Now, if you've been reading my blogs, you have probably realised by now that a Saturday outing — especially one involving food — is never really complete without Coffee.
And sure enough, the moment we got back into the car after our Pizza lunch, my wife announced that she wanted to try out this new coffee place she had discovered. It wasn't very far away and, as luck would have it, it was on our way back home anyway.
Well, there really wasn't much to discuss.
The name went into Google Maps and off we went.
The place is just around the corner from one of our favourite restaurants, Cafe De Lema. In fact, I have often thought that the Lake Terrace–Purna Das Road stretch could quite easily become Kolkata's very own Cafe District.
There are enough cafés popping up in the area to make it a perfect walking neighbourhood — wander around, stop at one café for coffee, another for dessert, perhaps another for a quick bite and, if you're sufficiently motivated, repeat the exercise.
I rather like the idea.
Anyway, we soon found ourselves outside Aura Coffee.
The first thing that caught my attention was the signage outside. Simple, stylish and quite unlike the usual coffee-shop clutter. And once inside, the place lived up to its name.
There really was an aura.
It is tiny, but has that wonderfully understated feel of a little coffee shop you might stumble upon on a side street somewhere in London. Nothing pretentious, nothing overdone. Just a small, thoughtfully designed space that gets the essentials right.
Even the menu caught my attention.
Tight. Neat. Limited.
I love menus like these.
There is something reassuring about a place that doesn't feel the need to serve you 47 different things just because it has a kitchen.
In my experience, when a restaurant or café has a small menu, there is a good chance that they actually care about what they put on it.
And Aura Coffee certainly seemed to prove the point.
I ordered their Aura Cloud Latte, while my wife, predictably, went straight for the Kyoto Strawberry Matcha.
Yes.
Matcha.
My wife has developed an uncanny ability to detect Matcha from several kilometres away. Put her anywhere in Kolkata and tell her there is a new café, and within minutes she'll know whether they serve Matcha.
I'm beginning to suspect she has a Matcha radar.
The drinks were excellent. My Cloud Latte was beautifully done, while her Strawberry Matcha seemed to meet the very high standards of the resident Matcha Inspector.
What impressed me even more, though, was the young boy managing the café.
He was handling the entire place by himself, yet everything seemed to be running like clockwork. Efficient, hospitable and professional, he managed the orders, the coffee and the customers without making it look like he was juggling half a dozen things at once.
That's not always easy to do.
And then there is the logo.
The Aura Coffee logo features a Husky — apparently because one of the partners has one.
And, as I discovered, the same partner is also into Nike shoes.
So there you have it.
A Husky.
Nike.
Coffee.
Good design.
Great taste.
That's the Aura!
By now, you can probably guess that we left rather pleased with our little coffee stop.
What started as a simple Saturday lunch outing had turned into a Pizza followed by Coffee, with a little Italian flavour followed by a touch of London street-café charm.
And honestly, what more does one need from a Saturday afternoon?
So, if you're around Lake Terrace or Purna Das Road and looking for some good coffee in a tiny little café with plenty of character, Aura Coffee is definitely worth a visit.
Just remember — if you're going with my wife, check the Matcha availability first.
Apparently, that's the more important question.
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