Hungry Hippie is a brand new café restaurant in the buzzing street near Jyothi Nivas College, located on a rooftop above Chai Point – next to Empire. As we walked into the place, the sheer size was surprising, who knew there was a place this big up there?! Brightly lit place, good music, airy, a large baba painting by the wall, cushion couches and old fashioned chairs – kind of like a Goan shack or those hippie huts in Hampi – chilled out space for the gypsy soul indeed! It’s quite an assortment, I thought! We were invited over by a friend for a tasting of this brand new place, and we met the owners – Pallavi and Arjun who explained the concept and menu. They serve all day breakfast – pancakes, sausages, eggs and waffles, some Italian fare like pizzas, pastas, fusion Thai, Tex mex, and Fast Food like burgers, paninis, wraps.

We started with a few starters from their menu – Chili Chicken, Chili Paneer, Chicken Trippy Triangles, Thai Mac & Cheese Balls, Mezze Platter and Cilanto Chicken Skewers. The Chili Chicken and Paneer were good, right texture and adequate bit of spice. This is like the most common dish I order when I go out, and it’s usually a good way to start with dishes you know really well. Mac & Cheese Balls with an Asian twist, good – well executed. I was not crazy about the Mezze Platter, they weren’t serving pita bread, and that’s what I like the most about mezze! The hummus and tabbouleh were good though. Trippy Triangles – the star! Loved the triangle samosas with a spicy punch, served with a creamy sauce. The Cilantro Chicken – well I am not a big fan of cilantro, but tasted quite nice. Would be better with a sauce though, was a tad too dry.

The French toast and Panini were up next. Though I like my French toasts a little drenched and droopy – or eggy as my mom says, this one was very light in contrast. Came with thin slices of apple and cream, and was quite different. The breads had a very nice and fluffy texture. Overall good to try! Garlic and Mushroom Panini was another winner – creamy mushroom nice and generous amounts. Veg Hippie Pizza was also quite nice, extra spicy on request. They also have butter chicken and other Indian pizzas, perhaps for next time.

We didn’t have much space for mains. But for hookah and sheesha there’s always a special place! Their selection of Hippie Trippy signature flavors looked good, and served in their DIY Baba hookah bottles, rustic and made in house. They have a side of the café dedicated for the patrons who want to consume hookah though there’s no physical partitioning. Given the size of the place, it’s not really a problem.

The Thai Red Curry with Rice was pretty nice, spicy and flavorful with bird’s eye chilis. The lemon grass flavor could have been a little pronounced, but otherwise was fine. It’s mainly around this time the place started feeling quite warm. Their fans hadn’t come in yet, and while the evenings are naturally pleasant here, chilis can change that quickly I realized! The lamb burger had good consistency, but the patty wasn’t minced nor juicy enough. The desserts were quite good, a nice ending – a generous portion of Blueberry Pannacotta at 150 INR is a steal, and the Hippie Canopy was their version of Shahi Tukda meets Moong Dal Halwa, quite well done on both counts.

The place is still getting readied, a good balance serving a variety of food and hookah – and Hungry Hippie is quite the hangout for people who just want to chill out, enjoy the place and spend time.

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