Upon entering the café, an array of different tea blends displayed on the wall is the first sight that greets the customer. A waiter immediately ushers you to a cosy table and hands you a carte du jour for the teas and another one for the rest of their menu. With a choice of 65 teas on the menu, one is pretty much stumped over what to order prior to consulting one of the helpful waiters.

However, despite the wide variety of teas available, Chaaye Khana lacks choice in the snacks it offers. For a café of its stature one would expect a more extensive menu, giving a wider selection of savoury items along with desserts. After much deliberation, a tuna sandwich, special beef sandwich, grilled chicken and cheese sandwich, spicy chicken salad and tomato soup were ordered for four people along with tea and soft drinks.

The tuna sandwich was declared a success, consisting as it did of a thick layer of tuna filling in brown bread with a side order of French fries. Soft and succulent, without being moist, the sandwich scored high with our taste buds. The spicy beef sandwich and chicken cheese sandwich were close competitors and we concluded that, depending on personal choice of meat, both were quite delectable. The tomato soup however, did not go down too well as it lacked the zesty tomato flavour that one expects. It also tasted a bit on the raw side which isn’t the best feature in a soup.

However, the item that was unanimously agreed on as being the best was the spicy chicken salad that had pieces of well-marinated and cooked chicken with a dressing of soya sauce and mustard oil, garnished with sesame seeds. Since none of our gathering were real tea aficionados perhaps we couldn’t really appreciate the subtle flavour and aroma of the different teas, however, we were pretty happy to guzzle them down.

When it comes to desserts, Chaaye Khana’s offering is a tad diappointing. The menu includes a few types of Danish pastries, some variations of brownies and chocolate cup cakes, pies, banana bread and a few other things, all displayed in a glass counter for the customers to see and get tempted by. Of the three desserts that we ordered, neither the blueberry Danish, nor the chocolate cup cake nor the rich chocolate brownie were anything special. The chocolate cup cake lacked the chocolatey feel one looks forward to in such treats and the rich chocolate brownie was rich in sugar rather than chocolate. While the blueberry Danish was satisfactory, there wasn’t much to commend in it either.

The prices for most items are quite at par with other similar cafés in town, while desserts fall into quite a reasonable price range.

The winning aspect of the café is the ambiance. The tiny fires burning in every corner coupled with the spot lights at all the tables provide a dramatic play of light and shadows while the bookshelves offering various books for the customers to dip into while waiting for the food and the paintings on the walls add a literary appeal to the place.

The chess tables along the side give it an antiquated elegance which is balanced by the retro appeal of the bar along the other side allowing people to grab a quick bite. The music playing in the background compliments the overall mood of the café and adds a touch of class. The overall experience is above and beyond satisfactory, but with a little more detail to food and drink it could have easily tipped towards being exceptional.