Been To This Charming Restocafe In Mani Ratnam's Old Office Yet?

The Summer House Eatery in Alwarpet is a resto cafe straight out of Pinterest and is a must-visit for those who are looking for a mix of great food and good vibes only. Oh and how about a chilled glass of Vietnamese coffee to go with that?

Looking for a charming bistro to take your BFF or bae to? The Summer House Eatery is where you need to book yourself a table! It’s a quaint café tucked away from the hustle of the city in a restored bungalow {Film director Mani Ratnam’s old office}. We’re in love with the fresh vibes it exudes with its chic furniture, quirky wall art {there’s a sign that says – Eat Y’all!} and a cooling, grey colour scheme with pops of yellow {it’s a summer house after, all}. And who knows? You might even bump into music composer Anirudh Ravichander {of Kolaveri Di fame} who is one of the founding partners here.

Food wise, you can expect dishes across cuisines. We began with a sweet Fig & Cheese Crostini — a delightful spread of figs and feta although we would have liked our crostini more toasty. The Korean Fried Chicken here is popular for good reason. Chicken nuggets are soaked in a fiery Korean chilli sauce and still manage to stay quite crispy — we like! If you like your drinks just as fiery, try the Hot Mango Mess Tea. The drink has a nice spicy kick at the end of every sip. What you must also try is the Indian taco. We tried the gobi and chicken versions enclosed in a flaky tiny paratha and doused in house made sauces. Scrumptious! The creamy garlic prawn crepe was a bit too heavy and rich for us, so we preferred the lighter Spaghetti in Thai Chilli Jam. Vegetarians can choose shiitake mushrooms, and meat eaters, gobble it up with giant succulent pieces of prawn.  Both versions were spot on and the sweet and spicy sauce with basil was a winner.

For dessert, dig into the legendary Theobroma {from the good folks at That Madras Place who are also the partners here} starting with a layer of cake and then dark, white and milk chocolate mousse, chocolate ganache and dusted off with cocoa powder. Yum! We ended up with nice cold Vietnamese coffee. It’s a lovely and strong concoction using condensed milk {make sure yours is blended perfectly, it shouldn’t be watery}, and we thoroughly enjoyed it. In fact, we had a great time here, the food was good and the ambience is a winner in our books. We’re eyeing the Paneer Soda {no, it has nothing to do with cottage cheese, it’s actually a popular rose-based drink in Tamil Nadu!} the next time we drop by. You can even sit outside to soak up some sun when the weather is kind and they even have a little garden at the back where you can pick up some plants too.