Restaurant POS software in Lahore

Where Lahore eats

Lahore's food runs on streets as much as halls. Fort Road Food Street, between Fort Road and the Hazoori Bagh gateway, was rebuilt and opened in 2012 as a tourist attraction serving Lahori cuisine with views of the Badshahi Mosque. Gawalmandi, which takes its name from the milkmen's market it once was, has its own well-known food street. In Anarkali, the old bazaar is noted for traditional food, and New Anarkali for its halwa puri, nihari and siri paye.

On the other side of the city, MM Alam Road in Gulberg is listed among Lahore's main food destinations, along with the restaurants of Fortress Stadium and the DHA commercial blocks. These are cafés and sit-down restaurants with longer menus, card payments and delivery to the housing societies around them.

Two very different kitchens, then. A breakfast counter in the old city sells a few dishes in huge numbers between sunrise and noon, mostly takeaway and mostly cash. A Gulberg restaurant seats families for an hour, takes card and wallet payments, and has riders waiting at the door for parcels. Many places in Lahore do a bit of both, and the busiest nights come with Ramazan sehri and iftar, weekends and cricket matches.

What they share is a kitchen with separate stations and a cashier who has to know, at closing, where every rupee went.

Payment is split along the same lines. Old-city counters still run mostly on cash, while cafés in Gulberg see cards and wallet transfers on most bills, and regular office orders are often settled weekly on khata. The cash register at closing has to add all of those up against what is actually in the drawer.

A day in a Lahore restaurant

Breakfast service. For a fast counter, switch to quick counter mode: take the order with a token, send it to the kitchen and take payment at once. The halwa puri, chana and lassi go to their own stations, and the token number is called when the tray is ready.

Lunch and dinner. Waiters take orders at tables grouped by section: family hall, roof, outside seating. Each table shows when it was seated and its running bill. Add-ons such as extra naan, less chilli or a bigger plate are priced on the bill and printed on the ticket.

Delivery. Parcels move from waiting for a rider to delivered, and the cash each rider still has to hand over is listed, so the evening count has no surprises.

Happy hours. Set a price cut by time and day, such as chai cheaper between three and six on weekdays, and it applies by itself.

Costing. Recipes are costed at today's rates for meat, ghee and flour, so you see the plate cost and food cost percent of every dish, and which ones need a new price.

Questions from Lahore restaurant owners

We open at 5 a.m. for breakfast and close after midnight. How do the days add up?

You set the hour your business day starts, so late-night sales stay with the evening they belong to in the dashboard and sales history.

Can a table of friends pay separately?

Yes. Split the bill, merge or move tables, and take part payments by cash, card, wallet or khata.

Our nihari runs out by noon. Can I see how many plates are left?

Yes. With the recipe set up, the menu shows how many plates the stock still covers, so you know when to stop taking orders or start the next pot.

Can riders take orders on their phones?

Riders and waiters can use the app on their own phones in the browser. What each person can do, such as cancel an item or give a discount, depends on the role you give them.

Do I need PRA integration?

Only if your restaurant is registered for it. Optional FBR/PRA integration is available; the Punjab sales tax guide explains the provincial rules for restaurant services.

Where can I learn how kitchen tickets work?

Read the KOT system guide and see the restaurant page.