La Roma Dhaba

You’ll find La Roma Dhaba out on the Attari Wagha Road, which is the main route if you’re heading towards the border from Amritsar. We are right opposite Lahori Mal, a landmark most people know. Being on a major highway means we see all sorts of people. We get the tourists going to see the ceremony at the border, truck drivers who have been on the road for days, and locals from the nearby villages. It’s a dusty, loud place because of the constant traffic, but that’s the life of a dhaba. We don't have air conditioning or fancy menus. We have a few wooden tables and chairs, and the kitchen is always busy with the smell of wood smoke and spices. My brothers and I run the place together. We don’t have a boss in a suit telling us what to do. If the roof leaks when it rains, we climb up and fix it ourselves. We don't use any fancy language to describe what we do. We just cook what we know and make sure there’s plenty of tea for everyone. Some days are slow, especially when it’s too hot for anyone to be out, but we stay open anyway. We’ve been here for years, and we’ve seen the road change quite a bit, but we just keep doing our thing. It’s honest work, and it keeps us busy.