The first thing that hits you is the heady, yeasty smell of warm bread. My eyes seek the source of the delectable fragrance and soon find it. Loaves of freshly-baked bread are nestled in wicker baskets and arranged on a shelf. This quaint touch coupled with the interesting bric-a-brac, white picket fence and the fresh white and lavender interiors gives the place an old-fashioned bucolic aura, reminiscent of a cosy little neighbourhood bakery in some faraway European village.
The Café of Joy, Whitefield is owned and run by Joy Basu, who holds a diploma in baking from the Akademie Deutsches Backerhandwerk, Germany. This management professional-turned-entrepreneur, who lived in Germany for several years, admits that her inspiration was indeed the small town artisanal bakeries of Europe.
Besides a variety of speciality breads, she also has on sale confectionary, beverages, salads, pastry and sandwiches. There is also a hot lunch option that varies from week to week, which is displayed on the glass board at he café.
A cup of steaming hot cappuccino arrives at my table. It is a cold, wet day and the strong, bitter brew is hugely welcome. I sip watching the rain lash against the large windows, leaving behind wet streaks on the glass panes.
I’m soon roused from my reverie as a basket of fresh bread arrives at the table. I take a bite of the date and walnut roll and am floored. The dates confer a subtle sweetness to the bread while the walnuts give it a nice crunch making this bread a clear winner. Next are some exceedingly healthy options—a rustic millet, a German rye roll and a multi-grain three-seeded bread—that manage to tread that fine line between health and taste perfectly. This is followed by a crusty baguette roll—slathered with a nice thick layer of butter, it simply is delicious.
I move to the mains starting with a nicely cooked, well-spiced beef goulash, which comes with a side of sesame sourdough bread. This is followed by a croque Monsieur also on sourdough. Ham and hot melted cheese, how can you go wrong with that?
Next is a chicken meatloaf with Bavarian potato salad. The warm, slightly salty meatloaf is delicious as is the potato salad and I wipe my plate clean with a piece of sourdough bread. There is also a mushroom and caramelised onion quiche — the flaky pastry and the creamy filling complementing each other perfectly.
I’m rather stuffed by now but how can you say no to pizza—especially a German version of it? The Flammkuchen, its thin crust pizza, topped with green pepper, onion marmalade and feta cheese, is delicious and I reach out for seconds without hesitating.
A mind-boggling array of dessert arrives. The first is the celebrated Sacher torte—a dense, rich chocolate cake, layered with apricot jam and dark chocolate icing. Decadent as sin, but oh-so-delicious. Then comes a fresh fruit tart—fresh cream and exotic fruit encased in a flaky pastry leaves you licking your fingers followed by a berry quark cheesecake and apple streusel tart. The cheesecake is much lighter than a regular Philly cheesecake and much less sweet—the tartness of fruit discernible through the layers of cheese. The streusel tart is rather less complicated but nevertheless melt-in-the mouth delicious.
Reeling from the sugar rush, I waddle home. But it really was worth it. The food, the ambience, the variety and the homey aura of the café made the visit there a joy indeed.