"Food Delivery in Pakistan: Apps and Ordering While Travelling"

Food delivery in Pakistan runs mainly through one app, foodpanda, which covers the big cities and many mid-sized towns and still lets you pay cash on delivery. In smaller places, and in most of Gilgit-Baltistan, you order the old way: by calling the restaurant or asking your hotel. Many well-known restaurants also take orders on their own websites.

This guide covers which app to use, which cities it reaches, how payment works, and what to do when you are somewhere the apps do not go.

Which food delivery apps work in Pakistan?

foodpanda is the main food delivery app in Pakistan. It entered the country in 2014 by buying a local rival, Eat Oye, and is now part of Delivery Hero. The app delivers from restaurants, and through pandamart it also delivers groceries and household basics in the cities where it runs. It has a pick-up option if you would rather collect your order, and a paid membership, pandapro, for regular users.

The other big name has gone. Careem suspended its food delivery in Pakistan in June 2022, citing the economic crisis, and stopped its ride-hailing service in July 2025. Older travel advice that mentions Careem Food is out of date.

Bykea, the Karachi-founded bike and parcel app, works in Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad and Rawalpindi. It is not a restaurant marketplace, but people use its on-demand shopping and parcel service to have a rider collect a takeaway or groceries. Our travel apps guide covers the ride-hailing side.

Which cities does foodpanda cover?

foodpanda's own city pages list most large and mid-sized cities in Punjab, Sindh and the settled parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The ones we checked in October 2026 include:

We found no city listing for Gilgit, Hunza, Skardu, Chitral or Muzaffarabad. Coverage changes, so the reliable test is to open the app, set your location and see which restaurants appear.

Inside a city, coverage is uneven. Central areas of Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad have a wide choice of restaurants; the edges of town and smaller cities have far fewer.

How does cash on delivery work?

Cash on delivery is still normal in Pakistan, and foodpanda offers it: you place the order in the app and pay the rider when the food arrives. Cards and foodpanda's own wallet, PandaPay, are the other options.

A few habits make cash orders smoother:

• Keep small notes. Pay as close to the exact amount as you can rather than handing over a large note.
• Check the order before the rider leaves, especially for drinks and sides.
• Expect refunds to go to the wallet. App reviews regularly complain that refunds on cash orders are credited to PandaPay rather than returned as cash, so a refund may only be useful for your next order.
• Tipping is optional. A small cash tip for a rider who has come through rain or heat is appreciated.

How do you get food delivered to a hotel?

Delivery to a hotel works in any covered city, but it needs more care than delivery to a home.

1. Drop the pin on the hotel itself, not the street, and write the hotel name and your room number in the address notes.
2. Keep your phone on. Riders usually call when they arrive, and often wait at the gate or reception.
3. Ask reception whether riders are allowed up. Larger hotels usually make you collect from the lobby.
4. Use a local SIM. A foreign number may not receive the rider's calls, and app sign-up works most smoothly with a Pakistani number.

If your hotel has a kitchen, compare first. In the north especially, hotel food is often the simplest option. Our hotel booking apps guide covers finding somewhere to stay.

Can you order from restaurants directly?

Yes, and for famous names it is often the better route. Many established restaurants run their own ordering websites or take orders by phone and WhatsApp. Karachi's Javed Nihari and Student Biryani both take orders through their own sites, for example.

Ordering direct can give you the full menu and avoids app commission, but delivery areas are usually limited to the restaurant's own part of town. For many small takeaway places the only way to order is to call the number painted on the shopfront.

What about food delivery in the northern areas?

In Gilgit and Hunza, Skardu and most mountain valleys, there is no app delivery to rely on. Food comes from your hotel or guesthouse kitchen, from restaurants in the bazaar, or from roadside dhabas on the way. Some bazaar restaurants will send food to a nearby hotel if you call, but do not count on it.

Plan around this: eat in the bazaar before you head back to a hotel outside town, carry snacks on long drives, and ask your guesthouse in the morning what dinner will be. Our Pakistan travel guide has more on planning a trip north.

Is ordering in worth it while travelling?

In cities, it is useful for a late meal after a long drive, for families with tired children, or when a famous restaurant is across town in heavy traffic. It is less useful for the experience: nihari, karahi and barbecue are best eaten hot at the place that cooks them, and some dishes travel badly.

If you are being careful about food safety, a delivery from a busy, well-reviewed restaurant is usually a safer bet than an unknown stall. Our guide on whether street food in Pakistan is safe explains what to look for.

Frequently asked questions