Gilgit is a conservative Muslim town and alcohol is not publicly available. The social drinking culture that exists in some other Pakistani cities is absent here. Tea houses and chai shops fill the social function that cafes play elsewhere — these are the places where men gather, news travels, and long conversations happen over endless cups of green tea or qahwa (cardamom tea).
A few more developed cafes have opened in recent years to serve the growing trekking and adventure tourism trade. These offer coffee, juices, and light food in addition to tea, and are considerably more comfortable than the traditional chai shops. The distinction between a cafe and a basic restaurant is blurry in Gilgit.