Cafe Delhi Heights

In the middle of urban madness of Gurgaon, Delhi, while searching for cafe Mocha, we came across Cafe Delhi Heights. The fact that we had walked for quite a bit looking for this elusive Mocha made us cut short our search and walk right into DH.
The insides looked cosy, rustic and posh all at the same time and we didn't really know what to expect here. Looking at the menu, we realised that this was a fusion joint not exactly a cafe. It served all sorts of forgotten Indian dishes (like banta soda) to continental snacks (like cheese chilly toast and tortilla with dips). However they all had one thing in common, they were all very expensive :)

I went for one of the cheapest option on the menu, vada pav and waited not knowing what sort of vadapav (which is a Maharashtrian delicacy) will arrive from the heart of a Northern urban restaurant. ( Random titbit: I was later told by my friend that he can eat approximately 20 vadapavs at that cost in front of Kalyan station :-)
But I was pleasantly surprised because although what arrived was a far more gourmet version of the typical roadside delicacy from Western India, yet it was really tasty and finger licking. So much so that I promised to bring back wtp to this place later in the trip.

Ambience wise, this is a great place for hanging out with friends or even impressing your date. The place has a cool attitude about it.
Value for money: Well most people living in Gurgaon, Delhi region are really quite well off and I don't think the pricing is a problem for this area. The service and the taste of food served is good, thus not disappointing you from that aspect.
Also the chef there is from the Himachal, and I have met him in both occasions. He does like to come out and talk to customer which is a really good thing, because we were able to give him our personal feedback on both occasions.




Sell Coffee, not your soul

Almost a visit to Amici Cafe

So last week we continued our search for good cafes and reached Khan market. We had a list of cafes that we wanted to try out here. Khan market as I realised was this two and a half lanes full of food places, cafes and shops. By now I was getting used to the narrow side streets of Delhi (flashforward: my view will change when I visit my cousin in Gurgaon the next week!)
After walking around for a while and soaking in the many different outlets, and flipping through the menus which were conveniently placed under the supervision of a security guard, we decided to walk into Amici Cafe.

We walked in and were greeted by the owner (or perhaps his son) who seemed courteous, but not very focused. I wasn't sure he even listened to me when I spoke. In any case, we went up and waited a while to be seated. But no one really asked us anything. I was quite glad to see the open kitchen where some guys were making fresh pizza in front of us and baking it in the oven. I showed some interest and asked one of them if I could take a picture, but all I got was a grrmph. No smile, no exchange of words, just a snort. After waiting for a while when we still couldn't attract anyone's attention, we decided to leave and go to our next destination.

While walking out, the owner (the son again) asked us if everything was ok. We told him that we could not find a place, so we may come back later. He immediately let us know how understaffed they were and hence there was no one to attend to us. While I wasn't expecting an excuse, I would have still walked out with the hope of returning back, but then he continued speaking.
Owner's son (looking at me): Where are you from?
My friend intervened: She is from London...
Owner's son (now looking at my friend): What about you?
My friend: I am from Delhi, but I haven't been here before...
Owner's son: Oh very good, very good, keep bringing them here...(pointing at me)

Needless to say I was not happy. What did he mean by them? I am not them! And why did he not ask my friend to keep coming back...especially since she is from the city? Does he only want foreign tourists in his cafe? And the main thing is that my friend is not his agent! Why should she bring him foreign guests at all?

That was the end of our Amici experience. From here we decided to walk down to Turtle Cafe our next stop.




Sell Coffee, not your soul

What we learnt at Kunzum cafe

So after the ecstasy at Thadi, my friend and I continued on our journey to hunt down more cafes to inspire us. Kunzum cafe was next on our list. Conceptually I had really liked this place. The idea to have a place where people can come, sit  down, relax, talk about their travel plans and share their own travel stories, all this sounded like fun. Just reading about such a place excited me.

With all this in mind, we finally stepped into this cafe. And I was instantly shocked. There was no kitchen in this cafe. In fact this was not a cafe at all. It simply had one side board with a kettle and assorted tea and coffee packs. Trying to hide my initial disappointment, I took off my slippers, to enter the cafe. Yes that's right, you have to take your shoes off before seating yourself. I think I understand the idea behind it, which is to make you feel comfortable, as if you are at home. However in reality the flooring was not all that clean, and so bare-feet walking on a dusty floor did not exactly make me feel at home.

Since there was no menu and there was just one guy who seemed to be serving everyone, for a long time my friend and I just sat there and wondered what to do. We started looking at some of the photographs which were hung on the walls. They were quite pretty. I went and got some travel books about Delhi and Himachal Pradesh from their extensive book shelf and started flipping through the pages. After giving the lone waiter enough time to finish his many tasks, my friend went and placed our order. I wanted something cooling since the temperature in Delhi is still quite a bit high for me at this time of the year. But I had to accept the green tea instead, since there was nothing cold on their sideboard-kitchenette.

Soon we were feeling a bit too suffocated because of the closed nature of the space, and also because the people sat on neighbouring tables had stopped being entertaining, we decided to leave.


Learnings;
The Good: The idea/theme of the cafe is undeniably good. Especially because I pride myself as a world traveller, the theme was closer to heart for me.
I also liked the idea of pay what you like. It sort of made up for the fact that this place is not really a cafe. This also means if you don't like the place or the product, at least you can pay what you feel is correct, instead of being forced to pay an exorbitant price and leave feeling looted.

The Bad: The space was much too closed and there was absolutely no ventilation. To add to this since the place is tightly packed with high, low chairs, sofas and single mattresses on the floor you cannot help but get in each other's way. Eavesdropping into your neighbour's conversation is not an option, it is compulsory here.
Personally a very big negative in my mind was also the fact that there was no personal touch. It is possible that  I went to the place at a wrong time, but I would have really liked it if the owner of the place was there, speaking to people and helping newcomers to connect more with the central theme of the place.

The Ugly: I felt a bit cheated, because this was not a cafe. Tea, coffee, confectionery are the highlights of a cafe, but this place did not put any focus on this aspect at all. My personal belief is ambience cannot be the only highlight of a cafe, the product that is sold also needs to match up to the level of the ambience.

All in all it was a good learning experience, and we went back home with lots of scribblings in our note pad. It is important to learn how to do things. It is also important to learn how not to do things.


Sell Coffee, not your soul

Featuring Thadi Cafe

As we walked down the narrow but lively streets of Hauz Khas village, my friend and I saw this old looking and not very attractive building which had a sign of Thadi Cafe loosely hanging outside it.

After some debate of whether it is 'safe' to go in ( I can attribute the fear to the paranoia which I seem to have developed just by not spending enough time in my own country), we finally voted that we should give it a try. Also I had a read a few lines in a blog earlier this morning, and I really wanted to see the place.

So we followed our heart, and the signs, and kept climbing up the stairs of this mysterious looking place, all the time guessing what could be in store for us. When we finally reached the terrace (which is where the cafe was located), we were so thrilled, that we almost cried out in joy. The view from the terrace was awesome. This terrace-cafe looked over the Hauz Khas water tank giving a person like me who had no idea about the place and this lake such a pleasant surprise.

While my friend sat soaking in the ambience (the view, the caned chairs, painted walls, posters about art concerts etc), I went in to carry out my own investigation, under the pretext of ordering food. My second surprise for the day awaited me inside. The owner (one of the four, as I found later) of the place was also an engineer, who opted for doing something different with his life. Needless to say, there was an instant connection, and I spent quite some time chatting away with him. I found out that the word Thadi meant a small vendor of tea and coffee from the Jaipur region where the guys had studied. I found out about the aspirations and reasons behind the conception and implementation of the place. I also managed ordering some food by the end of it.

So in conclusion:
Ambience: Fantastic, the view from the terrace and low seating arrangements inside gave a double dose of character to the place. The music system was a good one, which to me personally was a plus! My friend loved the diwali lights which were turned on at dusk.

Food: We had the Thadi chai (tea) and a veg grilled sandwich, both were decent. My only crib, why didn't the waiter leave the pot with left over tea behind, I would have loved a second round!

Pricing: Very affordable. (Especially when I find almost everything super expensive in India!)


Sell Coffee, not your soul