Hello Friends,
Hmm nice, hmmm nice … is the first thought that crosses my mind as I walk in to the Ciclo Café at Kotturpuram (Chennai). I am met by a pleasant young lady (Ciclo representative) who jumps out of her seat to meet me. Oops sorry, correction: jumps out of her cycle to narrate the story of how Ciclo came into existence. J Yes, you guessed it; it is a café revolving around the concept of bicycles, bicycling and the benefits of the same.
Entrance view
Front parlour
Kalyani, from Team Ciclo
And don’t wonder too long: the name ‘Ciclo’ is derived from Spanish and Italian, countries that have taken to cycling in a big way. And means cycle in those languages.
Every wall and the objets d’art that we see within the café bring out the importance of cycling. They actually have a special place in the ground floor to display different types of bicycles instead of having more tables to serve more customers and get more business. And you can even buy a bicycle here if you are also one of those keen bicycling enthusiasts.
Wall decoration
Cycles display
Cycle clock
On the café side, it is a simple two storied building very charmingly and tastefully done up. Powder pink and olive green sofas with functional cutlery invite you to sit down and drink away. Nice little nooks are set up everywhere if you decide to walk in as a small group. And there is even a teeny weeny library boasting of a small collection of books and maybe even that deals with cycling. Good, right?! What I liked about the place is that: you can relax in the cool confines of Ciclo and watch the world go by. Large glass windows offer a fabulous view of the main road the café is situated in.
Pinky pink sofas
Great view
Table arrangement
Cozy two seater
Naturally, there are some reputed names instrumental in the setup of Ciclo (pronounced Chiclo, as in chiclet) such as: TI Cycles, L’Amandier, Absolute Group and GreySuit Group. Whoever decided to do this was certainly going the right direction as the café is indeed a welcome one in the Bhavans ridden Chennai city.
Parking: There is space to park in the front of the building and valet parking is available too. Also the adjacent lanes on the side make up for extra parking space.
Timings: 11 am to 11pm. Please remember they are not open for breakfast.
Address: Old No. 33, New No. 47, Gandhi Mandapam Rd, Chitra Nagar, Kotturpuram, Chennai, Tamil Nadu 600085. Phone: 044 4204 8666
Menu: They offer on the lines pizzas, sandwiches, burgers, coffee and an amazing collection of desserts. Order from a big tabloid kind of menu card (very funky!)
Delicious desserts
Top offer
Cost: A meal for two is priced at approximately Rs. 800 to 1,000. Of course depends on what you order.
Coming Up: Team Ciclo is gearing up for the Tour de France 102 edition (is an annual multiple stage bicycle race primarily held in France) which is about to commence on the 4th of July. Watch out folks, there is going to be several more such neat events that Ciclo will host in the future. Let’s join in and have a blast at Ciclo!
Useful Links:
https://www.facebook.com/theciclocafe
http://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/ciclo-caf-chennai/article6986260.ece
All pictures were shot exclusively for this blog.
Only the Ciclo logo was obtained from the Ciclo FaceBook page.
Cheers
Bhuvana Rajaram
