Finding a cafe that suits your personality is a little bit of an identity thing. And it’s been interesting to note the refreshingly ravenous risk appetite of cafe owners in recent times. Rather than sticking to comfortable culinary trends like Indo-Chinese-Punjabi joints or yet another mediocre Italian eatery, we’ve spoken a fair bit about how culinary culture in urban India is evolving fast, but there’s even more good news on the cafe front.
People are paying more and more attention to the conceptualisation and themes of their cafes, developing philosophies and ideas that they want their spaces to stand for and then creating decor, menus and additional facilities to further cement their concepts as well.
* Biker’s Cafe NH-22Situated about 5 km away from Ambala Cantonment towards the North, this cafe was specially designed to make the journey for bikers as smooth as possible. The owner, a biker himself, having understood the discomforts faced while riding to long distances, started this venture that would provide them a place to relax, fill their stomachs, and buy gears and accessories for the bikes.
* Cafe STORY, KolkataCafé STORY was born out of a collaboration between Primarc and Penguin India, in order create a space where people could have access to over 3000 titles. Within the library, there is a cafe that is being managed by the Chai Break that offers a wide variety of food such as salads, pasta, risottos, sandwiches, tea, coffee, soda and more.
* ChavadiChavadi is a place that was started because the owners felt the need to bring the community that was dying a slow death at the hands of technology, alive with the help of interactions, debates and the numerous small activities that kept society alive for decades. Chavadi is a community culture cafe that serves amazing dishes with a side of art, culture and new zest for life. They open up their space as a venue for workshops, events and debates.
* Ciclo CafeIf we’re honest, this is the cafe that sparked our interest in hunting for more uniquely conceptualised cafes in the first place. A first of its kind for India, Cycling cafes are all the rage in Western parts of the world, especially Europe, given the population’s strong penchant for cycling but considering the culture (there are a fair few recreational cycling clubs) is still very nascent in Chennai, it’s particularly exciting to find such a quaint and beautiful cafe over here.
* Floating RestaurantLocated about 10 km away from Trivandrum city in Veli village is a quaint and scenic spot that is sandwiched between the Veli lagoon and the Arabian Sea. Connected to the beach by a floating bridge, is a two-storied floating restaurant that is being managed by the Kerala Tourism Development Corporation (KTDC). They have a limited menu mostly including snacks that are priced at extremely reasonable rates. However, more than the food, it is the view from here that is more likely to blow your mind away!