A visual arts space centred mostly on photography, The Lighthouse Cafe is tucked away in one of the narrow lanes off Prince Anwar Shah. Walk through the large gates and you’ll come to the black wooden deck of the cafe-cum-bookstore that’s an extension of the visual arts school (running workshops, residencies and exhibitions) that stands on the first floor. We fell in love with the gorgeous artworks that don the space, the upcycled furniture strewn around and bare brick walls offsetting the plastered walls. The look is minimalistic and aesthetically rich, very Scandinavian, with none of the ostentatiousness of commercial art galleries.
This cafe is given to serving specialty coffees like chemex, espresso and cold brew. The chemex, invented by Dr Peter Schlumbohm, makes a good pourover light-brewed coffee that you can enjoy multiple times through the day. They’ve also got regular favourites of espresso, lattes, cappuccino and macchiato. But we loved that we’ll get to sip on a good cold brew that’s rare to find in our city. A distinctly smooth coffee lacking the bitter acidity of the hot brewed ones, the cold brew here is also available for takeaway and can be kept for at least 7 days for consumption.
Besides the specialty coffee (they have Blue Tokai), there’s slow food to match your mood and fresh seasonal smoothies and juices. Cakes and sandwiches are also on offer and waffles will soon be added to the list. Sit indoors to eat and work, the cafe has a calm comfortable vibe that’s best enjoyed alone or with a friend or two. Definitely not with your gang in tow.