Leaping windows is a lovely place for book lovers that started with an online comic book library! Inspired by the Japanese manga cafes, it has a theme of comic books and graphic novels with a cozy basement space for readers to bury themselves into books! Upstairs, it is a small intimate place for food and coffee lovers with a different world hidden in their basement. The owners invest most of the money they earn to add to their comic book collection for those who return on a regular basis.

The hive is a cultural hub for the city! It extends the idea of a café into so much more than just food and coffee. It is a café cum studio space where amateur artists are given an opportunity to perform. It is an informal space with a recording studio and offices that allow freelancers and startups to work. Workshops and events are held on a regular basis like stand-up comedy and poetry competitions. 

New in the city, Bombay vintage is located in the Colaba area of South Bombay. As the name suggests, the place brags an immaculate vintage décor. It will remind you of the colonial Bombay with old photographs, antique clocks hanging on the walls, polaroid camera, typewriters, pots, jars, old movie posters, and other vintage elements. The collection that can only be described as classy will take you back to a different time.

Started by Zoroastrians from Iran settled in India, as an Irani café, amongst the first in the city, Café Mondegar is a landmark. An Iconic restaurant and bar, it is a popular hangout space. With great music, it was the first one to house a jukebox. The inner walls and entrance ceiling of the café are painted by famous Indian cartoonist Maria Miranda. 

This Bollywood themed eatery in Andheri, keeps it funky and retains an authentic road side ‘dhaba’ appeal. They have posters of Bollywood vintage movies like ‘Deewar’ and ‘Mughale-azam’ decorating the walls and the interiors are adorned with colourful mosaic flooring, kites and glass bangles, old lanterns, irons and charpoys giving a rustic feel. Their seating is interesting and offers a good variety to pick from like low height shamianas, hand driven carts, sewing machine and rickshaws. To add to the feel of a ‘dhaba’, Punjabi drum is played every half an hour urging patrons to get up and dance!

A lovely café nestled in a narrow lane of bandra, the café was started with the aim of promoting health of mind and body. It is a mix of Yoga studio, health store and café. Housed in an old multilevel bungalow, the place has lovely seating. On the last level there is a balcony with a diwan type seating and cushions. It is the perfect setting for fitness enthusiasts.

A relatively new café in South Bombay, Mocking bird is a nice warmly lit and roomy café. The interiors are casual and suave with a book-lined wall that attracts the intellectual crowd. The music isn’t too loud and up-to-the-minute. The cuisine is a mix of European, Indian, and Thai, as well as stone baked pizzas and an impressive breakfast.

This is a place you go to to satiate the inner child in you. With an interesting theme of games along with cheap drinks, it attracts a lot of customers returning for a good time. Their tables tops are chalkboards where one can doodle away to glory and enjoy games like Uno, Connect 4, Taboo or Jenga. The interiors are kept flamboyant and playful that gives off a frisky vibe as soon as you enter.

Located in the narrow lanes of lovely neighbourhood of bandra, café bird song is a cozy café with rustic interiors. The material palette is a contrast of concrete and warm wood resembling the architecture of the nearby structures. The entrance is through a modest wooden door with an arched façade and double shutter louvers. The graphics in the café are hand done and the menu is a blackboard written in chalk. Mezzanine level constructed from reclaimed teak wood is used for events or private gatherings.

Another unique café in the suburbs of Juhu, Café Fable will remind you of your childhood. With charming interiors inspired from books and fables you have read as kids, the place will make you feel like Alice in Wonderland! The décor is elegant with white walls and vintage furniture. There is a wishing well on one corner and other elements like antique lamps, quotes, book lamp, book phone, paper rhino head that add to the ambience. The same theme of fables is carried into the menu. 

Similar to the hive in concept, Tuning fork is a place for music lovers. The décor is simple with wooden chairs and tables looking towards a stage with a recording studio and terrace on the outside. Karaoke, stand-up comedy, game nights and live music and other similar events attract the crowd and make this place unique. The menu is a mix of healthy breakfast items with continental cuisine.