It’s been over a decade since coffee culture has engulfed the City of Joy. In every nook and corner of the city, you will find a coffee joint to chill out, and Craft Coffee‘s newly opened Salt Lake joint is attracting a horde of discerning coffee aficionados, university students and office goers, who are cherishing every bit of their breakfasts and all-day coffee menu.
Craft Coffee fills the need to build an intimate and incomparable multi-sensory experience serving signature fusion coffee, handcrafted drinks paired with continental food and freshly baked treats from their in-house bakery and confectionery. The new outlet‘s main bar offers regular and signature beverages, and a manual brewing bar at the terrace offers an experience where guests can chat with the baristas understanding the nuances of coffee roasting and manual brewing methods like a siphon, pour-over, Turkish and French press to name a few.
Decked up in white, the space has colourful ikat patterns, handcrafted lights made by local artisans, handcrafted crockery sourced from Khurja, and lush green zones in the courtyard and terrace, to make one feel at home. Owners Dipraj Das and Abhinav Kumar say, “The architecture takes inspiration from heritage and gives it an eccentric twist with a contemporary colour palette. The centre also has a gourmet store where trained baristas help guests pick up freshly roasted single estate coffee beans suiting their palate and ground to their requirements.”
On a weekday afternoon, when we visited the café, we tried their Nutella Pancake, fluffy and warm, served with maple syrup and whipped cream, a Pizza Caprina, loaded with bell peppers, onion, jalapeno, black olives and American corn and an Asparagus Corn and Jalapeno Risotto that melted in the mouth. Our favourite was the age-old Chicken Stroganoff, with chunks of mildly spiced chicken served on a bed of couscous, and of course, we had to try their coffee beverages which were out of the world.
Cascara Sangria,which had layers of cranberry juice, orange juice and cascara, was perfectly sweet and tangy and their Tender Coconut Cold Brew is just right for those with a mellow palate. If you are not a coffee person, go for the cascaras or a good, fuzzy cup of hot chocolate, thick and smooth. We ended our meal with a classic Tiramisu.
Meal for 2: Rs 1,200+
Pictures by Anindya Saha