Delhi winter is making its presence felt. This is the time when my friends and I start our hunt for the comfy cafes so we can plan our tea parties and munch on the hot fritters. So, on a chilly winter evening, when five girls met, gossip over chai only becomes inevitable. We thought of trying Wagh Bakri, Chai Point and even Chaayos at Connaught Place but our search ended at a quaint café in B block that goes by the name of Life Café. Now chai wasn’t on our minds when we entered the café. We just wanted a quiet place so that the five of us could chat on the top of our voices. Hence, we zeroed on this place.
We found the place to be very cosy and we had also read reviews about the place; hence, we were expecting the food would be great. Since we were trying out the menu for the first time, we decided to play safe. We ended up ordering ‘Adrak wali Chai’, ‘Coffee’, ‘Fish and Chips’ and ‘Chicken Tikka Pizza’. We didn’t really like to pair our chai with the fish, so we decided to chat away first with our cuppa of chai and coffee and hop on to the snacks after our hearts were empty.
They served the chai and coffee in those white cups and saucers, this gave us a feel of the yesteryears when restaurants used to serve tea and coffee in the traditional white China cups and saucers. Sip after sip, we relished the rich taste of the chai and coffee feeling the warmth of the beverages spread in our smiles. With the hot beverages in our hands, we almost contested the winter chill.
Both the chai and coffee were prepared with more amount of milk and almost non-existent water content. This gave the beverage a rich texture and unadulterated taste. So, if you like your chai ‘kadak’ (strong), please mention it to them. The flavour of ‘adrak’ (ginger) was up to the mark. It neither burnt your throat nor it was present just for the sake of it. As they say, cooking is an art of perfecting balance.
If you are a tea lover, this place will be your treasure island. It serves tea in various flavours like Assam, Darjeeling, Earl Grey, Green Tea, etc. I also tasted it’s ‘Cappuccino’ and thoroughly loved it. The coffee was right on the point as it was neither too strong nor too light. So, coffee and tea are highly recommended here.
Once we were done with our chai wali gupshup, it was time to hop on to some of our favourite snacks. We ordered the ‘Fish and Chips’. The serving was good, and the pieces were of big sizes. Finger chips were served with the fried fish and tartar sauce. The fish pieces were deep-fried and the crunchiness was die-to-taste kind. I would recommend the ‘Fish and Chips’ if you tend to visit this café.
All of us are pizza lovers too. This cafe has some interesting list of pizza names but because we are so desi in our choice of the palate, we ended up ordering for ‘Chicken Tikka Pizza’. The pizza was a great fusion of Indian and Italian style pizza making. The crust of the pizza was thin and baked to perfection. The brown crust gave a crunchy feeling to the pizza. The pizza was not overloaded with toppings and was kept simple in preparation. Apart from onions, there was no other topping. The amount of cheese was right, and it was nicely spread over the whole pizza. The chicken pieces as per their name were tikka pieces.
The chicken chunks were of moderate size and were juicy too. That made the pizza taste much better. Chicken tikka pieces gave a very nice flavour to the pizza as a whole.
I would term my experience at Life Café a reasonably good one. Be it the ambience or the food; everything was bang on. Not only could I spend some much-needed quality time with my friends but I could also enjoy the food to the fullest. The biggest USP of this quaint café is the fact that the preparation of their food is simple and to the point. They don’t overdo anything to make the dish look good. So, the next time you happen to be in Connaught place, don’t forget to check out this beauty. After all, where there is food, there is life.
