When driving downhill, from Mukteshwar to Bhimtal in our case, the cafe will be on the right hand side of the road. Easy to miss if you’re not looking for it on the map on your phone. The iHeart Cafe is on the Mehra Estate ( from what I could tell, the family lives on the property right behind the cafe ) and is looked after by the family directly.
The ambience is great – unexpected for a tiny cafe in the hills. Apologies if I sound like a broken record about this but I truly did not expect such a gorgeous place in Bhimtal of all places. The staff is lovely and professional. You might have some trouble with your order if you go at a busy time because at iHeart, busy really is busy. There’s a queue and there’s people politely clamoring for their gluten fix. There’s a lot of take away orders and if you’re seated at the cafe, expect some delays and reminders to the staff. Which I don’t mind because hello! it’s not Delhi. If you’re going to the hills to rush about, you’re doing it wrong IMO.
Special mention to the Affogato. It was very nicely done – unexpected from a tiny cafe in the hills. And the Lemon Cake was excellent as well. The chocolate cake slice was also divine. The rest of the food is typical cafe food – not bad but nothing out of the ordinary, which is fine – I guess I’m spoilt for choice in Delhi / Gurgaon, so I was judging the food from those standards. If you live in and around the area, the iHeart Cafe is probably the best place to go to to satisfy your cafe food cravings!
Their Instagram feed is, unfortunately, boring at best. They could do so much! Especially because the cafe and its surroundings are terribly Instagrammable. For some strange reason, I expected their Instagram to be hip and happening. They have announcements for open-mic-nights etc. but most of their feed otherwise is just “Happy New Year” and “Happy Mother’s Day” etc. I feel such an itch when I see a brand with so much unused social media potential. But I guess, the bottomline always remains that if the business is doing well, you can get away with minimal social media.
All in all, I highly recommend that you try out this place when you venture towards Bhimtal next! I know where I’m getting my coffee fix in the hills every time I’m headed that side! Cheers!
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