Leopold Café
Irani family (origin: Iran) · Mumbai
Mumbai's oldest Irani café — a living document of resilience
The Café & Restaurant Edition
Where Ideas Brewed Over Coffee
India's most iconic cafés and restaurants — documented, preserved, and shared. From century-old Irani cafés to modern specialty roasteries, from neighbourhood bistros to landmark dining rooms.
Britannia & Co.
Rashid Kohinoor (origin: Iran) · Mumbai
The keeper of the Berry Pulao — Fort's 100-year Irani institution
Kyani & Co.
Kyani family (Iranian immigrant) · Mumbai
Marine Lines' 120-year bun maska institution
Café Mondegar
Original management, Colaba (Mario Miranda murals added 1970s) · Mumbai
The rock-and-roll café of Colaba — Mario Miranda's murals and the original jukebox
Prithvi Café
Prithviraj Kapoor Memorial Trust (established by Shashi Kapoor) · Mumbai
Juhu's theatre courtyard café — forty-five years of Mumbai's cultural conversation
Kala Ghoda Café
Rishika Shah · Mumbai
The arts district's quiet café — Fort's creative community address
Subko Coffee
Benjamin Lephilibert and Rahul Reddy · Mumbai
Bandra's most serious Indian coffee roastery
The Pantry
Established by a team with farm-to-table sourcing philosophy · Mumbai
Colaba's farm-to-table pioneer — ingredient accountability before it was a category
Koinonia Coffee Roasters
Sajid Rehmani · Mumbai
The neighbourhood roastery that refused to scale — Bandra's most loyal specialty café
Café Military
Iranian Zoroastrian family · Mumbai
Fort's 90-year Irani institution across from the High Court
Indian Coffee House
Indian Coffee Workers' Co-operative Society · Delhi NCR
Connaught Place's cathedral of democratic debate — where India's independence was argued over filter coffee
United Coffee House
Lala Hans Raj Kalra · Delhi NCR
Connaught Place's grand dining room — where Old Delhi elegance meets the capital's power corridors
Triveni Terrace Café
Triveni Kala Sangam (arts institution) · Delhi NCR
Mandi House's art gallery café — where Delhi's cultural establishment takes its chai
Wenger's
Swiss-origin family · Delhi NCR
Connaught Place's 1926 Swiss bakery — Delhi's oldest continuously operating patisserie
The Big Chill Café
Aseem and Rashi Grover · Delhi NCR
Khan Market's neighbourhood institution — the café that defined a generation's idea of dining out
Café Lota
Saby and Ritu (Old World Hospitality) · Delhi NCR
The National Crafts Museum's courtyard café — Indian regional cuisine as cultural practice
Blue Tokai Coffee Roasters
Matt Chitharanjan and Namrata Asthana · Delhi NCR
India's specialty coffee pioneer — the roastery that proved Indian coffee could compete globally
AMA Café
Tenzin (Tibetan-origin entrepreneur) · Delhi NCR
Majnu Ka Tilla's Tibetan courtyard café — Delhi's most unexpected cultural crossroads
Café Turtle
Full Circle Bookstore team · Delhi NCR
Khan Market's bookshop café — where Delhi reads, and then stays for coffee
Kunzum Travel Café
Ajay Jain · Delhi NCR
Hauz Khas Village's pay-what-you-like travel café — built on trust, survived on conversation
Koshy's
Koshy family (Kerala-origin) · Bangalore
St. Mark's Road's 80-year institution — where Bangalore's intellectual elite has always gathered
Vidyarthi Bhavan
Parameshwara Rao · Bangalore
Basavanagudi's 81-year masala dosa institution — the queue that Bangalore trusts
Brahmin's Coffee Bar
Family-run (Brahmin community establishment) · Bangalore
Shankarapuram's 60-year standing-room filter coffee — no chairs, no compromise
Airlines Hotel
Family-run establishment · Bangalore
Lavelle Road's 60-year South Indian restaurant — the filter coffee that Bangalore's establishment trusts
Third Wave Coffee Roasters
Sushant Goel, Anirudh Sharma, Ayush Bathwal · Bangalore
Bangalore's homegrown specialty chain — the roastery that scaled without losing the plot
Matteo Coffea
Mohan Bharadwaj · Bangalore
Church Street's Italian-inspired microroastery — Bangalore's most precise espresso
CTR (Central Tiffin Room)
Family-run establishment · Bangalore
Malleshwaram's 105-year tiffin house — the benne masala dosa that defines a neighbourhood
Hole in the Wall Café
Independent café entrepreneur · Bangalore
Koramangala's original third-place — the café that taught Bangalore to linger
Veena Stores
Family-run Brahmin establishment · Bangalore
Malleshwaram's 50-year morning institution — filter coffee and tiffin at neighbourhood pace
Café Noir
French-Indian hospitality team · Bangalore
Richmond Road's French-inspired café — fifteen years of Bangalore's afternoon espresso
Indian Coffee House
Indian Coffee Workers' Co-operative Society · Kolkata
College Street's cathedral of conversation — where Bengal's intelligentsia has debated since 1942
Flurys
Mr. and Mrs. J. Flury (Swiss-origin) · Kolkata
Park Street's 97-year Swiss confectionery — Kolkata's most enduring sweet institution
Dolly's Tea Shop
Dolly Roy · Kolkata
Dakshinapan's hidden tea institution — Kolkata's most serious cup of Darjeeling
Mrs. Magpie
Rijuta Malhotra · Kolkata
Hindustan Park's patisserie café — the bakery that elevated Kolkata's dessert vocabulary
Paramount
Family-run establishment (original: Paramount Cold Drinks & Snacks) · Kolkata
College Street's 106-year cold drink institution — the sherbet that has outlasted empires
Sienna Café
Sienna Store team · Kolkata
Hindustan Road's quiet corner café — South Kolkata's most considered cup of coffee
KC Das
Krishna Chandra Das (son of Nobin Chandra Das, inventor of the rosogolla) · Kolkata
Esplanade's 94-year rosogolla institution — the sweet that became Bengal's identity
Balwant Singh's Eating House
Balwant Singh (Sikh community establishment) · Kolkata
Sarat Bose Road's midnight paratha institution — Kolkata's after-hours gathering place
Calcutta Bungalow
Iftekhar Ahsan · Kolkata
Chowringhee Lane's heritage homestay café — where Kolkata's architecture becomes hospitality
Allen's Kitchen
Allen family (Anglo-Indian community) · Kolkata
New Market's 120-year Anglo-Indian restaurant — Kolkata's living archive of mixed cuisine
Kshan — The Taste of Tradition
Sonam and Rohit · Mumbai
Sanpada's Maharashtrian anchor — the sanctity of the thali maintained
Frisbees
Sahil Badri and Fahad Badri · Mumbai
Bandra's burger lab — where the gourmet slider was democratised
3 Wise Monkeys
Meghnesh Salian · Mumbai
Mumbai's definitive sports-themed pub — Old World charm meets stadium energy
FinX Commune
Ronak Agrawal · Mumbai
India's first stock-market themed cafe — a Trader's Hub
Mr. Misu
Ved Choudhary · Mumbai
Bandra's viral dessert laboratory — Tiramisu reimagined for the Instagram age
Cafe Nur
Saud Hussain · Mumbai
The Awadhi heart of Horniman Circle — a slow-cooked sanctuary
Oor Mumbai
Panchali Bhatia and Vijay Bhatia · Mumbai
Fort's minimalist tribute to the South — the Benne Dosa treated with reverence
Flavours of Malvan
Chef Pallavi (Family-led) · Mumbai
Dadar's home-style coastal sanctuary
Bang Bang Noodles
Chef Rahul Punjabi · Mumbai
The Goregaon Sichuan laboratory — hand-pulled precision meets Ma La
Mumbai Rejoice
Sumeet Bhogan · Mumbai
The Gokhale Road multi-generational diner
Vivace Cafe
Family-owned social enterprise · Mumbai
The Kharghar specialty hub — where high-grade organic coffee supports a social mission
Tranquil Shack
Paresh and Siddhi · Mumbai
Thane's Neapolitan specialist — bringing the high-science of sourdough pizza
Bites and Brews by Tia
Swapnil and Roshni · Mumbai
The By Tia flagship in Thane — where artisanal baking meets a curated coffee experience
Cafe Amigos
Money Sharma · Mumbai
Thane's vibrant corner for high-quality Continental comfort
YVR Cafe
Keerath Singh Sethi · Mumbai
The Kharghar flagship — an institution of specialty coffee
Bokka Coffee
Chef Karishma Dalal, Karan Gaba, and Travis Braganza · Mumbai
Bandra's fusion sanctuary — where West-Coast cafe culture meets the timeless Indian Dosa
Thhikana Cafe
Shivani · Mumbai
Thane's high-energy adda — where traditional tea culture is repackaged for the modern student
Cafe Free India
Sachin Roche · Mumbai
The Fort mainstay where industrial grit meets classic comfort food