The battle of the cities has gone online, with netizens arguing over which city’s food is better: Karachi’s or Lahore’s. From Biryani to Nihari, the competition is tough, with X users debating flavours, authenticity and grandeur. The debate sprang when journalist Dan Qayyum took to X and drew the comparison between Karachi and Lahore and posted:
I love Lahore but something about calling it Pakistan’s food capital has always felt lazy to me. Is a food capital where people eat the most, or where the food is actually the best? Asking because Karachi’s biryani alone wins on the latter pic.twitter.com/qur2ura7Rs
— Dan Qayyum (@DanQayyum) May 5, 2026
He stated that only Karachi’s biryani would win the race, relegating the rest to the sidelines. The post is followed by opinions for and against the food battle. Jumping into the argument, Former Minister Chaudhry Faqad Hussain stated that Lahore has a culinary heritage and posted:
Karachi’s food is okay, but it lacks Lahore’s pedigree. With food giants serving same dish over a century, Lahore’s culinary heritage is in a league of its own. It’s the history behind food that makes it so special!! https://t.co/nVu9hdRpSY
— Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) May 6, 2026
Another netizen added that there is much more to cuisine than Biryani, and Lahore wins the race with its pulao and karahi. They posted:
Biryani is not the only food. Yes Karachi biryani is better than Lahore, but for karahi, pulao and other so many dishes , Lahore mogs Karachi taste. Karachi is just spices with no flavour of meat (actually the spices kill the flavour) . Even Peshawar has better food than Karachi
— Sherry 🍁 (@CherieDamour_) May 5, 2026
However, drama critic Mahwash Ejaz called Karachi’s cuisine elite for carrying flavours from different ethnicities around the world. She posted:
Karachi’s food is elite because it blends more cuisines around the world than any other city in Pakistan. It has influences of various ethnicities & communities that make even the basic street food elevated.
Dosa. Falooda. Paye. Nihari from Zahid. Smash burgers. Gol gappay.… https://t.co/bnL6xhOiDc
— Mahwash Ajaz 🇵🇰 (@mahwashajaz_) May 5, 2026
Reham Khan also jumped on the pro-Karachi bandwagon, stating that there is no comparison between the two, Karachi is an obvious culinary capital. She posted:
The only food capital is Karachi. Lahore doesn’t come close. Islamabad has improved suddenly but only a few posh spots. In Karachi I have never had a bad food experience from boat basin to E street & Liyari to Highway. https://t.co/YX2X48ffTy
— Reham Khan (@RehamKhan1) May 5, 2026
Whether Lahore or Karachi, each city brings a flavour of the country, Pakistan. Critical of the food capital argument, a user posted that while the world celebrates Pakistan internationally, Pakistanis still argue over food superiority. They posted:
The entire world: At the request of Pakistan…
Pakistanis: Karachi food…no no Lahore food…#AtTheRequestOfPakistan #KarachiFoodVsLahoreFood#Pakistan#JustPakistaniThings#USIranWar#IranMassacre #IslamabadTalks https://t.co/wJOfG78Myr— Nida Fatima Zaidi (@NidaFatimaZaidi) May 6, 2026
Another said:
Ir’s a very touchy topic; people can pull out daggers on this issue of Karachi Biryani or Lahori Pulao. You better write on less sensitive and light topics such as American war on Iran etc😂
— Shahid Hussain Raja (@Shahid_H_Raja) May 5, 2026
