books and food…what more do you want??

Cha Bar, CP

I have been wanting to go to cha bar since long, and especially having read the great reviews and it being a book cafe…..i was eagerly waiting to give it a go….so finally last sunday afternoon i called my partner and went for it.. ..
Ambiance:
Located in N block inside of oxford bookstore is this little gem that i absolutely fell in love with….as soon as you climb the stairs you enter the book store….there is so much serenity one can feel, even with the loud music playing in the background…
And for me cha bar came as a bliss…..i was having a troubled week and was mentally exhausted…..i so wanted a change and luckily i got that here…the bookstore has all sorts of books from spiritual to travel guides, from fictional to cook books and even a section for kids…behind the book store there is an open waiting area and from one end of the store there are 2-3 entrances to cha bar which in itself is a very small, always crowded, a bit congested lil cafe….
The best feature about the place is that even though its very small and congested yet somehow each table has its privacy….and to top that cha bar boasts more that 150 varieties of cha(tea)…and a great choice of food to munch on…
Service:
it being a small and crowded eatery….the waiters are always busy and on the run…so it gets a bit difficult to catch their attention…but once you do…and place your order…your order is served within a matter of few minutes…the service is efficient…and waiters are friendly….they dont hover over….they serve and disappear leaving you to your business….
Food:
Well i am not a big fan of tea but seeing such a huge variety i was excited and wanted to try new cha….now on that day i particularly was not feeling well with a sore throat and a bit cold….so my partner suggested the following….now thats another interesting thing about the place….it has different names for different cha….and they serve them in different and interesting cutlery….like painted kettles or cute cup holders etc….
Bollywood cha: was served in a kettle it was good but was served at room temperature and tasted like a normal home chai…
Cutting cha: this was the one i enjoyed quite a bit….it was served hot…had a spice mixed taste and helped my throat….
Applewood smoked chicken sandwich: now firstly i wanted a different sandwich altogether but unfortunately they didnt have the one i wanted so i settled for this one….its a cold sandwich prepared with white bread with a cold filling of chicken, mustard and coleslaw….i didnt enjoy it a lot but yeah i liked it….
And lastly we ordered their barbequed chicken sausage: i lived the hot served barbequed chicken sausages….they went well with the cutting cha and the cold chicken sandwiches….the sausage had a delicious barbeque taste….
We got our check and after filling our tummies we went to the bookstore…bought a book each .. sat in the waiting area and indulged ourselves in our conversation and soon got engrossed in our books after an hour or so we again headed for the cafe to taste more cha and nibble on more food….i just didnt have enough of it on the 1st go….i dont know there is something about that whole place…that combo of books, music ,food, and cha that i and my partner ended ip spending quite a few hours there with ease….
So in the next round we ordered:
Truck driver cha: this was the best of all….it was infused with a lit of spices and it hit the right notes….
Orange cha: this was more like green tea…its served without milk, and has a subtle flavour of orange, cardamom etc…though they served it in the form of tea bag,it was different in taste but i would have enjoyed it even more had it been freshly prepared….to go with that we ordered:
Bun kebab: it was a spicy patty crispy fried with a loud ground spice flavour served with pao….i lived it…it had a different taste and went well with the cha..
Fish n chips: crispy fried french fried along with beautifully cooked…crumb fried fish served with tartar sauce…again i loved the dish and devoured it completely…
And lastly to end it all we ordered their chocolate truffle cake: the slice of cake was so soft and moist and extremely chocolaty with a gooey centre….oh….i still drool over its memory…..

The food and cha fiassca finally came to an end…and guess what having ordered so much …the total bill for both the rounds came to be 970 bucks inclusive of tax and tips….
Its one of the best places delhi has where you can spend hours and hours chatting, reading and enjoying so many different cha and yummy food at a very cheap price….
I would definitely go back and i highly recommend it….