Here’s an existential question: What brings you to a café?
While this introspection brews in your head, one thing’s clear: your coffee order says more about you than you think. Lattes as a lifestyle symbol, matcha as the green accessory to an eco-friendly, minimalist vibe or the black coffee that cloaks your soul from situationships.
Time is up: What brings you to a café, anyway?
Whether you’re a millennial with a Gen Z soul, or the other way around, the answer is simple. Cafés today aren’t just about coffee. They’re about choice, indulgence, and finding a space that feels like you.
‘The agenda is there is no agenda’
At the heart of this café revolution is Boojee Café; born as a 15-seater on Perry Cross Road in 2019. In the last six years, it has expanded to another 2,500 square feet space on 16th road. And most recently, a whopping 5,000-square-foot outpost in Kala Ghoda just three months ago.
“It is never going to be enough,” Rajdeep Singh, 31-year-old founder and chef, tells us, explaining the reason why he keeps reinvesting all the money into new outlets is to ensure supply. “The interesting thing to decode here is how did we get the waiting queues. It was not for an Instagram viral or a subsidised price point. It was for the want of creating something exceptional in taste or quality. This is why I feel we made it,” says Singh.
Solo diners swarm Boojee to feel a sense of belonging, share a conversation or two with staff and fellow guests. “Others are coming to consume the coffee and food, which was not the case for a coffee shop. A decade ago, it was more of a meeting place. The menu was secondary,” he says, adding, “Today, as a café or a casual dining space, we can easily customise meals compared to a fine dine restaurant. It may take five more minutes to get your order, but you will get exactly what you want.”
At the Fort outlet, the café seats around 140 people at any given time, operating from 6.30 am to 10.30 pm. “That is 16 hours of service. Table time is anything between 30 to 90 minutes,” says Singh, an alumnus of Dadar Catering College who also worked briefly at Trident.
He set out on his own in search of growth. “I wanted to create a better system – where you don’t work for more than 8–9 hours, and there are enough breaks,” says Singh, who is often flooded with internship requests. “I welcome it. It is common in the US to work at a restaurant or café once in your life. When you serve, you behave differently.”
The menu refreshes every three months. “Culinary innovation should not stop. The guest today likes to be surprised; I like this constant re-choreography. We are a small brand, and we can manage it operations wise,” he explains. Singh also regularly waits on tables and interacts with the guests. “That's my learning ground. Recently, a customer suggested we add wraps; they are already on the menu,” he says.
What is the boojee magic, we ask. “It is the person serving you – in the kitchen and front of the house. The team should be extremely happy – empathetic, people’s person. The team goes and serves that energy outside – it’s backward integration,” he says, sharing an observation.
At a time when café culture is increasingly community-driven, Boojee seems to lean into that openness. “Regulars become friends, end up talking over coffee, which is already there, groups are formed like that. The agenda is there is no agenda,” he concludes.
‘Sub-culture built on creativity’
This month, Kala Ghoda outpost of 145 Café turned 10. Around the same time, owner Ishaan Bahl collaborated with Bokka Coffee to set up at the outlet. “Celebrating 10 years for the café is not just about the time, but about evolving with culture. The collaboration with Bokka fits because we speak the same Gen Z language,” says Bahl.
According to him, cafés today are less about dining and more about identity. “An entire sub-culture is built on creativity, casual networking, self-expression, and personal style. The youth are using cafés like mini creative studios where they work, interact, create content, and make new connections. You can brainstorm at one table, meet your friends at another, and end up discovering new ideas just by being there,” he adds.
Community-focused events, from creative workshops and bar nights to coffee networking sessions, social hangouts, and even the occasional coffee rave, encourage people to linger longer. “The crowd today wants spaces that feel culturally alive. When someone spends an entire evening here because of the vibe and the community, we become part of their week and part of their circle,” Bahl concludes.
‘Focus on food’
At Farmer’s Café, Minali Gaba has seen the shift firsthand. In its early days, a small menu meant guests dropped in for a quick bite or a meeting over coffee. Eight-and-a-half years on, that experience has expanded to reflect bio-individual, health-driven eating habits. “A sense of mindful eating has set in – patrons want to know how much protein they are consuming to amount of fibre. Our menu is curated to cater to that need – high protein chicken burgers and gnocchi made of sweet potato, and our latest entrant, Profene.
It is our signature iced coffee with protein. All generations are coming in – we had kitty party queries for a lunch buffet, that same 70s crowd wants fresh pumpkin not tomato soup that comes from a can. 10-year-olds know what a skinny pizza is. One more reason why cafe culture has also evolved compared to other dining experiences, is there is no stress to dress. You're hungry post work, just go in that same outfit because that's what your body needs."
‘Your third place’
When Karreena Bulchandani began building Mokai, a Japanese-style coffee house, a year and a half ago, she intentionally blurred the lines between a restaurant and a café. The space features a curated playlist, Asian cuisine on the menu, and a strong coffee program. “The Gen Z got it, as they were watching Korean dramas and anime. Once they started liking the experience, they got their families: kitty parties, family tables, young girls bringing their moms for lunch,” says Bulchandani, who sees cafés as long-term cultural spaces, not one-time destinations.
“Our patrons come here for comfort – if they tried a latte today, tomorrow they will explore something else. It’s also a spot where they rely on us for their dietary preferences, even if it is out of the menu,” says Bulchandani.
‘What’s new, what’s trending?’
Nutcracker began as a 24-seater in Kala Ghoda in 2014, born out of a love for eggs. Former banker Annie Bafna turned family recipes into a café outing that quickly found its audience. Eleven years on, Bafna says the casual café culture has evolved into an experiential one. “Now, you are coming to the café for a reason, for a narrative the cafe stands for. It is all about how you feel in a spot. Earlier, people were looking for a space that felt warm and had something nice that you could enjoy while you were spending your time. Experience was expected from a restaurant or fine dining,” says Bafna, who launched Noa by The Nutcracker, a deli and bakehouse in Bandra last year.
Bafna says the focus is also on global food trends and beverage trends. “The drinks menu is as expansive as the food. They expect orders as well as the space to be Instagrammable. Guests want to try new products and explore new innovations with existing trends of matcha brew or an iced-latte. It is a sense of fitting in, where cafes play the role of a community-driven gathering spot,” she says.
To add to that, people spend longer hours at the café. “Not just that you're coming in for a meeting at a place which is not office. But it's also become a workplace,” she adds. With this new-age café culture, comes a pressure: “That of constantly keeping up with changing in behaviour pattern. GenZ being a huge consumer base, is constantly looking for something new,” says Bafna.