Seven Seeds Coffee

I can’t count the times that I’ve passed Seven Seeds in a summer evening auto, been caught by the glowy ochre light out of its glass-protected interiors and sentence-case tiled name, and bided my time for an occasion to visit. As it turns out, this coffee shop fits many, and by now, I’ve enjoyed them all. You could be here for a solo cappuccino and a book, a snob taste test, or post a loud-mouthed Humayunpur restro-bar hang at 3 in the morning.

Being open till 4am is easily one of the best things about this place, rivalled by the fact that they do specialty coffees as well as their classics, and their surprise espresso martinis later in the night. Even when the wind slaps tissues out of your hands in the outer dining area, and chatter gets loud between not-so-far-from-each-other tables, there’s something very calm about these sky-blue walls, amusing caricatures, and road safety mirrors for decor. Not to mention music at an ideal volume – and they’ve got good taste in jazz.

The coffee

Many successful small coffee shops in Delhi are so because of one or two consistent picks on the menu that you can sip on while you work. You’ve got your usual choices, like the manual brew, which my friend orders. He’s the type to obsessively stalk coffee beans and their origins online before he buys roasts. And he’s quick to remark that he’s not sure if the beans are roasted fresh in-house. Whether he’s right, he appreciates that it’s smooth without the bitterness, holds its ground even as it chills, and comes in a cute cup that won’t allow frillier coffee lovers to accuse you of being boring. 

Speaking of the spirit of jazz though, the experimental specialty coffees here also don’t disappoint. The Rosie Life was my first nervous order. Cold espresso and milk, thankfully, put up an almost at-par fight with the rose syrup and mountain honey, which mesh well under the garnish of dried petals. I’m compelled to think the hot rose pistachio latte would equally deliver.

My warm-you-up recommendation, though, has to be the spice latte – cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves galore. And if you’re thinking of a tinge of fruit in your caffeine instead (bold, you), the grapefruit cinnamon cold brew or banoffee flat white alone give you a high-promising range, whether you want the milk or not.

The food

Seven Seeds also does food, yes, surprisingly including hearty Asian bowls, and some other daring picks are mac and cheese balls, masala egg bhurji croissants, and a kimchi chicken burger. I ended up liking the tomato risotto, cheese-forward power punch that dissolves in your mouth, but also actually feels like, well, lunch. But truth be told, I don’t see myself returning for specifically a full meal here, because the pastries and puffs are lovely and pair well with the coffee.

A chicken puff and brownie we ordered arrived in minutes, one peeling almost flakelessly apart with wonderfully spiced meat, minus that school-canteen feel that you usually accept along with it. The chocolate in the brownie is nice, as is their surprisingly boozy-tasting tiramisu. (A teetotaller friend I once brought here remarked that she felt ‘tipsy’.) The flatbread, on the other hand, quite literally fell flat for me.

Time Out tip: After around 9 at night, ask the baristas if there are any extra customizations you can make for the coffee. That is all I’ll say.