Monal Restaurant Islamabad: New Location, Timings and History

Monal restaurant Islamabad is open again, but not where most people remember it. The original Monal on the Margalla Hills at Pir Sohawa closed in September 2024 and was demolished under a Supreme Court order. Since 13 March 2026 Monal has been running from a new rooftop restaurant on top of the Mall of IMARAT at IMARAT Downtown, on the Islamabad Expressway, open daily from about 10.30 am to 11 pm.

If you drive up to Pir Sohawa expecting the old Monal, you will find an empty site and a view. This guide explains what happened, where the new restaurant is, how to reach it from Islamabad, Rawalpindi or Lahore, and whether it is worth the trip.

Is Monal restaurant in Islamabad open?

Yes, at its new location. Monal Group's chairman, Luqman Ali Afzal, confirmed the opening on 13 March 2026, according to Pakistan Today. Construction began in September 2024, when Monal and the developer IMARAT signed an agreement for what was announced as Monal's largest restaurant, and the opening came more than a year later than first planned.

The restaurant is on the rooftop of Mall of IMARAT Tower 1, on the Jinnah Garden main approach road, directly on the Islamabad Expressway (Faisal Avenue). IMARAT gives its timings as 10.30 am to 11 pm every day. Timings can change during Ramadan and on holidays, so check before you go.

What happened to the old Monal at Pir Sohawa?

The original Monal opened in about 2006 on the Margalla ridge at Pir Sohawa, inside Margalla Hills National Park, and ran for around 18 years. It became one of the best-known restaurants in the country, a place Islamabad families took visiting relatives for the view over the city. Pakistan Today reported that it employed more than 700 people.

The ending came through the courts:

1. 11 June 2024. The Supreme Court ordered Monal, La Montana and the other restaurants inside the national park to vacate, holding that commercial activity was incompatible with a protected area.
2. 11 September 2024. Monal closed, and the wildlife board took over the premises with the support of the CDA and the police.
3. October 2024. The CDA told the Supreme Court that the restaurant structures had been demolished and the land reclaimed.
4. 13 July 2026. Pakistan's Federal Constitutional Court set aside the 2024 Supreme Court judgment on review, and sent the land ownership disputes back to the civil courts. Its detailed judgment followed in late September 2026.

The July 2026 ruling does not rebuild anything. As The Nation reported in October 2026, the judgment does not authorise Monal's return to Pir Sohawa or any reconstruction; ownership has to be decided by the civil courts first. For now, nothing is operating on the old site.

You can still drive up to Pir Sohawa for the view and the cool air. Our guide to Pir Sohawa as it is now covers the road, the viewpoints and what little food is left at the top.

What is the new Monal like?

The new Monal is a large rooftop restaurant built to bring back what made the old one famous: a big family setting and a view. The view is now across the city from a rooftop, rather than down over Islamabad from the hills.

The menu is broadly what Monal has always served: Pakistani dishes and barbecue, platters, and continental food. Delivery listings in 2026 show platters at around PKR 2,000 to 2,200 each, which gives an idea of the price level; this is a premium family restaurant, not a dhaba. Reviewers warn that portions are large, so order less than you think. Prices change, so check the current menu.

A few practical points:

• Book for weekends. Friday and Saturday evenings, Eid and long weekends are the busiest times.
• Go for sunset. As at the old site, the hour around sunset is when the rooftop is at its best.
• Bring a layer in winter. Rooftop seating gets cold on winter evenings in Islamabad.

How do you get to the new Monal?

The restaurant is on the Islamabad Expressway, which runs south-east from Zero Point towards Rawalpindi and the GT Road. IMARAT describes the site as about ten minutes from Zero Point, and easy to reach from DHA, Bahria Town, Koral Chowk and the airport.

• From central Islamabad, drive or take a ride-hailing car down the Expressway. It is far easier to reach than Pir Sohawa ever was: no hill road, and no queue of cars on the ridge.
• From Rawalpindi, join the Expressway towards Islamabad. The Jinnah Garden approach road is on this stretch.
• From Lahore, take the M-2 to Islamabad and cross the city to the Expressway, or eat at Monal's own Lahore branch instead (see below).

Monal in Lahore and Rawalpindi

You don't have to come to Islamabad for Monal. Monal Lahore is on the rooftop of the ten-storey Park and Ride Plaza at Liberty Chowk, Gulberg, with indoor and terrace seating and a menu of Pakistani, Chinese, Thai and continental food. There is also a Monal in Rawalpindi, and the group lists branches in other cities. If you are a Lahori looking for the Monal experience, the Liberty branch saves you the drive.

Is the new Monal worth visiting?

It is worth it if what you want is a big family dinner with a view, good barbecue and an easy drive. It is a comfortable, well-run place for a celebration or for taking visiting relatives out, and the new site is far more convenient than the old one.

It is not the same as the old Monal. Part of the appeal at Pir Sohawa was the drive up through the forest and the view down over the whole city from the hills, and a rooftop on the Expressway can't fully replace that. If you want the hills, drive to Pir Sohawa or Daman-e-Koh for the view, then come down to eat. Our guide to the best food in Islamabad has other places to eat in the city, and our destinations page covers where to go next.

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