Around 3,000 plants grace the walls and pillars of The Green Bistro, a newly opened café on the second floor of Shipra Mall in the bustling residential area of Indrapuram, Ghaziabad.
The new spot has become a hit with youngsters for its biophilic design and reasonably priced food.
“The owner, Anuj Mittal, had opened Paprika Park, a park themed café in 2016 with artificial plants and grass. But he always wanted to have a place with natural greenery. And here, he came up with vertical garden,” Café manager Lalit Yadav informs us. he also adds that this 50-cover café is the sister concern of Ghaziabad-based Reader’s Café.
The name Green Bistro had popped up a view of plates filled with greens and veggies in my mind, but in terms of ingredients, you will only find lettuce, red cabbage, carrots, and broccoli.
The tagline also says ‘serving flavours of nature’, but chef Aamir Khan says, “We began with serving the usual continental and oriental stuff to set our base. We will now start experimenting with the food and make some changes to the menu. So more leafy vegetables in our dishes.”
The current menu is packed with starters, sandwiches, salads, burgers, pastas and pizzas that can be coupled with your choice of tea, coffee, shake or mocktail.
Chinese Arancini (deep-fried balls of noodles and mozarella cheese coated with bread crumbs), Classic Drums of Heaven (Chicken lollipops), Green Bistro Cheese Bomb Burger, Peanut Butter Brownie Shake, Paneer Tikka Sandwich and Popeye’s Love Pizza loaded with veggies are their bestsellers. In desserts, on offer are New York Baked Cheese Slice, Choco Fused Cake Slice, Tiramisu, Red Velvet, Blueberry Muffin and more to choose from.
Coming back to the USP, Noida-based firm Hydra Greens arranged the plants into place at the café. “Over 15 varieties of indoor plants including Syngonium, Peace Lily, Snake Plant, Neon Pothos have been used. These oxygen-releasing plants will thrive and they don’t need to be replaced. Our staff visits the café every week to check the plants. Otherwise, we have automated irrigators watering the plants. We have done several vertical garden projects but this is the first café with this theme,” says Vineet Bhalla of Hydra Greens.
This open café is the perfect option for an evening with your college buddies, a birthday party or a casual date.
Cost for two: Rs 1,000
Timings: 11:00am-11:00pm