For the best chai in Lahore, most Lahoris will send you to a tea stall rather than a cafe: Goonga Yaqoob Chai Wala on Temple Road near Mozang, open round the clock, or Iqbal Tea Stall on Abbott Road near Lakshmi Chowk, known for its creamy karak chai with malai. For history, sit in Pak Tea House on Mall Road; for a late night with friends, the chai cafes of Gulberg and Johar Town stay open until 1 or 2 am.
This guide covers the tea stalls and dhabas Lahore stays up at, what to order, and which suits which kind of evening. If you want the background on doodh patti, kehwa and Kashmiri chai, our guide to Pakistani tea culture explains the styles.
| At a glance | |
|---|---|
| Classic stall | Goonga Yaqoob, Temple Road, Mozang Chungi (listed as open 24 hours) |
| Old-city stall | Iqbal Tea Stall, 22 Abbott Road, near Lakshmi Chowk |
| With history | Pak Tea House, Mall Road near Neela Gumbad, founded 1940 |
| Late-night cafes | Gulberg, MM Alam Road, Khayaban-e-Firdousi in Johar Town |
| What to ask for | Doodh patti for a milky tea, karak for strong |
| Cost | A stall chai is cheap; cafe chai costs a few hundred rupees |
What should you order?
At a Lahore dhaba, "chai" can mean tea brewed with water and then milk added. If you want the rich, all-milk version, ask for doodh patti: tea leaves boiled straight in milk with sugar. Karak chai is boiled longer and stronger, and some stalls finish it with a spoon of malai (cream) on top.
You can ask for less sugar (cheeni kam) or none, but at a busy stall the tea is often sweetened in the pot, so say so before it is poured. In winter, Kashmiri chai, pink and topped with nuts, appears at old-city shops and at Gawalmandi.
Where is the best chai in Lahore?
Goonga Yaqoob Chai Wala, Temple Road
Goonga Yaqoob, also called Yaqoo Chai Wala, is on Temple Road at Mozang Chungi and is the name that comes up most when Lahoris argue about tea. It is known for strong karak chai served in a glass, usually with a bun. Listings describe it as open 24 hours, which is why it fills up long after midnight, when other stalls have closed.
It is a roadside stall: you stand, or sit on whatever seating there is, with traffic going past. That is the point.
Iqbal Tea Stall, Abbott Road
Iqbal Tea Stall, at 22 Abbott Road near Lakshmi Chowk, is one of the old tea stalls of central Lahore, serving thick malai wali karak chai for decades. It is a natural stop before or after dinner at Lakshmi Chowk or a walk to Gawalmandi.
Pak Tea House, Mall Road
Pak Tea House, on the corner by Neela Gumbad on Mall Road, opened in 1940 as the India Tea House and took its present name in 1950. It was where Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Saadat Hasan Manto, Habib Jalib and the Progressive Writers met. It closed in 1999 to 2000, reopened in March 2013 after the Lahore High Court intervened, and has been run by the Walled City of Lahore Authority since late 2013.
The tea itself is ordinary; you come for the room, the photographs and the sense of where you are. It suits an afternoon pot of tea after a morning at the Lahore Museum or a walk through Anarkali.
The walled city and Anarkali
The old city has small tea shops in almost every bazaar, many serving tea with bun kebab or rusks. In Old Anarkali, a takeaway stall a few shops behind Hafiz Juice Corner serves strong karak chai that The Friday Times (2025) describes as available round the clock. Our Anarkali food guide has the rest of that street.
Where can you drink chai late at night?
Lahore's newer chai culture is the late-night cafe, with charpoys, fairy lights, parathas and a long menu of flavoured teas.
- Johar Town. Khayaban-e-Firdousi has long been the city's chai strip for students, with rooftop and charpoy cafes such as Chai Chubara, known for ludo and chess at the tables. Cafes here open and close often, so check a current listing before you go.
- Gulberg. Tandoori Tea & Co. on Mian Mehmood Ali Kasoori Road serves matka chai in clay pots, and Chai Junction on Noor Jehan Road pairs tea with parathas in an open-air setting. Both were listed in 2022 as open until about 2 am.
- MM Alam Road. Chaaye Khana, which started in Islamabad, has a branch on MM Alam Road in Gulberg III with a tea-focused menu and breakfast.
Cafe chai typically costs a few hundred rupees a cup, several times the stall price, and prices change often.
When is the best time for chai?
Lahore drinks tea all day, but the stalls are at their best late at night, from about 10 pm to 2 am, when the heat has gone and the city comes out. In winter, a glass of chai at a roadside stall is one of the simple pleasures of a cold, foggy evening. Note that smog can be heavy from November to January, and sitting by a busy road is not ideal for anyone with breathing problems; see our Lahore smog guide.
In Ramazan, tea stalls open after iftar and keep going until sehri.
Which chai spot suits you?
- You want the classic, and do not mind the roadside: Goonga Yaqoob on Temple Road.
- You are eating in the old city: Iqbal Tea Stall near Lakshmi Chowk.
- You want history and a seat: Pak Tea House on Mall Road.
- A late night with friends: the cafes of Johar Town or Gulberg.
- Families with children: a cafe such as Chaaye Khana, where there is proper seating and food.
A tea stall is not the place for a long sit-down with older parents in summer; choose an air-conditioned cafe instead. For more ideas, see our guide to things to do in Lahore at night and our experiences page.
Frequently asked questions
Where is the most famous chai in Lahore?
Goonga Yaqoob Chai Wala on Temple Road, near Mozang Chungi, is the best-known tea stall. It is listed as open 24 hours.
What is the difference between chai and doodh patti?
Doodh patti is tea boiled entirely in milk. Ordinary dhaba chai is often brewed in water with milk added, so it is lighter.
Is Pak Tea House still open?
Yes. It reopened in March 2013 after 13 years of closure and is run by the Walled City of Lahore Authority. It is on Mall Road near Neela Gumbad.
Where can I get chai after midnight in Lahore?
Goonga Yaqoob on Temple Road, and the chai cafes of Gulberg and Johar Town, many of which stay open until 2 am or later.
Is roadside chai safe to drink?
The tea is boiled, which makes it one of the safer things to buy from a stall. Be more careful with the water glass and any uncooked food served alongside.
