Lahore has one of the great food cultures of the subcontinent — a city where eating well is a serious civic activity, and where what you order matters more than where you sit. The Punjabi tradition leans heavily on grilled and slow-cooked meats: siri paya (slow-cooked head and trotters, eaten at dawn), nihari (a slow-stewed beef curry), karahi (chicken or mutton in a wok with tomato and ginger), and the seekh kabab.
For traditional food, the hubs are Lakshmi Chowk (karahi central), the Food Street at Heera Mandi (rooftop dining with views of the Badshahi Mosque), and Gawalmandi Food Street in the Walled City. For more cosmopolitan modern cooking — Chinese, Italian, fusion — head to M.M. Alam Road in Gulberg.
Lahori breakfast (halwa puri, paya, lassi) is famous; tea-houses on the Mall still serve cardamom chai with parathas. Vegetarian options exist but are limited — Punjabi food is unapologetically meat-heavy.