Sit, chat, read Cafe Lalten scores a perfect 10 for its ambience. But coffee? Umm

Sit, chat, read Cafe Lalten scores a perfect 10 for its ambience. But coffee? Umm

Just off the traffic-snarled Link Road is a little by-the-way joint. You'd miss it unless you're looking for the colourful miniature lanterns adorning the entrance to this cosy cafe.

There's comfort seating outside, with wooden couches and cuddly bolsters, while walking in makes you feel like you're at a friend's living room.

Primary colours red, yellow and green, make up the three walls. Sit on one end and you have Smita Patil pouting from a framed photograph.
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There's a bookshelf here too, so solo cafe-goers have something to read while they wait for the order to come through.

The Complete Works of O Henry, a couple of new Indian chick-lit novels, and a hardback copy of Oxford's Dictionary. Thoughtful.

The newspaper-magazine section includes newspapers, trade mag Super Cinema, obviously catering to the producer-actor crowd, which populates the area. Much thought has gone into doing up the place.

We settle ourselves on comfy cane-cushioned chairs and then realise that the menu is really limited. It's an odd hour of the evening now, so we settle for an odd not-dinner, not-supper meal.

The menu has the usual coffees and teas (they even sell exotic tea), some sandwiches, a couple of salads and some not-very-appetising pastries stacked up at the teeny counter.
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The man behind the counter while very sweet, isn't well-informed about what the cafe makes.

We pick a Shaadi-waali Coffee (Rs 40), a Filter Coffee (Rs 35), and a Tofu Corn Salad (Rs 80). The Filter Coffee is served in pristine white ceramic while we were expecting a steel tumbler.

The Filter Coffee would be a disappointment to anyone, and a sacrilege for south-Indians. It's watery, super-sweet and we can barely taste the coffee beans.
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The Shaadi-Waali Coffee, a foamy cuppa is far better. It's piping hot, powdery all right but still thick, sweet and refreshing.

The Tofu Corn Salad has crispy red, yellow and green peppers mixed with spiced tofu and babycorn. It's a generous and wholesome portion.

My Maggi Noodle-addict date next goes for an Atta Noodles (Rs 65) while I call for a Chicken Kebab Sandwich (Rs 70) and a Veg Sandwich (Rs 60).
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The Atta Noodles are a sticky, yummy concoction of instant noodles and a few veggies. It's delicious soul food as always, but nothing new has been added, so the price isn't quite justified.

The Chicken Kebab Sandwich is filling, pieces of chicken in a Russian Salad filling, the smooth creamy mayonnaise is tasty, the brown bread perfectly crisp.
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The Veg Sandwich is the same as the Chicken Sandwich, save the meat pieces.

Discarding the Filter Coffee, we decide to wash down the meal with a Masala Chhaas, but are disappointed once more.
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The buttermilk has a milky sweetness to it, and they appear to have forgotten the salt, so there's just some chaat powder coming through every now and then.

Cafe Lalten is a place that ought to be visited purely because it is one of those conversation-maker eateries. And if they spruced up their menu, and got their Filter Coffee right, we'd even go back for a cuppa.
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AT: Godavari Building, off Oshiwara Link Road; Call: 64226077
Cafe Lalten didn't know we were there. THE GUIDE reviews and pays anonymously for its meals

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