Best Paye in Lahore: Phajja and the Old-City Paye Houses

The best paye in Lahore is in the walled city, and the name everyone gives is Phajja Siri Paye in Kali Beri Bazar, a few minutes' walk from Taxali Gate and Badshahi Mosque. Lahori paye is trotters and head meat slow-cooked overnight into a thick, gelatinous broth and eaten with hot naan or kulcha, and it is at its best between dawn and about 9 am, ideally on a winter morning.

This guide is about paye only: the shops worth the trip, what is in the bowl, how to order, when to go and how to pair it with the rest of an old-city breakfast. For halwa puri and nashta in general, see our guide to the best nashta in Lahore.

What is Lahori paye?

Paye means feet. The dish is the trotters of a cow, goat or sheep, cleaned and simmered for hours on a low flame, traditionally overnight, until the gelatine from the bones thickens the broth. Siri paye adds the head, which brings tongue, cheek and brain into the pot. The spicing is lighter than nihari: garlic, ginger, a little chilli and a house spice mix, with the richness coming from the bone and fat rather than from masala.

A good bowl has a broth that coats the spoon and sets on the plate as it cools, and meat that comes away from the bone with no effort. You eat it by tearing hot naan into the broth and working the meat off the bones by hand. It is not tidy, and nobody expects it to be.

There are a few versions to know:

• Bakray kay paye, goat trotters, lighter and the most common choice for a first bowl.
• Gaye kay paye, beef trotters, heavier and stickier.
• Siri paye, with head meat added.
• Bong paye, paye cooked with bong, the shank meat, which gives you more meat and less bone.

Where is the best paye in Lahore?

Phajja Siri Paye, Kali Beri Bazar

Phajja is the most famous paye shop in Pakistan, and people come from other cities for it. It sits in Kali Beri Bazar in the Shahi Mohalla, the old quarter by Taxali Gate, close to Taj Mahal Sweets. The family credit the founder, Phajja, with turning trotters, which were once thrown away, into the city's best-loved breakfast. The sign on one shop reads "since 1953", while other accounts describe the business as older; either way it has fed the walled city for generations.

Online listings now show it open round the clock, but the morning is when it matters. The pot is freshest from before sunrise until about 9, the crowd is a mix of labourers, old-timers and visitors, and the best cuts go first. Its Google listing carries thousands of reviews, and the common complaints are the ones you would expect: no air conditioning, poor ventilation and heat in summer. Reviewers rate the lassi.

More than one shop uses the Phajja name, with words such as asli or asil, "the real one", on their boards. If you want the original, ask for Kali Beri Bazar and follow the queue.

Marhaba Bong Paye, near Shah Abul Maali

Dawn's Images in 2022 followed a breakfast trail through the old city that included Marhaba Bong Paaye and Naan Shop, near the shrine of Syed Shah Abul Maali in the walled city. It serves bakray kay paye, bong paye, naan, parathas and chholay. It is less famous than Phajja, with a more local crowd, and it is a good second stop if you want to compare a meatier, bong-heavy bowl.

Sultanpura and the old-city lanes

Sultanpura is the other Lahore neighbourhood food guides name for paye, served the same way, as a spicy broth with hot naan and a chilled lassi. The lanes around Taxali Gate also have more paye shops than any guide lists, so if one queue is too long, there are others a few doors away. Our Gawalmandi food street guide covers another old-city breakfast area close by.

When should you go for paye in Lahore?

1. Go early. Between Fajr and about 8 am is the classic time, when the broth is at its thickest and every cut is still available.
2. Winter is paye season. From November to February, on a cold, smoggy morning, it makes the most sense. In June it is a very heavy start in a hot room.
3. Weekends are busiest. Sunday and holiday mornings bring families and visitors from across the city.
4. In Ramadan, go for sehri. Paye shops do a strong trade in the small hours, and Phajja's reviewers recommend it for sehri in particular. See our Lahore in Ramadan guide.

What should you order?

• A half plate per person is plenty for most people with one naan. A full plate suits a big appetite or sharing.
• Bakray kay paye for a first bowl. Try beef or siri paye once you know you like it.
• Naan or kulcha straight from the tandoor, ordered as you go.
• Lemon, sliced ginger and green chilli if the shop puts them out, to cut the richness.
• A sweet lassi afterwards, or doodh patti if you need to stay awake.

Prices at the old-city paye shops have risen sharply in recent years, and older online figures are out of date. Check the board before you sit down and carry cash.

How do you plan an old-city paye breakfast?

Paye works best as the start of a morning in the walled city rather than a trip on its own.

1. Arrive at Taxali Gate by 7 am by rickshaw or ride-hailing. Parking in the lanes is close to impossible.
2. Eat at Phajja in Kali Beri Bazar.
3. Walk to Badshahi Mosque and the fort, which are a few minutes away.
4. Finish with a lassi in the old city, or at Chacha Feeka, the lassi shop near Tollington Market off Mall Road that has been pouring its perray wali lassi since 1947.

Our walled city of Lahore guide has a walking route that starts from the same gate.

Is a paye breakfast worth it?

Yes, if you eat meat, like rich food and want to eat the way the old city does. A bowl at Phajja is one of the most Lahori things you can do before 8 am, and it costs far less than a hotel breakfast.

It is not for everyone. Paye is fatty and gelatinous, the shops are hot, basic and crowded, and seating is a shared bench at best. It is hard work with small children, and it is a bad idea before a long drive. If that is you, try halwa puri instead, or a sit-down Gulberg restaurant that serves paye in calmer surroundings. More food ideas are in our guide to the famous food of Lahore and on our experiences page.

Frequently asked questions