Kolkata has witnessed a boom in café culture in the last few years. With their out-of-the-box, peppy themes and quirky, innovative décor, cafes in Kolkata have grown into so much more than just places to have coffee. With so many unique cafes opening their doors, we came up with the idea to create a story about some of the cafes in Kolkata. In our Kolkata Café Trail, we will follow the route map of Kolkata Metro Railways and visit the cafes located near all the Metro stations.
In the first part of our Kolkata Café Trail, we bring you Artsy: Coffee & Culture, which is just 10 minute walk away from Rabindra Sadan Metro Station. Artsy is the first art café of Kolkata, which aims at offering a unique food and coffee culture along with tasteful art to its guests. The cafe is located in a nondescript lane near Minto Park, which also houses the Ashoka Hall Girls’ School. Inspired by the Kashi Art Café of Kochi, it started its journey back in November, 2017.
The Artsy Cafe-
Vibrant yellow walls guided us right to the door of Artsy. As we entered inside, we were taken aback by its ‘oh-so-Goa’ vibe. The spacious café is monopolized mostly by blue and yellow hue, with a bunch of plants adding to its vibrancy. It is the perfect assemblage of everything we love – minimalist decors in happy colors, tempting range of coffee, covetable collection of classics and fictional books, and that blue typewriter on the window sill. The laidback ambiance made us feel as if we were relaxing in our own living room. Did we mention the café has an open library, where one can donate books? Brownie points for that!
Food at Artsy-
The food menu of Artsy offers diverse options, right from Asian delicacies like Vietnamese Spring Rolls and Pad Thai to Mediterranean Mezze Platter served with delectable red pepper hummus to Australian Avocado Toast, as well as popular dishes such as Pan-roasted Chicken to Beer Batter Fish and a selection of hearty sandwiches. This café also dishes out breakfast favorites such as Potato Hash and French Toast. The foods served are healthy and prepared with utmost care. Coming to beverages, Artsy serves variety of tea and coffee, along with freshly prepared smoothies. In fact, coffee served here is perhaps one of the best in Kolkata.
Art-
This unique café, however, is not restricted only to deliver a distinctive gastronomical experience to its guests. It serves as an art gallery as well, helping to channelize the efforts of all those who have chosen art as their passion. Artsy provides young artists an opportunity to flaunt their creativity through photography and painting at free of cost. The blue and white wall of the café is reserved to display and sell the works of Artist of the Month, who is selected by an experienced professional. Interested artists can apply with their work online at www.artsyinkolkata.com. The café also helps them to organize an open house to discuss their work. We love how Artsy has dedicated itself in promoting young talents.
This picture perfect café also organizes live musical shows on every alternate Friday, giving local singers and Indie bands a chance to showcase their talents. It also arranges book reading sessions. Keep an eye on Artsy’s Facebook and Instagram handles, where dates of gigs are announced beforehand.
Immerse yourself in the good vibes of Artsy. Engage in some substantial conversation over a cup of coffee. Let Artsy cast its spell on you, as you feel your creative juice flow. After you have fed your soul both with good art and good food, check out the collage of colorful windows just outside Artsy. We also loved the graffiti on the adjacent walls.
So what are you waiting for? Head to Artsy, bury yourself on one of those blue sofas by window side, grab a book from the shelf and let the warmth of coffee fill your senses.
For further information, visit the following Facebook and Instagram handles of Artsy:
https://www.facebook.com/artsyinkolkata/
https://www.instagram.com/artsyinkolkata/
;
