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I’ve not travelled a lot compared to the travel influencers you see around you. However, I’ve been to places and spent so much time that I know a lot of towns and cities like the back of my hand. One of the best travel decisions that I made recently was to spend 2 weeks in Mumbai. While the decision faced questions from a lot of people, I thoroughly loved the days I spent in Mumbai. I call myself a pseudo-Mumbaiker now!
During my stay at Cohostel in Bandra, I explored the cafes in Bandra where I could work from – perks of remote work. I guess I should add Mumbai to my list of remote places to work from in India too!
Nevertheless, during my close to a week’s stay in Bandra, I visited numerous cafes and food joints. In this list, I’ll talk about 4 cafes in Bandra where you can work based on my experience. In all these cafes I had spent good enough time to talk about them in this post.
Further, though most of the cafes had WiFi, I mostly used my mobile hotspot to work. Lastly, the major reason to work from cafes in Bandra was the humid weather. It was insanely humid & hence I was on the lookout for places to work from that had an AC and allowed me to spend some time.
My Experience Of Working At Cafes In Bandra
Bandra for the unaware is one of the rather quaint areas in Mumbai, especially the areas around chapel road and hill road. Plus this is one of the most expensive areas in Mumbai. In fact, finding a Vada Pav food cart wasn’t quite easy here. The plan during my slow travel in Mumbai was to work and explore the city, and these cafes in Bandra provided me with a much-needed respite from the heat. So here are the cafes that I visited to work from
Blue Tokai Coffee
One of the first cafes that I visited in Bandra was Blue Tokai. I’m sure many of you would have come across their adverts on social media, especially Instagram. When I saw the advert first, I thought that they are just-another-coffee-startup. However, some of my friends suggested I visit Blue Tokai cafe in Bandra.
Blue Tokai has got a good fan base when it comes to speciality coffee. They also sell a variety of ground coffee as well. The cafe is extremely small, with barely 5 tables. So if you arrive at rush hour, you might not get a table. In terms of ambience, it has got the typical cafe vibes. Just since the place is small, you can easily listen to what others are talking. So if you plan to work from here, I’d suggest visiting early in the day, picking a spot and ordering a coffee.
In terms of food, I fell in love with the espresso tonic cold brew. An espresso shot in a glass of chilled tonic water topped with ice was heavenly. No wonder, people love their coffee. I recently ordered Blue Tokai Vienna Roast Cold Brew too. I’m sure their hot coffee would be as delicious as this too.
In terms of food, I tried their Pasta in Pesto sauce and was pretty surprised with it. Loved the flavour and the texture. The pasta was cooked well and loaded with fresh veggies. So no issues in terms of food. They do have WiFi, but I preferred using my hotspot. Overall a good a cafe to work from/
Location: Blue Tokai Coffee, Off New Kantwadi Road, opposite Peace Heaven.
Price For Two: Rs 800
Subko
Another cafe that I was suggested to visit by my coffee aficionado friend was Subko. I had come across them while searching for cafes in Bandra but didn’t quite plan to visit them. But I’m so glad that I did! It is right next to my hostel, barely 50 meters. Located in a small lane beside a nicely done Portuguese house is Subko.
A house turned into a cafe, Subko is a brand of speciality coffee roasters. They have some of the finest blends and fresh ground coffee. A normal person like me would be lost in terms of the types of coffee they serve. In terms of the ambience, the place is big and has got multiple rooms. However, don’t visit on a weekend as you’ll not get a place to sit (Friday included). If you plan to work, visit on a weekday during the afternoon. They have got work from cafe setup at multiple places with plug points, desks, chairs along with Wifi.
In terms of coffee, I tried a couple of their cold brew coffee and instantly fell in love with them. One was a lemon-infused cold brew in tonic water and the other one was a lavendar-flavoured cold brew. Both of these were so refreshing and the hint of lemon/lavender just elevated the whole experience. In terms of food, I didn’t try much. I had their Jackfruit Haleem Quiche which was delicious. Not only did it look good, but it also tasted yum. Highly recommended.
Subko is a wonderful cafe when it comes to speciality coffee and food. However, when it comes to working, it can get quite noisy and crowded. Hence if you need to take work calls, I’d suggest moving out to take it. Barring that, I absolutely loved Subko!
Location: Subko Speciality Coffee Roasters, Chapel Road, Ranwar
Price For Two: Rs 600
Taj Mahal Tea House
If you’re a chai lover and wondering what’s in for you, this is it. Taj Mahal Tea House is just for you. The iconic Taj Mahal chai from the house of Unilever. Located in the old-world lanes of Bandra, the Taj Mahal Tea house opened its door in 2015. Ever since it has become a place to visit in Bandra.
Everything from the building to the ambience and tea will make you go “Wah Taj!” The interiors have the iconic Taj Mahal tea adverts from the past, fine cutlery on sale along with exquisite teas. Compared to the rest, this is quite spacious and provides outdoor seating too. It’s also the instagrammable place on this list. With light classical music in the background, the place is perfect for a casual meeting or just working. Also, it opens at 7:30 AM too!
They have an expansive breakfast menu with a choice of Indian or continental breakfast coupled with a variety of Indian and blended tea. I also met a friend here and hence we ordered quite a few items. Started with the Besan Chilla, Bread Upma along with Masala Chai. The presentation of the food was good and the flavours were subtle. Bread Upma was a nice take on the homely breakfast while the Chilla was given a nice videsi twist with the stuffing.
The chai was perfect and there was lots of it. I’m sure that the chai lovers will surely love it. In terms of crowd, it does build up as the time passes, and can get extremely crowded on weekends. Lastly, this is also the most expensive cafe that I visited in Bandra.
Location: Brooke Bond Taj Mahal Tea House, St. John Baptist Road
Price For Two: Rs 1000 (incl food and chai)
Starbucks
The one place that I visited often was Starbucks. There were multiple outlets in Bandra itself, but I most often visit the one next to St. Aloysius School. Starbucks has a consistent theme and ambience across the world and that’s what makes them special.
Further, all of their cafes are designed keeping working professionals in mind. There are work desks along with charging outlets on almost every table. The Wifi here is also pretty good. More often than not, you’ll also find a lot of other folks working from here too. I once spent almost half a day working from here and quite enjoyed it.
In terms of my order, it’s almost fixed now. Either a Nitro cold brew or an Espresso Ginger Ale cold brew. These are the only two coffees that I’ve had during my entire stay in Mumbai.
While Subko and Blue Tokai are different leagues, the Ginger Ale cold brew always made me want for more. It’s one of the simplest yet the most refreshing ones that I’ve had. The coffees here are also expensive compared to what I had at other places, but again it’s Starbucks! I also happened to visit other outlets in Mumbai – Nariman Point and The Taj Mahal Hotel. I loved the vibes at Taj Mahal Hotel 🙂
Location: Starbucks, Chapel Road
Price For Two: Rs 600
There are a few other cafes in Bandra like The Nutcracker, Birdsong, Chantilly to name a few that I couldn’t visit. Will keep them for my next visit 🙂
Which cafe in Bandra do you like the most?
All the cafes that I visited in Bandra and worked from, I had a good time. Everything from the ambience to the food and service was pretty good. Some of these did get quite crowded at times, and mostly with people coming in to work or just chilling randomly.
Working from cafes sounds fun but it can be daunting for many. There’s a lot of distraction around – from the noise, food, smell, music and also the crowd. It’s tough to keep your eyes off people who’re coming in. So only if you are a seasoned working from cafes, I suggest you try this. Else. visit a cafe to work on a day when you’re less loaded with work to experience it for yourself.
If you’re from Mumba or Bandra, do let me know what other cafes I should visit, I’ll note it down and add it for my next trip. For others, do let me know the best cafes to work from in your city. Reply in the comments below, tweet to me at @Atulmaharaj, DM on Instagram or Get In Touch 🙂
