Sometimes you just need to meet, discuss work, ideate and do something more productive than pick and gorge on the yummy food on the menu.
Coffee shops and casual dining restaurants have been the hotspots for such meetings, but they come with distractions aplenty.
Lamakaan changed all that and became a trendsetter for venues which doesn’t charge for people to just hangout, and hold ‘intellectual’ discussions. This is still that one place where one can have meetings without spending a paisa, expect for the tea and snacks.
With increasing demand, many new venues have opened. While some of them closed, many others are going strong. Clearly the idea of hanging out in a casual place that isn’t quite an activity centre but not just a restaurant is catching up. Meetings, gigs, open house discussions et al are going places, literally.
Gallery Café on Road No.10, Banjara Hills, is a hot seat for meetings. Credit goes to the way the place looks. Smart interiors feature masterpiece furniture and art pieces, all meant for sale. A huge bark of the (living) tree trunk doubles up as a message wall. The little space at the extreme end of Gallery Café serves as a stage for gigs by bands of various calibres. The natural light gives an open-to-air feeling and since the ambience is quite casual, no one really cares whether you are loud.
Here, the young and old alike discuss work over tea, coffee or whatever the vegetarian menu has to offer. “Those who want to finish their projects and scripts usually plug in their ear phones. No complaints, no airs. Sometimes it is nice to see a group keep it low when someone is busy working towards a deadline. These things give the experience of the comfort of one’s living room where no one needs to get up for a refill of coffee or the sandwich,” smiles Supriya Lahoti, the person behind Gallery Café.
Hop across the street and find Ofen, a place where many actors, directors and script writers can be caught discussing their scripts and work. An old timer who also owns a restaurant calls it their ‘old happy adda .’ If you think it’s too loud and noisy, go up to the rooftop and chill till you want your bill.
Open spaces are a hit in the city, as elsewhere. After spending hours in the AC environment everyone yearns to see the sky, loves to hear the rustling of leaves when it is windy, an occasional mosquito bite notwithstanding. It’s precisely this wish that inspired Green Park to revamp its club/ pub into a brilliant activity centre called ‘Out of the box’ . The décor is all about adventure and the open space opens up opportunities for meetings and discussions without the need to grab a pint of beer. The fact that it is right in the heart of the city and offers ample parking area makes it a favourite.
These causal places are a hit among aspiring startup entrepreneurs because they are easy on the pocket.
Sainikpuri might not be in the heart of the city, but the sudden spurt of coffee shops has come in handy for people who want to finish a project or discuss a photo assignment without having a sandwich alone. Check out Obsessive Coffee Disorder, Coffee Cup and know for sure that whatever it is, it isn’t only the free wifi that makes these places a cool hangout zone.
