Cafes In Manali – Best Of Manali’s Cafes

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Bon appétit – Cafes In Manali

Manali – A hippy happy place loaded with life, diversity and Vibrance. Over the last few years, it became one of the most touristy places in India and with the increasing tourism from all over the world, Manali now is a heterogeneous mixture of diversified cultures.

But I must say along with its accepting nature, it is still a Himachali village and the people here carry their native heritage very cautiously, whether it is their outfit, their food or their traditions.

Now a question!

What are the different ways to identify a person’s community or origin?

For most of us, it could be language, clothes, and sometimes appearance too but among them, the task of one sense organ is still missing like with ears we can hear the language, with eyes we can identify a person with the outfit or appearance.

But do you know there is one more way with which you can answer this question, and that is the “Food served to you“!

Yes, the taste of an authentic regional dish can tell you more about a person’s native place.

So, now I can say “Taste buds too can communicate“

As a traveller, we always look for a pocket-friendly place to eat but sometimes when we hear an interesting story behind any cafe or about the owner we always try to visit that place. After all, this is what we do, collecting stories and experiences to share with you.

During our Manali trips, we explored various cafes, among them, a few became our all-time favourites some because of their stories, some because of their service and some because of their ambience but one thing is common in all of them which is “The taste“.

We categorized them as – Must-Have Bites In Manali

5 Best Cafes In Manali

1. Southern Souls

There are only a few places which justify their name with their food and service. But in Southern Souls, you will find both the words very well evaluated.

They serve the best authentic vegetarian South Indian food in Manali, if you love South Indian delicacies then this is the spot. With a lot of options on the menu, you can select any, which you want to become your new favourite.

Yes, this is what is going to happen there, you will forget what your taste buds had tasted till now in the name of South Indian food, especially if you have never visited South India.

The cafe is run by a couple, Mr Kranthi Bhardwaj the host, organizer, manager, and server and his wife the magical cook.

Sometimes it happens, that you meet someone only for a short time, but the eagerness to meet again and again remains. This kind of person is Mr Kranthi.

There is a saying in Hindi “अगर किसी को मिठाई नहीं खिला सकते तो मीठी बातें तो कर ही सकते हो”  this goes perfect for him.

Now I guess you must be excited and curious too to visit the place so, here is the location.
Southern Souls Cafe
Near Hadimba Temple
Siyal, Manali

Here you can enjoy your meal either sitting under the shade of a Cedar tree in the open area or they have a little cosy inside sitting arrangement as well.

Must-try: Paniyaram, mix veg Uttapam, Curd Rice served with Mor Milagai (crisp red chillis, marinated in buttermilk and then sun-dried), Masala Dosa, Set Dosa or I would say anything or everything.

For the latest updates and menu, you can visit their business site:
https://southernsoulscafe.business.site/

2. The Corner House

With its location in its name, it is situated at a corner of the prominent mall road Manali.

Some places have no specialities because everything they have cannot be disliked whether it is their food, service, location or ambience. This is what we feel about this cafe.

We never miss visiting this place at least once whenever we are in Manali.

With a lot of sitting options, you may also get confused while ordering because they have a diverse range of delicacies from multiple cuisines.

Imagine yourself sitting at a corner table by the side of the window enjoying your meal with a view of the cheerfulness of the mall road.

Quick service, lip-smacking taste and the pocket-friendly price could be the short description of this place.

And yes, this place is also recommended by Rocky & Mayur on their show “Highway On My Plate“

Must-Try: Wood-Fired Pizza, Mocktails & Continental

Being in the prime location of Manali its location is not required but to be specific here is your corner table waiting for you.

3. The Lazy Dog

Located on the banks of the Manaslu river, it is a perfect spot to spend a day doing nothing just chilling.

Be it the lingering winter sun or the exciting monsoon rains, you can enjoy both of them here.

They have a cliff-hanging kind of open space in the back from where you can enjoy your food along with the Manaslu river. Or you can sit inside in dimmer, cheerful musical vibes.

No doubt the ambience is instagrammable but when you look at your plate of food, it will be difficult to decide whether to pick up your phone first for a picture or spoon first to eat.

With a variety of options on the menu, they have category speciality also, like if you want you can get something vegan or gluten-free also.

In drinks, from the Beas water to hard tonics, you can opt for anything from their bar section, from fancy mocktails and cocktails to OLD school drinks for a MONK like state of mind, they have lots of options.

Now if you are done with your day exploring Manali then let’s go there, here is the location.
Manu Temple Road, Old Manali
Tehsil Manali, Distt Kullu, Himachal Pradesh 17513

Must-Try: Hummus & Pita Bread, Pasta, Cocktails & lip-smacking non-veg options

Check out the menu and more details at their official website
https://thelazydog.in/

4. Mount Walkers

Great vibes with delicious food and live music, this is what this new cafe of old Manali offers you.

I believe good things don’t need expensive promotions to reach people. Sometimes it’s all done by the happy customers, that’s how we came to know about this place.

Before visiting and experiencing this place we heard the story about its owner Mr Arjun, a passionate traveller and a fantastic musician.

Decorated with small things, this cafe also has a ground seating arrangement and on the back wall along with Arjun’s doodle, his life mantra is also written “कल की क्यूं तू सोचे, कल की क्यूं बातों मै उलझे” very sorted and optimistic, isn’t it?

You can find him performing live, most of the evenings after 7 pm. Here from Italian to Indian, Chinese to Continental you will get every option.

We went here only once and that too on our last day of the trip but we are glad and fortunate that we do have some memories of this cool, calm and artistic place.

Here is the location as a reminder for your next trip to Manali. Do visit this cafe, you won’t regret it but if you miss it then definitely you will.

5. Rocky’s Cafe

Where the road ends, you will find Rocky there. With the title of the oldest cafe in old Manali, it is one of the most preferable spots for the new gens.

With the magnificent panoramic view from the deck and hippie vibes in the bohemian ambience, you can spend the entire day here.

Pizzas are their speciality among the fifties of other variety, we came to know this firstly from our observation and then with our taste buds when we had the first bite of the hand-tossed freshly baked thin-crust loaded with fresh veggies –  PIZZZZAaaa…

The staff here is very friendly and professional, one thing I must specify here is if by any chance you left your food and any of the staff members notice it before you are gone then they’ll surely take your feedback to make it better for the next time. That’s exactly what we experienced on our first visit and this is what we liked the most, that they do care about their guests.

If you want to chill here every day and want to wake up every morning with this beautiful view of the mountains, then they also have accommodation the availability of which you can check on their website.
https://www.rockysguesthome.in/ 

Ok if you are here looking for the best cafes in Manali then you must be planning a trip, along with the good food you can also give yourself an adventurous experience by going on a day hike in Manali.