One of the hidden secrets in Lahore is Cocoo’s Den. Cocoo’s Den is located in the Old Lahore, near the famous Badshahi Mosque and Lahore Fort. This part of Lahore is located in the ever so popular place, Heera Mandi, otherwise known as the Red Light Area, where the infamous Dancing Girls of Lahore preside (if you are interested, please read Dancing Girls of Lahore by Louise Brown- one part even mentions a dancing girl talking about her experiences with Sheikh Zayed from Abu Dhabi availing of the services in this area of Lahore). It was somewhat unrespectable to venture into this area of Lahore. Cocoo’s Den has changed all that and now people from the more affluent part of society indulge in this hidden charm.
I had the pleasure of going there for the first time ever, and I must say, dining out at Cocoo’s Den is more than just eating; it’s an experience. The drive into the area is an interesting one, as you battle the traffic, the horse and donkey carts, and drive into small streets.
The entrance is far from grand. Check out the three small children on the balcony!
A signboard is simply the name painted on a white board.
Entering into the small room, it is evident that this place is owned by a painter, who has painted quite a lot of portraits of the various dancing girls, of which some were provocative enough to evoke a reaction. Other artifacts filled the room; paintings, furniture, hindu statues, tile works, wooden doors.
There are also many portraits of the dancing girls of Lahore, and all of them reflect a certain degree of sadness. These women are condemned and shunned, but no one ponders over the reality of the situation: these women don’t choose dancing and prostitution by choice but are rather forced into it given the dire circumstances they are put in.
To get to the restaurant itself, one has to climb quite a lot of steps, as the restaurant is on the roof (3rd floor). Small winding steps lead you up to the roof, and once you get there, the awesome view of the Badshahi Mosque is a view to grasp!
About 12 of us sat on a long table, and immediately ordered our food.
The waiters were attentive enough, and hurryingly took our orders down. They also set on our table the plates, cutlery and salad. We had to ask for for yoghurt (raita) and they gave us yoghurt in packets. It took a while for the food to come, but the view from the roof kept us all busy and chatting. A single lamp on our table (with a red colored paper wrapped around the bulb) illuminated the area. The lights did go off for about 30 minutes that plunged us into darkness. The full moon gave us enough light so it wasn’t all that bad.
The food was awesome, and we all dove into it immediately. The daal (lentils), chicken handi, kebabs, rice, brain masala all were mouth watering. The 3 different types of bread were freshly made (naan, paratha, roghni naan). We asked the waiters whether the food was made on the premises or ordered from outside, and he was clueless about it, which further fuelled our suspicion that the food is made off-premises. While we were eating, the waiter had forgotten to bring us the second plates of kebab and chops we ordered. He finally brought it when we were finishing off our meal, and we asked them to take it back and remove it from our order.
The dessert was gulab-jamun and firni. I had both, and I have to tell you how tasty and delicious the gulab jamun were! I never had any better than what I had here! The waiter bungled up our bill, as he failed to remove the two cancelled orders, and they were being somewhat rude in not removing these two very items. After calling in the manager, he finally agreed to remove the two items and made all of us happy.
Despite the somewhat inattentiveness of the waiters- manager too- dining out at Cocoo’s Den is an experience not to be missed. I would definitely go back to Cocoo’s Den, but not too often as the novelty of the experience may wear off!
The entire experience of being transported back to Old Lahore is a strong and real experience: the pleasant weather, the awesome views, the traditional food, the bare minimum lighting and classical music playing in the background made dining out at Cocoo’s Den an experience for all senses!
Mansur
My cousin and my sister after having danced on the stage. (Note, I didn’t shave today so I too could have a clean shave the following day. Lol!)
