the ground floor, and the ceiling throughout the restaurant is painted with fluffy clouds.
Despite arriving early, we found the Pinch & Co. to be packed. The tables around us had people from all age groups, from 10-year-old kids, to older couples enjoying a meal with their friends. You don’t really need to be of a specific age bracket to enjoy Mexican food, especially since it is closely suited to the desi palette. Pinch & Co has a self service system, in which you place your order, pay at one counter and collect your food from the next counter.
Between the four of us. we were able to order all of the mains and the starters that Pinch & Co. had to offer, because the menu is quite limited. But the items are priced reasonably, ranging from Rs. 300 for soft shell tacos and salad to Rs. 500 for the Mexican Mac n Cheese and the Burrito Bowl.
Our first starter were the Halloumi fries, deep fried halloumi cheese sticks coated with bread crumbs, and served with deep fried green peppers. They were garnished with sour cream and chopped parsley. These fries were perfectly seasoned, and were an absolute winner amongst all four of us.
The next starter that we tried was the Street Corn Salad, which is a recent addition to the menu. It had cucumbers, tomatoes, corn, beans, and a special dressing that added a sour almost lemony touch. It was garnished with crushed crispy tortilla shells, and was not only more filling but also more refreshing than your average salad.
After our starters, our first main was the Chipotle Chicken Taco. Pinch & Co. serves this in a soft tortilla shell (though you can order a crunchy taco as well). The taco itself looked incredibly appetizing; it had pickled red cabbage, guacamole, salsa and sour cream. But when trying the Chipotle Chicken Taco, I was left disappointed. I expected the flavor of chipotle sauce as the name suggests, but that dish left more to be desired. Out of all the menu items, this was the biggest let-down.
Our next taco, which we ordered in both hard shell and soft shell, was the Baja Prawn Taco. It had batter-fried prawns, salsa, guacamole, sour cream and pickled red cabbage. This had the overall consensus on being our favorite taco. The prawns were fried to perfection and balanced amazingly with the spicy salsa and the sour cream. The Carne Asada or the Beef Taco, too was served in a soft shell with similar accouterments. The beef chunks were soft and juicy, cooked to perfection, creating a close call between the Carne Asada and Bajo Prawn Taco.
The Burrito Bowl is something definitely worth trying, made with rice, jalapenos, red beans, spicy chicken chunks, salsa and sour cream. It was well seasoned, and a must try if you want something more filling than tacos.
Lastly, the Mexican Mac-n-Cheese was the dish I was most excited to try, which ended up being the absolute winner of the night. It had Mac-n-Cheese topped with a generous helping of sour cream, spicy chicken chunks, jalapenos and crushed crispy tortilla shells. This dish was unique twist to your otherwise run-of-the mill Mac-n-Cheese, with the spice of the jalapenos and the chicken creating a good kick to it.
After this incredibly satisfying meal, I can safely say that Pinch & Co. is one of my new favorite restaurants in Karachi. Apart from being very reasonable with its prices, its ambience and food are stellar, and definitely worth a visit.
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