We were in Darjeeling for 4 days in the second leg of our recent holiday. First four days were spent in Gangtok and both the places were much loved. We wanted to taste local food and it was not much difficult to find our way through it. The stories of local food will be shared but today I wanted to introduce you all to this lovely old fashioned cafe called Keventers. It is a triangular old building situated at a Y shaped road turn where one road goes to upper road and the other going towards lower. This is how Keventers looked from our Hotel's dining hall glass panes one morning. The green board just behind the clock tower.
And here is how the capitol clock tower looks from the Keventers' roof top seating area.You would remember the roof top restaurant and the clock tower if you have seen the Hindi movie 'Burfi'. The hero climbs atop this clock tower and turns the clock back by 15 minutes so the girl can reconsider his proposal
This city is like a preserved specimen of old times, and I liked it as the old buildings and places are so charming. Just wish that the roads were taken care of.
Look how the stairs that go up the Keventers seating area look like. Much worn out wooden stairs tell a story. I liked that some of the planters were recycled plastic containers.
And here is how the roof top restaurant looks like. Always a few laid back tourists and locals would be seen chatting lazily, enjoying the sun if it is cold and safe in the shade of those beach style umbrellas if the sun is too harsh. The clouds are always company no matter if it is sunny or cloudy. The sky is clear blue unlike the cities we live in. This is the USP of this old world cafe in Darjeeling.
Good tea in old fashioned tea pots and some fried bacon, ham, chorizos and eggs or sandwiches for company..The menu is not very extensive but you would like a few things to order for quick snack or even a meal. And yes you get coffee as well. Cold or hot.
This platter is a treat. These are local spicy ham, sausages and bacon, fried till crisp on the edges and soft and succulent int eh middle. The eggs fry is very liquid and great to dip the hot bacon or ham. I liked them with a mustard sauce dip too.
To the one side of this al fresco cafe is a huge restaurant called Opium seen here across the wall, probably a hotel too, didn't inquire..
The other side is a restaurant that is boat shaped, called boathouse. Makes a nice picture of a boat floating in clouds...
We had a hot chocolate at Keventers the next day as we wanted to taste some of their milk shakes too. They said they were not making milkshakes and hot chocolate is available. It came in an old fashioned mug but quite insipid Cadbury's hot chocolate type drink. You love a hot drink anyways when in foggy hill stations, nothing extraordinary.
On the ground floor they have the sales counter, quite unpretentious and basic but they stock all these cured meats if you want to take them home. Some fish and prawn pickles and meat pickles too I spotted. There is always a commotion of college students and young crowd here as they sell sandwiches and quick eats on the counter. There is a softy counter too. Arvind is one ice cream lover you see...
Keventers is a nice place to sit and laze in the mall road of Darjeeling, having sandwiches and tea in sun or inside the small hall on the first floor, just adjacent to the kitchen counter if you like. The sandwiches and cured meats are all tasty and enjoyable but don't expect good standards of hygiene there. We Indians have strong immune system so it's not a problem but if you think you have a tendency to pick up stomach infections, better have a look at this before deciding to dine at Keventers.
