Vegetarian delights @ Saturday Cafe

For many self-proclaimed “meaterians” who can’t do without meat at every meal, a 100-percent vegetarian restaurant is honestly not so appealing. But when you have an assurance that it’ll be worth experimenting with your regular palate preference, you don’t mind taking that turn, do you?[break]

The Saturday Café at Bouddha is one such turn on your food highway, you wouldn’t want to miss, so we heard. And that’s why we headed for our destination to taste the most vegetarian of vegetarian dishes ever – the palak paneer.

Situated within the foyers of the Boudha Stupa, the café already has one positive lead from us with its divinely beautiful surrounding. We climb up, passing the bakery section, one of its specialties, on the ground floor. The café receives another plus for its wide collection of books on the second floor. You can imagine yourself enjoying your coffee or a light meal with a good read at one of the cleanly arranged wooden seating. It also has plenty of goods – thangkas, dresses, and other locally made stuffs.

But coming back to palak paneer, also on the “Today’s special” menu on the board on the café’s rooftop, first we thought we’d need a refreshing drink to chase down the veggie dish.

Starting off with their house special, the homemade lemonade was definitely a right choice. With just the right amount of lemony tanginess, the refreshingly sweet drink was worth Rs 70. Their lemon iced tea at Rs 45 felt even better with the fragrant flavors of warm spices – cinnamon and cardamom blending greatly with the chilled drink. As we sat relishing our drinks and enjoying the cool breeze, our palak paneer, costing Rs 180, was duly served.

The service is fast, agreed! Served with chapattis, the dish was plain looking. The buttery aroma of ghee we normally expect with traditionally Indian dishes was missing, not too bad for the weight-conscious. One more slurp of the refreshing iced lemon tea, and we tasted the palak paneer.

Kudos to the ladies in the kitchen, who haven’t had any academic courses or training in cooking, but the dish was wonderfully worth going vegetarian. Plain chapatti dipped in the warm gravy with a bit of paneer tucked in, and the tender morsel is delightfully delicious. Chewing on that juicy bit of delight, with a sip of the cardamom- and cinnamon-flavored iced tea, with the cool air and serenity of Bouddha – there, you have a slice of heaven.

Not leaving out on dessert, either, and Saturday Café being famous for its cakes and cookies, we pleasantly awaited our lemon meringue. Served right out of their bakery, the topping was yet another delight, not too sweet and not too tangy. The non-dairy cream on top tasted so light that it melted in our mouth without leaving any fatty essence.

With organic vegetables and fruits directly supplied from the gardens of Godavari, we found out that the café doesn’t only use them to serve healthy and delicious dishes for their customers but also keeps them on sale.

Décor-wise, the café will probably not make it to your fancy restaurants’ list. But if good food and a tranquil ambience are your priority, add to that, books, organic diet and quick friendly service, then Saturday Café is a pit stop for both vegetarians and not so vegetarians.

Opens : 7:30 am - 8:30 pm (Everyday). Contact : 4478656