Kings & Queen started out as a pizza parlour way back when names like Pizza 2000 were the market leaders with Pizza Hut nowhere in sight. It has now evolved to offer subway type sandwiches,burgers, pasta and even shawarma. Although it claims to have many branches including one in Lahore, the one being evaluated here is a small joint nestled between Pie in the Sky bakers and a DVD shop in one of the obscure sections of the bustling Muhammad Ali Society Food Street. Short to fame way back in the 1980s with the likes of Kaybees, Vimpy’s and Spinzer, it now has even KFC and Pizza Hut vying for a share of the pie.
Coming back to the location of Kings & Queen on this street, it’s not even on the main street, and if you don’t know what you are looking for, you won’t find it.
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About the joint itself, it’s way too small, having just five tables of four jampacked into a small space. But the ambience is good enough. The interior is aesthetically done with small 1’X1’ paintings donning one of the walls. There’s no question the joint is geared towards the millennial generation, however a family was spotted as well during one of the visits.
The menu should have been printed on a proper card instead of just in the form of a paper brochure. A menu is a crucial element of the brand positioning and it should be given as much importance as the other elements.
As far as the content of the brochure is concerned, it has been wonderfully done, especially the wording. Items have been branded in line with the brand essence of the Café, that is pack of cards. So you have names like Queen of Aces and King of Diamonds for the different burgers and sandwiches. Even the description of these branded items is written artfully to elicit a mouth-watering response just by reading it. It is very much in the mold of the Copper Kettles and the Arizona Grills. Sadly, that’s where the similarities end as soon as you lay eyes on the food when it arrives.
The subway sandwich could easily have been made a bit bigger. Considering the hefty price tag of Rs.160, you expect something more filling than this. The quantity as well as the size of the French fries should also be better. Hell, they didn’t even coat the fries with the corn flour to make them extra crispy and bulky, something which many local fast food joints have picked up from their foreign franchise counterparts.
The Queen of Diamond burger with double cheese and fried egg on top was a big disappointment. Two problems stood out- one, it was way too small; two- it tasted like the burger of Hanifia instead of a ‘burger’ burger. The beef patty was too desi to support the brand essence of Kings & Queen.
Kings and Queen’s main item, that is pizza, is a mixed bag. The topping including the cheese is generous, the crust is quite good, markedly different from what you get at the big brands. However, there’s something amiss with the taste. One important factor is the cheese itself. Although sufficiently used, it tastes like some inferior quality, just not up to the mark.
We tried two of their flavors. Both were chicken, and one of the things wrong with both of them was that the chicken used was essentially the same one they used in their sub, their sandwiches and everything else. There’s just no difference in the way the chicken is marinated and cooked for different products. What this does is make all their products taste like each other. A branding guru would be proud of this remarkable consistency across product lines but a consumer won’t be amused. If he’s ordering something else, he wants something different. Period.
Their KQ Sandwich, which is supposed to be their trademark meal in the sandwich category, was a major disappointment. Although it’s description in the menu boasted of heaven, a four deck sandwich with sausages and chicken chunks and what not, the real thing belied the description. It had the most basic flaw, that of inadequate filling. This alone is enough to sum up the experience, an experience which cost Rs.155.
Kings and Queen’s has done a good job of branding and is consistent with it with respect to time as well as location. All the three outlets at Boating Basin, Defence phase VI and Muhammad Ali Society offer the same value and ambience. What it needs to do is built upon this value by tweaking its taste a few notches up. Having a tantalizing aroma wafting through the dining hall alone could see the sales go through the roof.
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