When we heard city-based CavinKare's CK’s Bakery is moving beyond its pastries and paninis, to open a full-fledged café—we didn’t know what to expect. Situated at the Sholinganallur, Chennai the door to CK’s Bakery & Cafe leads to a colourful 18-seater, which retains favourites from their bakery menu.
The tangerine interiors spread across 550 sq ft have quirky quotes plastered on the walls, accompanied by inverted teacups to illuminate the space. The menu serves comfort food in American, Italian and other global cuisines. With American food, the search for perfect chicken wings is never-ending but we may have just found one of the best in the city, as the BBQ Chicken Wings arrive with the perfect glaze of butter and BBQ sauce. Crisp, sweet and mildly spicy, it turns out to be the ideal start with crisp Southern Spice Fries, tossed in house mix of curried spices. We wash it down with the help of a chilled Blue Mojito with lemon zest and mint leaves.
Skipping the pasta, we decided to try desi-versions of sandwiches instead. Cue the Kadai Paneer Focaccia, which definitely did not disappoint as the brand is well-known for their paninis. It is ideal for the Indian palate as the spicy sweet kadai paneer is stuffed in focaccia, to make it delicious. Keeping it simple with the Grilled Chicken Burger, the large juicy treat has a delightfully crisp chicken patty with cucumbers and lettuce for crunch. For dessert, we’re given a choice of one of three panna cotta flavours —orange, blueberry and raspberry. We opt for number three which is silky smooth and has us wanting seconds.
For milkshake fans, the Popcorn Milkshake is a must-try. With the perfect balance of sweet and salty caramel flavour, the milkshake is served with cream and caramel popcorn on top. Signature favourites from the bakery menu like the Mud Cake are on the menu as well. Topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, it leaves us very happy as we step out of the door.
Meal for two is at Rs 500 excluding taxes.
Visiting Sholinganallur? Here are some other restaurant you could visit while there