If you’ve been keeping up with my blog and instagram, you know before the second wave hit us, I went for a weekend getaway to Pondicherry. I have written a detailed blog post on it here and the only thing I did not cover there as food. Why? Because the cafes in Pondicherry deserve a separate post of its own.
“Walking around the White Town in the morning with the smell of fresh coffees and croissants fill the streets. Oh! Those were good days”
Although a small town, Pondicherry has many amazing cafes and restaurants serving delicious cuisines that should satisfy all palates. Walking down the streets that smell of freshly baked croissants and brewed coffee, one can only imagine what it would be like to be able to sample every cafe and every cuisine. Nonetheless, I have curated a list of cafes in Pondicherry which are known for their food and ambience below:
PY Cafe: With pastel walls and insta-worthy attention to details, PY cafe is on the list of almost everyone visiting Pondicherry. Serving all day breakfasts, finger foods and much more this place was on my list for quite sometime which I was happy to strike off. But sadly, our experience there was not upto the mark at all. Maybe because of the pandemic or shortage of staff or sheer negligence, the food as well as the service was stale. It could have been just our luck since I’ve heard good reviews about this place from everyone but you could give this place a try, hopefully your luck would be better than ours.
Coromondal cafe: The vibes here are like of no other cafe. It’s such a serene place with gorgeous interiors and a very courteous staff. Coromondal reminds of a cafe I had on my list for Fethiye, Turkey but luck was not on my side then and neither was it now. When we first went there, they had an hour long waitlist so we left and decided on having our last brunch here but it rained very heavily the night before which is why almost all the cafes and restaurants were shut. It was a shame. I was really looking forward the food.
Villa Shanti: Open air seating, beautiful trees, well spaced tables. Our dinner at Villa Shanti was nothing short of magical. Thanks to our lovely time management skills, we were the last table there and had 10 minutes to place an order before kitchen closed. The staff was very courteous and helpful and even made us understand the portion sizes for the six of us. Our order consisted of naans, tikkas, butter chicken and multiple desserts. Everything from the starters to the main course to the desserts was cooked to perfection. If asked to describe the food the word I would go would be comforting.
Cafe des arts: Known to be one of the most instagrammy cafes in the heart of White Town, Cafe Des Arts has everything one would need for a quiet afternoon. Books, outdoor seating, good French food and a relaxed ambience. Sit down with your favourite book, sipping a coffee and munching on a tartine or two. The yellow wall outside has become quite a well known photo op and I don’t blame them. I mean look how beautiful that is!
Bread & Chocolate: The one place I saw everyone raving about, wherever I went was Bread & Chocolate. It felt like a crime to not visit this place. This is a very cozy little cafe with ample outdoor seating and barren land right across the street which wasn’t really a pretty view but we didn’t mind. Coming to the food, we ordered some coffees, croissants, sandwiches and even croissant- sandwiches. The drinks were average like any other place but the food was delicious! Everything was so fresh and well balanced. If we wouldn’t have been going to the beach after this, I would’ve gotten some pain au chocolats packed since they looked amazing in the display.
Gelateria Montecatini Terme: If there is one thing I regret about this trip, it is not eating enough ice creams. Situated on the promenade alongside the shore, Gelateria Montecatini Terme is a small shop that is famous for their huge variety and unique ice creams. Favours I tried and enjoyed were the ginger and lime, Irish cream, tiramisu, dark chocolate hazelnut to name a few. If you’re rather adventurous with your food preferences then do try the goat milk ice cream and the valentin (chocolate, rum and pears).
Baker street: Claimed to be one of the best bakeries in Pondicherry, Baker Street offers a huge variety of baked goodness that should please everyone. As our luck would have it, all restaurants and cafes were closed on our last day there due to rains and many cafes on my list remained on my list. But some of my friends live around Pondicherry, they all recommended this place. Said it was their go-to spot whenever in this side of town.
Sri Sarvana Bhavan: Visiting South India and not experiencing a South Indian lunch is next to impossible. I had no idea as to which restaurants had authentic food, was tried and tested, which would be open (we had a very late lunch around 6 in the evening) and what not. One of us had visited Pondicherry quite a few times before and suggested this place. It was completely empty with limited items available from the menu. Skeptical, we ordered only a couple dishes first but were blown away by them! I do not remember everything we ordered but overall, the idles, dosas and the filter coffee was really good. I can go back for that any day.
Happy eating and safe travels!
