Secret Garden Cafe — Restaurant in Uttarakhand

Visited this place on 23rd August and found this place to be overrated due to below reasons: Ambience: Owner/caretaker tried to show this to be rustic/earthy place but failed to maintain it that way. All the lower sitting cushions were soggy and you could smell and feel dampness/fungus on them. Understood that it is rainy season but still there are ways to maintain hygene. Specially when the customers are paying such a high price for the food offered. Pls see if you can invest in: a. Changing the seats covers frequently, specially during rainy season. b. Using essential oil diffusers to make the environment little bit more welcoming and less smelly. In addition, there were a lot of books of vedic significance which were left outside in the soggy and damp environment and had a lot of fungus on them. Whatever may be the theme of your restaurant, those books demand some respect, instead of catching dust with molds growing on them and ignored near the shoe rack. Rustic theme doesn't mean insulting these books. In current state, in addition to the insult, they are also health hazard.

Food: We ordered Burrito, Buddha bowl and Pita pockets with falafal. While Budda bowl was decent and macthing to it's price but Burrito was simply a fried roti with some oily and overcooked veggies in it overpowered by green cabbage. It was simply not a burrito which was served to us. Then the pita pocket instead of having grilled veggies in it, had big chunks of raw carrot and green capsicum in it along with few leafy greens like romane lettuce. On top the falafal provided were overcooked and dark brown (color of dark chocolate) color and one could get burnt smell from them. To be able to eat what was provided on the name of pita pocket, I now ordered some tahini and what was provided was some yellow liquid with thin consitency and having an overpowering taste of musturd sauce and a very remote hint of sesame seeds. So overall, not a good experience of dining in here.

Using this review, I request the owner to pls look into hygene and food quality and authenticity. I understand running an MSME is not easy and I wish you guys success but it wont come by only keeping some earthy, rustic looking theme, fancy names or costly items in the menu...

Aesthetic Ambience, Varied Menu, But Room for Improvement

The place has a boasted a charming atmosphere, featuring both indoor and ample outdoor seating in a lovely garden setting. The overall ambience was inviting, making it an ideal spot for a leisurely afternoon or a cozy get-together with friends. The indoor seating area provided a pleasant experience, accompanied by a selection of delightful music that enhanced the ambiance.

The outdoor seating area, adorned with captivating graffiti, added a unique touch to the cafe's aesthetics.

The cafe's menu offered a wide range of options, catering to various culinary preferences. The presentation was visually appealing. Additionally, the cafe's acceptance of card payments added convenience and made transactions hassle-free.

This cafe is perpetually crowded, and finding an open table can be a frustrating endeavor, especially during peak hours. It is advisable to visit during off-peak times to secure a seat promptly.

Regrettably, during my visit, I encountered a hygiene concern that raised doubts about the cafe's cleanliness. I discovered a hair in my beverage, which was off-putting and compromised my confidence in the establishment's adherence to strict hygiene standards. This incident warrants attention from the cafe's management to ensure such issues are promptly addressed.

In conclusion, this cafe offers an appealing ambiance, both indoors and outdoors, with an extensive menu to satisfy diverse tastes. Despite the positive aspects, the limited seating availability, higher prices, and hygiene incident are areas that need improvement. With attention to these issues, the cafe has the potential to provide an even more enjoyable experience for...

We came here for breakfast, and the first thing we noticed was how many seating options there were outside — so many, we couldn't decide where to sit and ended up ordering first to buy ourselves some time.

Inside, the atmosphere was cool and breezy thanks to AC and fans. We chose a cozy little box-style window seat close to fan that felt nicely tucked away.

The menu is extensive, especially when it comes to drinks — it took us a while to decide!
 Radha ordered an iced matcha latte, I went for the hot matcha latte with oat milk.

For breakfast, I had the plain kichari, and Radha had a smoothie that started with an A (the name escapes me, but it looked lovely!).

🫖 The drinks were nicely presented.
🥣 The kichari was served quickly, and to my surprise, everything was perfectly soft and well-cooked.

Someone may have gone a bit heavy on the asafoetida, but honestly — I appreciated that it was real kichari, not just dal with rice and a bunch of spices. Respect for staying authentic.

Inside, there’s a sign asking you not to consume your own food or water, but outside you’ll find little paper cups and a tap with filtered water near the sink.

A bit of a contradiction — I wasn’t sure why I shouldn’t drink from my own bottle if I have water with me, but… okay.

The place was fairly busy between 10 and 12, but we still got a good spot without waiting.

💰 Price-wise: plain kichari + oat matcha...