Manali: 4 Days, 5 Cafes #mountaincafes

Tripoto
19th Apr 2019

Manali in April

Photo of Manali: 4 Days, 5 Cafes #mountaincafes by The Foodie Rider

It all started with the increasing temperature in Gurgaon. In April itself, the temperature is close to 40 degrees. To save us, comes the long weekend. from 19th to the 22nd April. And that is when thought of going to the Himalayas for some relief from this heat.

After some search, we found that the temp in Manali was low and hence we planned the trip to Manali. After we reached Manali, we checked in into this Campsite - Retro Valley Camping, situated at the Nagger Road.

Since we had planned the trip for 4 days, we planned to explore atleast a cafe each day (though we ended up exploring 5 cafes).

The day we reached Manali, we went to Mall road in the evening.

Day 1

The first thing we were looking for was to have some chilled coffee and beat the heat. The nearest cafe as per Google was the Cafe Amigos and we went there. The interior was beautiful and the place wasn't much crowded. We ordered a Cold Coffee, Honeynut cake and a Cinnamon Roll. Everything tasted amazing. We spent almost half an hour there, enjoying the tasty delicacies.

Photo of Cafe Amigos, Circuit House Road, Siyal, Manali, Himachal Pradesh, India by The Foodie Rider

We were looking for a place to dine and there we came across this Cafe Signature. This cafe is built above the "Chopsticks" restaurant and has an open roof top where you can sit and enjoy the view of Mall Road in the evening. There were not many people at the root top. 5 minutes after we reached, the other group left, leaving us alone at the root top for the duration. So we sat there for almost 1-1.5 hours having ordered a Pizza, Dimsums and Sweet Lime soda. The ambience was good, with a little dark lighting, open root top and beautiful view. in terms of the food, the thing I liked the best was the Mixed Lime soda. I could feel a new taste in every sip. I cannot call Dimsums as Great, but they were good. Specially after adding the chutney into them. But the thing that disappointed us here was the Pizza. It was kind of bland.

Pizza over the view of Mall Road.

Photo of cafe Signature, Mall Road, Model Town, Siyal, Manali, Himachal Pradesh, India by The Foodie Rider
Photo of cafe Signature, Mall Road, Model Town, Siyal, Manali, Himachal Pradesh, India by The Foodie Rider
Day 2

Next Day we visited the Gulaba Check post and the Solan Valley, to enjoy some snow and relaxing the cold weather. We took the cable car from the Gulaba Checkpost to the top which was all white with the snow. There we enjoyed some tea.

Enjoying the tea with a beautiful view.

Photo of Solang Valley, Burwa, Himachal Pradesh, India by The Foodie Rider

Later in the evening while heading back towards Manali, we planned for a stop en-route at the Cafe 1947. The place was beautiful and built almost at the side of the river Beas. We only ordered soup here as we were not hungry much. But the soup we got here "Cream of Mushroom", was just amazing. The texture of the soup could easily be felt. We got the much needed relaxation from the cold (from the Solang Valley) with this soup.

Day 3

The next day we didnot have much to do. So we again went back to the Solang Valley, took the cable car and headed to the top of the mountain to enjoy the snow and feel the cold temp. The cafe that has always been on my list while visiting Manali, is the Johnsons cafe. No trip to Manali is complete without visiting this cafe and thats where we already had planned to go on this day.

As I entered this place, I could remember all my previous visits here. The place as always, had been calm, giving you a feel as if you have entered some European country. Though this is in the city, but when inside, you could only see the mountains and trees.

My order at this place always include a waffle. In addition to this, we ordered soup, pizza, apple crumble and ended it with a Masala Tea. Everything tasted just fantastic. The best thing about this place is the cost. We enjoyed all this in under 1500Rs.

Johnson's

Photo of The Johnson's Cafe and Hotel, Siyal, Manali, Himachal Pradesh, India by The Foodie Rider

Veg Soup of the day - Broccoli and Tomato

Photo of The Johnson's Cafe and Hotel, Siyal, Manali, Himachal Pradesh, India by The Foodie Rider

Cosmic Karma - Wood Fired Pizza

Photo of The Johnson's Cafe and Hotel, Siyal, Manali, Himachal Pradesh, India by The Foodie Rider

Waffle

Photo of The Johnson's Cafe and Hotel, Siyal, Manali, Himachal Pradesh, India by The Foodie Rider

Apple Crumble

Photo of The Johnson's Cafe and Hotel, Siyal, Manali, Himachal Pradesh, India by The Foodie Rider

Masala Tea

Photo of The Johnson's Cafe and Hotel, Siyal, Manali, Himachal Pradesh, India by The Foodie Rider
Day 4

Now comes the final day, when we had some mixed thoughts about going back to Gurgaon and resuming back. We were still thinking about extending out trip but considering we had been off for 4 days now, we had to go back. This day we went to the old Manali, to the Dylan's Toasted & Roasted Coffee House. I had heard about the coffee at this place a lot.

This place was worth its name. Completely designed with the theme of Bob Dylan. I was amazed seeing the variety of of coffee at this place. We sat there for almost half an hour and ordered a Turkish Coffee and the Dylan's cookie shake. Though it was my first time trying Turkish coffee, but being a fan of black coffee, I enjoyed the taste of it.

Dylan's Cookie Shake

Photo of Dylan's Toasted & Roasted Coffee House, Old Manali, Manali, Himachal Pradesh, India by The Foodie Rider

Turkish Coffee

Photo of Dylan's Toasted & Roasted Coffee House, Old Manali, Manali, Himachal Pradesh, India by The Foodie Rider

Variety of Coffee at Dylan's

Photo of Manali: 4 Days, 5 Cafes #mountaincafes by The Foodie Rider

Bob Dylan

Photo of Manali: 4 Days, 5 Cafes #mountaincafes by The Foodie Rider

And this finally marks the end of our holiday to Manali!!!.