Imagine you live in North Bengaluru and you either work from home or your office is on the other side of the city a few hours away.
What if you could step out for a few hours to do your focused work, not too far but just enough and definitely WITHOUT getting stuck in traffic (Yeah, Bengaluru may be famous for a lot of things, but clear and open roads ain’t one of them!!).
Or else maybe imagine you want to go to some place where you can just take a break from all the din and sit and work in peace for a while or just hang out for a bit with your partner/buddies.
If that sounds like something you might be interested in, do check these cafes out.
- The Roastery, Kalyan Nagar
This cafe in Kalyan Nagar is a perfect place to go to if you need a place to focus on your work.
The place is quite minimalistic, music is very soothing and it has a limited but great collection of coffees and some desserts and baked goods.
It has both indoor and outdoor seating available, along with a bunch of books to read if you wish. The place is open till late but it gets crowded in the evenings with a lot of people coming to hang out or have meetings.
I have been here to work, have held meetings, or even to hang out with a couple of close friends.
This place has always been such an inspiration for me and I highly recommend it!
Favourite orders: Cappuccino, Chocolate chip cookies.
* They have a wall of locations in picture frames from where they source their coffee beans.*
- The Daily Bean, Hennur
Another quiet gem and a great cafe!
Not many people are familiar with this cafe but it has been set up by 3 people who grew up in a children’s home and they raised money to set up this cafe through college and other bake sales. They have continued to give back a portion of their income to the children’s home where they grew up.
This is a slightly off the main road cafe, so it’s quiet and has a nice vibe to it. The baked goods they prepare daily are a delight to have along with their special coffees.
Do check out this place, it has a quiet ambience during non-peak hours, and a good place to work or hang out and enjoy good food and coffee!
Their outdoor sit out area is open for furry friends as well!
Favourite orders: Salted Caramel Mocha, Pumpkin Pie
*Me and my best friend, beating the summer heat with their cold coffees!*
- Jus’ Trufs, Jakkur
This has been my go-to place to work from whenever I need a change of scenery and a good cafe to finish my work. I’ve always walked out of this cafe feeling productive and happy.
They have an amazing range of sandwiches, pastas, breakfast and meal options in addition to the variety of coffee and dessert options in their menu. They are famous for their chocolaterie and have chocolate making workshops for school children on the floor above the cafe.
They believe in responsible sourcing of products and ensure they buy locally sourced products for their chocolaterie and cafe. The owner, when around, is always smiling and is ready for a quick word with her patrons. The staff is also always helpful and greets you with a smile.
Favourite orders: Bombay High Court Egg-citen, French Press Coffee, Apple Pie, All of their signature chocolates
Bonus Tip: Their house-wine sangria (red) is yummy too!
- The BEL St., Sahakar Nagar
This cafe in Sahakar Nagar has witnessed so many meetings – both in-person and virtual, casual coffee outings with a group of friends or a family, coffee dates and has still managed to hold its friendly neighbourhood cafe vibe.
I have also taken my expat colleagues here for discussions and they’ve enjoyed the ambience, the lemon-iced teas etc. This one is an old cafe but still charming as ever. The staff is friendly and the cappuccinos have not disappointed me yet.
I have also seen people visit and have also visited just to sit and work from here, do a bit of journaling/doodling or what-have-you..
Favourite orders: Cappuccino, Chicken club sandwich, Lemon Iced Tea
- The Third Wave Coffee, Airport Road & Sadashiv Nagara
Third Wave Coffee has been all the rage lately in Bangalore (other than Blue Tokai and Starbucks of course). Their simple, minimalistic and clean design cafes, with plenty of charging points and work stations make them a must-go place to work in any of their outlets.
I specifically like the one in Sadashiv Nagar as it invites mostly the crowd which is either working or creating something on their laptops/notebooks. The big community table is also great to work alongside fellow patrons.
I am also recommending the other outlet near the Airport road, because I’ve spent hours working from there and their outdoor seating next to the highway (although a bit dusty) is a very collaborative space to work out of and I highly recommend it.
Favourite orders: The Keto Chicken Salad, Hummus Platter, Salted Caramel Mocha, Cold Brews
- Writer’s Cafe, Kalyan Nagar
This one has a young, cool cafe vibe. Usually the crowd comes in to sip on a coffee lazily or just for some inspiration. They also sell books in the cafe and have a nice collection of books to read too. It’s right in the middle of a busy street so could be slightly noisy at times but the indoors are pleasant and good to work on your laptops/notebooks.
They have a good range of food options. Their filter coffee is what they’re known for. But do go in for some good ol’ face-to-face conversations or to read a book or simply look at the world passing by while drinking a hot/cold cuppa filter kaapi.
Favourite orders: Iced Filter coffee, Salads
Bonus: Paper & Pie Cafe, Indiranagar
This new cafe, although slightly far away, is a must recommend for those who have not visited it yet. It’s got a good long menu of food and beverage and is a great place for having meetings or just to go and chill. The ambience is quite relaxed yet its white and wooden decor mixed with a lot of indoor plants gives it a charming look and feel.
They even have a meeting/conference room in case one wants to book it for a large group.
Favourite orders: fig & goat cheese toast, avocado spinach smoothie, flat white, lavender white tea.
*Me with my laptop and earphones at the Paper & Pie Cafe.
So all in all, go alone and finish your calls/focus work or just blow off some steam with your friends or partner. Each one of these cafes has a perfect vibe to relax yet make you productive, if you wanted.
As Donna A Favors once said, “It’s amazing how the world begins to change through the eyes of a cup of coffee”.