Always, the ‘in’ hangout in a city is where the teens and the upwardly mobile get-together for a cuppa and a few nibbles. The latest such joint that has become hugely popular with the youngsters and older foodies alike is Kaffeehaus, a funky café on M.P. Appan Road.
Thankfully, we hit Kaffeehaus early enough to beat the lunch crowd. If it’s name, which literally means coffeehouse in German, and the signpost pointing to Vienna, Rome, Paris, Zurich and so on, didn’t clue you in on the food inspiration behind the restaurant, the interiors surely will. Step inside the tastefully decorated, bistro style space and the arresting red colour and iconic white crosses of Switzerland’s national flag immediately capture the eyeballs. Throw in a few French words — appétissant (appetising), huereux (happy), naturel (natural), amitié (friendship)...and you know you are in for a cheerful rendezvous with ‘cheesy’ Swiss cuisine.
The restaurant was started by young entrepreneur Nimmy Rolythan. “It’s an outcome of my travels to Switzerland and the rest of Europe. My brother, Antony Johnson, has been in Switzerland for about 18 years now and my sister-in-law is a Swiss national as well. So, even the food cooked at home was heavily influenced by European cuisine. When I thought of setting up a restaurant in our hometown, I knew it had to be the Swiss food that I love and especially given that there were no other Swiss cafés in town now,” says Nimmy.
Indeed, the limited but packed menu of the restaurant has all the makings of a Swiss treat; some of the dishes rather too foreign for us to figure out — Wachteleier salat, Hunchensalat, Eisschokolade, Gegrilltes Kase... But everything’s been translated into English as well. Wachteleier, for instance, is quail eggs. We quickly decide our order, opting for hot chocolate and Eisschokolade (a ‘classic Swiss cold chocolate milk’) from a rather fairly long list of hot and cold beverages. The hot chocolate arrives soon enough, piping hot, frothy and chocolatey, just perfect for the sore throat and the cold chocolate, I am told, is thick and luscious and drizzled with chocolate syrup.
Racelette cheeseboard at Kaffeehaus
Although the menu does not specify appetisers, we decide to share a ‘Salad mit speck’ — bacon salad. You get to choose between an olive oil and a mayonnaise dressing. To tell you the truth we’ve come for Kaffeehaus’ cheese and the bacon dishes that everyone’s been raving about online and we are not disappointed thanks to the generous helping of salty, fried bits of bacon offsetting the crunchiness of the fresh veggies. Also, in retrospect, its good that we decided to share the salad, given the fairly large portion size, which makes it a meal in itself.
Our craving for bacon and cheese also guides our selections for the main from the ‘Kaffeehaus specials,’ though there were equally tempting choices for chicken, egg and veg dishes such as Chicken schnitzel, Birchermuesli (a traditional yoghurt-oatmeal dish), Chocolate fondue, Pasta alfredo, Spaghetti Bolognese, and Tomato risotto. We go for Rosti with bacon, raclette, Pasta carbonara and also Speck und kase (grilled bacon and tomato sandwich), from the sandwich section.
Rosti
Rosti (pronounced roeshti ), what a Swiss revelation! It’s a plate-sized, pizza-like fritter of grated potato that has been mixed with butter and three types of cheese (usually cheddar, mozzarella, gouda or parmesan), toasted to perfection and sprinkled with bacon (you can also opt for plain rosti or rosti with chicken). The pasta was equally delicious, al dente, cheesy and bacony and the sandwich toasty and oozing cheese.
Another dish that won us over is the Raclette, which we ourselves can prepare on a special Swiss raclette stove that Nimmy sets up for the table. Soon, a wooden platter arrives with eight slices of cheddar cheese and an array of toppings such as black olives, sun-dried tomatoes, capers, diced boiled potato, plus another plate of condiments. We have to then place the cheese slices on small skillets with the desired toppings, place it all on the stove and wait and watch with mouths watering as the cheese melts. “You’ve got to wait till the cheese reaches the point of burning and eat it before the cheese turns chewy,” says Nimmy as she deftly scoops up hot cheese that now resembles an omelette from the skillet. Totally cheesy, totally scrumptious.
The signature desserts — named after Swiss mountains — are too tempting to give up. So, we order ice-cream with hot and chewy oatmeal cookies and a panacotta sprinkled with pomegranate seeds. We savour each to the last spoonful and crawl our way home, bellies full and happy.
Food for thought
Pocket guide: The dishes cost between ₹ 120 and ₹380, while most of the beverages are priced below ₹100.
Taste guide: Nimmy recommends Birchermuesli, Rosti and chocolate fondue (next year they are expanding the menu to include cheese and meat fondue as well)
It’s open from 12 noon to 11 pm. Contact: 0471-4851133
