Monday, 02 August 2021 | Jaskiran Chopra | Dehradun
It is indeed amazing how Dehradun has now become café land along with being a city of schools and a place known for its fine baking. Over the past two to three years, the city has turned into a haven for cafeterias of various hues that have mushroomed in the valley in the most striking manner.
One has seen a Dehradun where cafes were extremely difficult to find- tea shops serving tea, samosas and pakoras were more the norm here. However, when the CCDs came in, they set the trend for other cafes that suited people’s pockets. The trend caught strength around five years ago. But the speed with which new cafes began coming up increased dramatically over the past two years.
Be it Café Olive and Café Turmeric in the cantonment or Café Marigold in Rajpur, Café Nomad and Café Picolo near the Mussoorie Diversion or Café Tealogy near them, CaféCebo or Musee Art Café – each one has a special look and ambience to suit the tastes of different people. A feature they all try to adhere to is that of an open space along with an enclosed space.
When the lockdown was relaxed in the winter of last year, one could see a rush of school and college students at these cafes. However, April onwards, they closed again. Recently, these cafes have again become the hub of good cheer. People are now following the thought of catching and enjoying the moment since life is so unpredictable.
The most important feature of many of these cafes is that they have their own baking units. Also, some of the cafes get their own coffee beans from down south to ensure the authentic taste of coffee. Special pastries, brownies, cakes and pizza bases are baked by them for their customers.
Here, one would like to mention the many famous bakeries of Doon valley many of which have set up their eating places. However, these are mostly crowded and noisy and give a very different eating experience than the quiet confines of the valley’s exclusive cafes. The cafes have idyllic surroundings with brilliant views of mountains.Their menu cards feature exotic cuisine that is attracting people, especially youngsters.
The décor is impressive in each café and care is taken to match the music to the ambience.While some play old Hindi film songs, classic western instrumental music and yet others play English songs of the 1960s and 1970s. Tourists are also finding these cafes attractive and appealing.Cafe Dope, Café Chhaya and Café Razmataaz are among some of the popular ones.
Stylish and colourful furniture adds to the cheerful look of most cafes. Pizzas, pastas, iced tea of many flavours, noodles, a wide variety of coffee and delicious bakery items are available.
The chai-pakora shops do have their own charm but the comforting and calming atmosphere provided by the cafes has won the hearts of Doonites. The cafes have brought together the taste of the bakeries, the comfort of restaurants and the charm of tea pakora shops.They seem to have hit the magic formula.
Once, renowned writer Ruskin Bond had said about Doon that if one stood still for a while, they would build a bakery around you. This holds true of cafes today.
