Upper Tapovan in Rishikesh is stuffed, overflowing, littered, practically pissing with places to eat. These are my top picks…
10 interesting cafes in Rishikesh you must check out…
1.) The Divine Cafe & Bakery
The Divine Cafe & Bakery hasn’t got the burst of character or the laid back hippie vibes of the other cafes on this list. The Divine Cafe is unique because of the sheer number of tasty pastries it has on offer. Despite appearing as nothing more than a shabby hotel restaurant, the Divine Cafe & Bakery serves strong, delicious coffee and the fact they never seem to be very busy makes it a great place if you need to get work done. If you can get a seat near the entrance (and normally you can) you will get a plug socket to plug in your laptop and you can work away – they’ll give you no pressure to leave.
You need to check out this cafe if your partial to a tasty sweet treat with your coffee (they do the best chocolate cheesecake I’ve ever had) or if your partial to a good strong coffee with your tasty sweet treats… 😉
If you want to know more about their excellent variety of pastries, you can read my full review of the Divine Cafe & Bakery here.
Or visit their website: https://www.divineresort.com/divine-cafe-and-bakery
2.) Cafe Karma
Café Karma may not have the beautiful Ganga by its side, but its atmosphere is no less tranquil and only a few minutes walk from a lot of the big hotels and hostels in upper Tapovan. A great location with a great atmosphere and an even better breakfast selection. It’s eggs galore with a variety of omelettes to beat out most average places in the U.K. The mushroom omelette, the masala omelette etc. On top of that you can get an egg parantha, something I haven’t seen often elsewhere at all.
If you’re really hungry, this mushroom omelette won’t cut it by any means… but you can easily get a side of parantha which will easily turn this tasty snack into a fulfilling meal. It’s just a shame they charge extra for curd…
Overall the service isn’t the best at Cafe Karma, they can take a while to serve you though they’re not unfriendly and the ambience is very nice. There’s always a peaceful air to Cafe Karma added to by the view of all the plants and vegetation outside and the Indian music that plays softly in the background.
These banana pancakes make a great dessert or sweet breakfast at Cafe Karma. They are absolutely choc full of bananas. I can only imagine how good they’re banana nutella pancakes taste…
Cafe Karma is not expensive. If you have a small stomach you’re looking at 200 rupees (£2) or less for one person. If you have a large stomach like me, maybe 300-400.
Read my full review of Cafe Karma to get the low down on their paranthas, and decide whether it’s the breakfasting place for you. Or read their menu on Zomato.
Cafe Karma can be found at the following address: Main Badrinath Highway, Tapovan, Rishikesh, Uttarakhand 249192, India
3.) Cafe by the River
I first wandered into “Cafe by the River” half by accident. It’s a place that’s always quiet and is worth going into just for the comfy seats by the window overlooking the glorious Ganga. But the big plus side is that Cafe by the River does some pretty glorious food too. It was here that I first tried Dal Tadka which I enjoyed with some whopping thick rolls of naan bread. I had only wanted a light lunch but damn the thing packed a delicious punch and it was cheaper than most other restaurants in Rishikesh.
If you are however, just looking for a light lunch at the Cafe by the River, look no further than this humble plate of peanut butter sandwiches.
Where else do you find a cafe that will serve you peanut butter sandwiches? This rare find is to be appropriately treasured. If you’re allergic to peanut butter (or just have bad taste) you’ll find something else cheap and cheerful on the menu at Cafe by the River.
Cafe by the River is located on Sacha Dham Road, Tapovan, Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, 249137, India. Find it on google maps.
4.) Devraj Coffee Corner
Continuing along the banks of the Ganga – or rather, a good hundred feet above the Ganga – we have Devraj Coffee corner. It’s funny, I don’t remember Devraj for its coffee, I remember it for it’s mesmerizing trays of melt-in-your mouth aloo parantha served up with splashes of dal and curd and pickle – oh man; these were some of the best breakfasts I had in India and it breaks my heart that I’m no longer there to enjoy them.
Devraj is also a good place to go for dinner. I had my first Rajma curry here – imagine an Indian take on Chilli con carne. It’s a bit like that in a way. A pinto bean curry with tomatoes and herbs! A very fulfilling vegetarian curry.
Devraj coffee corner is usually fairly busy but more often than not I was able to get a table by the window. On a good day you’ll see monkeys slinking along the balcony and scurrying up the water pipes.
Devraj Coffee corner is 300 rupees (£3) approx for 1 person.
Check their menu on Zomato
Devraj Coffee Corner can be found at the following address: Near, Lakshman Jhula, Tapovan, Rishikesh, Uttarakhand 249192, India
5.) The Secret Garden Cafe
We’ve made it to my all time favourite cafe in Rishikesh. Weirdly enough, I wanted nothing to do with this place at first. It always looked rammed. It took hanging out with a friend for me to realise the entrance always appears busy because people are queuing to order at the counter. Then most people sit outside with their food. There are loads of places to sit outside and on a good day it’s beautiful. If you wish to stay indoors however, there are three booths and two very cosy corners where you can stretch out relax, do some work or socialize… or as I did… all three together.
The Secret Garden Cafe didn’t just become my favourite and most frequented cafe in Rishikesh because of the way I could lounge about and do my writing in my own personal cosy corner with my feet stretched out under the coffee table… but also because it presented me with a breakfast to rival my beloved parantha. The Chocolate, peanut and banana ayurvedic smoothie bowl. A smoothie bowl so packed with banana – hidden in the chilled chocolatey yogurt, so generously coated with almonds peanuts and muesli and peppered with pomegranate seeds. It just makes one of the greatest breakfasts ever. After eating parantha for days on end, this breakfast at the Secret Garden Cafe made the perfect change.
If you sit inside, the Secret Garden Cafe has above all a loving, cosy vibe, and if you’re sitting outside on a warm sunny day among the trees and the plants, I imagine your experience will be much the same.
Check them out on Trip Advisor for more photos and reviews.
The Secret Garden Cafe can be found at the following address: Tapovan Rd, Tapovan, Rishikesh, Uttarakhand 249192, India
6.) Ira’s Kitchen
The Secret Garden Cafe’s DIRECT challenger.
The direct challenger to The Secret Garden Cafe’s claim to uniqueness of character and food lies just a 5 minute walk away from it. Ira’s kitchen is an entirely outdoor dining experience with some tables covered by a shelter. And here is the challenger to the Secret Garden Cafe’s smoothie bowl…
Eating at Ira’s kitchen is a lovely experience. Their smoothy bowl is tasty and nutritional though I do not recommend having it with the coconut cream option they provide. Every time I had it I felt just a tad sick afterwards. It was so heavy. Maybe you’re stomach’s made of sterner stuff than mine, but trust me, I doubt it. My only other criticism of the fruit & muesli bowl is the fact it’s served at room temperature instead of chilled. And this is why it can never hope to beat the ayurvedic smoothy bowl at The Secret Garden Cafe.
Still, the fruit and muesli bowl is a delicious and nutritious dish, and a side of peanut butter toast for little more than 100 rupees extra in the confines of a pleasant green garden makes Ira’s kitchen a place you should definitely visit. Stay away from their parantha however – it’s not authentic.
If you’re interested, Iras Kitchen has a very sweet little Instagram page.
7.) The Pink Cafe – one of the only places in Rishikesh to serve alcohol
As I excitedly pointed out in the subheading, this is one of the only places in Rishikesh to serve alcohol. Being a holy city on the banks of a very holy river, alcohol is pretty much banned in Rishikesh. The Pink Cafe has obviously found some loophole to get around this however, and people like me are very grateful.
So come in here to get yourself a bottle of Kingfisher Ultra or to order a plate of their pink sauce pasta!
I view the Pink Cafe as more of a dinner diner than a cafe, but you can absolutely come in here during the day for a coffee or a beer. They have plenty of booths to lounge about in.
Go check out their instagram page it has some incredible pictures.
8.) The 60’s Cafe – the Beatles
One of 2 cafes in Rishikesh branded around the Beatles (which can make it confusing if you’re trying to find the actual Beatles cafe). This one however, is the superior. With a moderate rectangular length indoor seating area, covered with cool artwork centered around the Beatles boy band, and a large outdoor seating area with lots of tall plants even more stunning and impressive than Ira’s kitchen, and a variety of Indian and Western dishes, the 60’s cafe has it all (except alcohol.)
Personally speaking, the Indian dishes didn’t look as appetising here, and considering the pricing I would stick to ordering western food at the 60s Cafe – like this tasty Rodrigez pizza for instance.
Or this incredibly delicious and simply huge bowl of bananas and ice-cream. Known as none other than Gordon Ramsey’s Hot Bananas. The clash of the piping hot syrupy bananas and the refreshingly cold ice-cream makes for a harmonious taste you’ll really want to savour.
I loved the character of this place. It has a wide-ranging menu with both gluton free and vegan options very reasonably priced with pizzas between 300 – 500 rupees (£3-5) and Indian dishes for roughly the same. There’s a real host of stuff to try like cauliflower stuffed pizza crust, spicy tofu wraps and an array of smoothies and juices.
Go to their instagram page for a more vivid idea of what it’s like to dine here.
9.) The Beatles – the OTHER Beatles Cafe
It’s a steep hill to climb to reach the Beatles Cafe. It’s one of the most tucked away cafes in Rishikesh, but with the best view of all the places on this list. The Beatles Cafe has an extensive interior with many mattresses and pillows to lounge about on. It almost beats The Secret Garden Cafe with its chilled vibes, but the incredible view simply means that the Beatles Cafe gets a bit too busy to achieve that. There’s a range of things to eat at The Beatles Cafe, but stay away from their pasta dishes – neither the portion nor the taste delivers. Stick to the Beatles Cafe for a relaxing coffee with a stunning view. I recommend you eat elsewhere.
Located at Paidal Marg, Tapovan Sarai, Badrinath Road, Lakshman Jhula, near Hanuman Mandir, Tapovan Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, 249192
And here’s their Instagram page
10.) The Arches
The Arches is without a doubt the most expensive option on this list. But to be fair… it more than earns that right. The interior is beautiful and its food is even more beautiful both in taste and presentation.
I can’t think of any adequate way to describe this bread; it is soft and satisfyingly crispy at the same time, the vegetables were crunchy and that egg substitute… MMMMMM….
The Arches doesn’t just serve vegan food. But it proudly only serves dishes made with organic and fat-free ingredients. It’s without a doubt the healthiest place to eat on this list. While I enjoyed eating my first meal of the day here, it is probably more of a place to go for brunch or dinner rather than breakfast.
The Arches is located at Lakshman Jhula, chowk, Tapovan, Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, 949192, India
Check out their Instagram page here.
Now that we’ve covered the 10, I would say that’s it, but I can’t because there are in fact many more. Too many for me to list and talk about here. But these 10 are a strong starting point. If you don’t have long in Rishikesh, hopefully this article delivered enough information about each of the 10, so you’ll know which ones you want to check out, and how to make the most of the ones you do.
Now then, Rishikesh is yours! Go and feast on some aloo parantha, or savour some chocolate cheesecake…
