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Cafes and coffee shops in Bangalore
Bangalore takes coffee more seriously than any other Indian city. It grows next door, in the Karnataka hills, and it comes in two traditions: filter coffee in a steel tumbler, drunk standing at a darshini (a quick-service tiffin room), and a new wave of roasters pouring single-estate beans in Indiranagar and Koramangala. The list below is the cafe side; here is how to pick one for what you want from the afternoon.
How to choose: coffee, work or atmosphere
For the cup itself. The roasters are the reason to come. ARAKU's two-storey Indiranagar flagship pours coffee from the brand's own organic estates in the Araku Valley, with a roastery, a barista academy and a small bookstore in the building. Maverick & Farmer in Ulsoor roasts beans from its own 140-acre Coorg estate and invented the near-colourless clarified cappuccino. At The Roastery Coffee House in Kalyan Nagar the smell of roasting beans meets you at the door. Blue Tokai, the roaster that pioneered direct-trade specialty coffee in India, has only a small first-floor room in Indiranagar: go for a pour-over, not a work day.
For a laptop day. Third Wave Coffee has plug points at most tables and stays open late. Paper and Pie (Indiranagar) and Beanlore (HSR Layout) are half coworking, with meeting pods, podcast or conference rooms. Matteo Coffea and The Caffeine Baar combine serious coffee with light, wifi and sockets.
For atmosphere. Dyu Art Cafe is a Koramangala bungalow with courtyards, rotating local art and no loud music. Ajji House by Subko fills a restored 1953 home with red-oxide floors and a raintree-shaded courtyard. Copper + Cloves keeps a bookshop among its plants; Dialogues Cafe has board games and gives part of its revenue to charity; and at JSP BMW Motorrad you drink a cappuccino among motorcycles in a showroom.
Where the cafes are
Most of the list sits in a few neighbourhoods, so it is easy to plan a coffee around other things nearby.
Indiranagar
The densest cluster: ARAKU, Blue Tokai, Matteo Coffea, Paper and Pie, Third Wave Coffee and Yogisthaan.
Koramangala and HSR Layout
Dyu Art Cafe, The Hole In The Wall Cafe and Third Wave in Koramangala; Beanlore in HSR.
Central: Church Street, Shanti Nagar, Ulsoor
Branches of Matteo, The Caffeine Baar and The Hole In The Wall on Church Street; Ajji House in Shanti Nagar; Maverick & Farmer in Ulsoor.
South and east
The Caffeine Baar in Jayanagar and The Kind Roastery in JP Nagar; The Roastery Coffee House in Kalyan Nagar; The Ants Cafe, a bamboo garden cafe beside a fair-trade craft store, in Whitefield.
Filter coffee, the city's own
Before the roasters there was filter coffee: chicory-blended coffee dripped slowly through a steel filter, mixed with hot milk and poured between a tumbler and a davara (a small steel bowl) until it froths. In Bangalore it is less a cafe order than a household ritual with a fixed hour. Pour it back and forth to cool it, then drink from the tumbler. The places that serve it best are the old tiffin rooms rather than cafes; see [where to eat in Bangalore](/en/bengaluru/restaurants/).
Before you go
Weekends change the rules. The Kind Roastery in JP Nagar bans laptops on Saturdays and Sundays to keep the room social; The Roastery Coffee House takes no weekend bookings and fills up in the evenings; The Hole In The Wall Cafe and Dyu Art Cafe have weekend queues. For a working session or a quiet cup, a weekday is easier everywhere. Most of the list sits at the mid price level (₹₹); ARAKU is the dearest (₹₹₹).
❓ FAQ
Which coffee is famous in Bangalore?
Filter coffee: chicory-blended, dripped through a steel filter and served frothy with milk in a tumbler. The new roasters add Karnataka estate coffee, such as Maverick & Farmer's own Coorg beans.
Which cafes in Bangalore are best for working on a laptop?
Third Wave Coffee, Paper and Pie, Beanlore, Matteo Coffea and The Caffeine Baar all have sockets and wifi; Paper and Pie and Beanlore add meeting and call rooms. Avoid The Kind Roastery at weekends, when laptops are not allowed.
Where can I go for a quiet coffee date in Bangalore?
Dyu Art Cafe in Koramangala (a garden bungalow with art and no loud music), Ajji House by Subko in a restored 1953 home, and Copper + Cloves with its plants and bookshop. Weekdays are calmer.
Which area of Bangalore has the most cafes?
Indiranagar: ARAKU, Blue Tokai, Matteo Coffea, Paper and Pie, Third Wave Coffee and Yogisthaan are all there. Koramangala comes next.
Are there vegetarian or vegan cafes in Bangalore?
Yes. Ajji House by Subko, Dyu Art Cafe, The Ants Cafe and Copper + Cloves are vegetarian; The Kind Roastery, ARAKU and Yogisthaan also have vegan options.
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