Sometimes, it's nice to walk into a cafe and find it empty. You can have peaceful conversations with your friends without it being drowned out by the buzz from the tables around. We walk into an empty Café Chokolade (Egmore), glad that we are the only customers. Also happy that we could finally rest in the comforts of the air-conditioned space, after the arduous task of finding a parking outside. But just our luck, the waiter says: “No current ma' am.” So we seat ourselves in the confines of the rather dim cafe and flip through the menu.
Cafe Chokolade, as the name suggests, has all things in chocolate — there are ice-creams, shakes, chocolates, shots, coconut sandwich, hazelnut sandwich, dry fruit sandwich... We ask for the chocolate sandwich that is generously stuffed and sprinkled with thick shavings of chocolate. It's like an improved version of the Nutella sandwich. You can distinctly taste the bread and the chocolate. There aren't any hidden flavours to be discovered, and yet one bite of this gooey warm thing and you know all is well with the world. But all such illusions are gradually shattered when we order a couple of other things from the menu. The shot comes in a short stout glass with lukewarm thick dark chocolate, topped with hazelnuts. In case any of you wants a post-break-up snack, keep the hazelnut shot in mind. But ensure they give you fresh nuts unlike the haggard-looking ones in our glass.
After all the sweet entrees, we crave for something spicy, salty or just cheesy but nothing of that sort is available here. Café Chokolade is all about chocolate; take it or leave it.
The waiter proudly points to a section titled ‘chokolade' on the menu, and declares that it's their signature creation. That's precisely why we are now staring down a tall glass brimming with chocolate-flavoured milk and crushed brownies. It looks divine but tastes just the opposite. The brownie is dry and has a strange smell. After braving yet another sip we try to catch the attention of the waiter, who (as a little bit of peeping reveals!), is on Facebook. We have half a mind to send him an FB message telling him the brownie is stale. He denies that, and looks at us as if we've accused him of spraying graffiti across the Taj Mahal. After much deliberation he asks if he should replace it. Not sure if our systems can handle any more of the chocolate, we ask for the bill. Predictably enough we have been charged for the stale brownie chokolade — that's the final nail on the coffin. However, we might just return for the chocolate sandwich someday, provided we get more attention than Facebook.
(Café Chokolade is located at No. 10/1A3, Montieth Road, Egmore. For details, call 98401-05693. They also have a branch in Usman Road)
