Born and brought up in the city, nothing is good enough for metropolitan people like us. We love the hustle and bustle: the noise on the street is like a lullaby to us, right? Wrong! We need space from all the pollution and, might I say, we don’t get it often enough. Responsibilities hold us back from abandoning our incredibly social lives in the city for a quiet vacation in the hills. Let’s face it – we’re addicted to midnight deliveries and our perfect morning coffees with double expresso shots, whipped cream and skimmed milk. How else will you watch Game of Thrones all night and get work done all day? You need that food to keep you going.
Well, pack your bags and throw out the diet plan. These five mountain cafes in India will make you want to move to the hills full time. Work from home jobs are a thing already anyway.
1. Bhoj, Kasol
Image courtesy: Shivam Singh on TripAdvisor
Occupying a small corner over three floors, this café leaves no room for subtlety. Its vibe stretches through all of Kasol. People play their own music on every table which somehow blends together and makes you feel as if you’re in a giant bubble of trance. They are willing to share everything from chargers to ideologies. But most importantly, the butter chicken, kadhai paneer, dal makhani and garlic naan at 4 am makes one stay there till 8 am just for another course. Now you’re thinking, what’s so special about our very own Indian cuisine in a small Indian café? That’s where you’re wrong, my friends. Strike out the fine dining Indian restaurant you planned to visit this weekend with your friends in a perfect blue shirt. This is food like you’ve never tasted before. When you touch that garlic naan-soft on the inside, crispy on the outside and the hot butter melting on your cold fingers waiting to be dipped into the creamiest paneer you have ever met-you will stay there till 8 am watching Game of Thrones. You’re welcome to take a nap on their cosy living room mattresses while the waiters join you at your table to share some smiles and stories.
2. Illiterati, McLeodganj
Image Courtesy: Unorganised Chaos
At the very end of the town, Illiterati is essentially for the peace-seekers. Overlooking the beautiful Himachal, this mountain café offers the one perfect companion every hiker is looking for: books! Visitors have the option to pick out books from their exquisite collection and read for hours. When a wanderer finds another, quietly reading something that has been on their read list for the longest time, nothing can stop the conversation that’s about to begin. But that’s not it. You can also replace a book that you’d like to read with one that you already have! Yes! Passers-by can casually pick books up and return them after days or simply replace them with a book of their own. This is the sanctity of the hills. The café runs on a mutual bond of trust, and so you know when you call for the food, it’s going to live up to mood of the café. This book café’s ravioli is out of the world and the wood-fired food has a savoury smoky taste like no other! This is the reason you go to McLeod.
3. Once In Nature, Bhaksu
Image courtesy: Emptyrucksack
Just an hour’s walk from McLeod, this vegan (yes, vegan!) mountain café makes it impossible to miss the city, my fellow metropolitans. Passers-by play music and a band comes into being every couple of hours with people who have never met before. Their synchronised serenity manifests into melodious rhythms-nobody is safe from the place’s infectious vibe. In between Bhaksu and Dharamkot, this all-natural haven offers a variety of cuisines. The real attraction is undoubtedly the very thick, rich, flavoursome avocado shake. This shake has so many flavours blended together you’ll forget that coffee forever. The second must-try here is the sushi. This little hidden jewel serves its own version of vegan sushi so large and so yum it’ll make your tongue swell just thinking about it. The third treasure here (yes, there’s a third!) is the white sauce pasta with wild mushroom. The creamy glossy sauce complements the pungent mushrooms and melt-in-your-mouth pasta like the rivers do the valleys. If this is not going to get you there then I don’t know what will.
4. Trek and Dine, Dharamkot
Image courtesy: Staygypsy
The name says it all. It’s a huge space that serves Continental, Israeli, Indian and American Breakfast. Hikers and trekkers stop by here when they really need some food. You get health, taste and mood, all in one place. Here one finds live music every now and then on at least one of the four seating areas. The bustling crowd keeps the waiters on their toes and the pumped up air lifts travellers’ spirits. The speciality here, the one thing that tops everything else everywhere else is… the hummus! Rich, creamy, thick sesame makes flawless tahini, blended with smooth skinned chickpeas, topped with a zesty lemon flavour, mixed with just the right amount of ground cumin, oh it’s salsa with your tongue. Sitting there it’s not a task to finish bowl after bowl with nothing: no bread, no chip, just hummus. Do it. Skip the coffee, you’ll forget the GOT. The second best thing you get here is ‘Bhaksu cake.’ Get your imagination going: biscuit crumble bottom like that of a cheesecake, dense layer of caramel, then peanut butter and lastly a thick layer of sinful chocolate. No blueberry muffin even comes close. There’s a reason tourists, pilgrims and locals alike trek and dine here.
5. Café 1947, Vashisht
Image Courtesy: tripadvisor
Situated in old Manali, this beautiful riverside café serves the best wood-oven pizzas. The bubbling sound of water, fresh smell surrounding the area and cold moisture in the atmosphere makes ordering multiples courses irresistible. This rather plays to your favour because you can never have one too many of their beautiful rusty crispy, crusty thin-crust pizzas, fresh out of the wood-fired oven: cheese melting, toppings sizzling. What’s Domino’s when you can get these babies at any time of day or night with live music in the background? Music that calms your soul against the backdrop of the sparkling water is what you go to the hills for! This café has the whole package. Beauty beyond measures the view of the valley leaves customers awing and gushing at the majesty of nature.
Think over your life choices one more time. Do you really want to be a metropolitan, watch TV and gulp down espressos? Or do you want to devour hummus, Bhaksu cakes and pizzas with mountains and wanderers? Yeah, we thought so.
