Hyped-up Indian cafe opening second Toronto location

An Indian cafe with a loyal following is gearing up to open its second location in Toronto after years of success at its flagship store. 

Thindi Cafe, located at 400 College St., is a cozy cafe serving up vegetarian Indian comfort snacks and beverages, including house-brewed chai, South Indian coffee, nimbu (lime) soda and thandai (cold milk drink with almonds, fennel, cardamom and rose petals). 

Derived from the Kannada language, "thindi" means snacks, and that's exactly what you can expect to find on the menu.

Their signature snacks include Bangalore masala dosa, Maggi noodle and poha (flattened rice), while their sandwich menu offers a range of cheesy options, including the paneer tikka grill, green chili cheese toast and paneer bhurji. 

The cafe's journey first began in February 2019 in the heart of Deppeneur's kitchen and continued into a kiosk at the World Food Market in 2019. By then, the cafe had earned a loyal following, which led the team to establish its flagship store on College Street in July 2021. Now, the cafe is preparing to bring its comforting snacks and drinks to Liberty Village. 

Anuja Mehta (who co-founded the cafe along with her husband, Abhilash) tells blogTO that they're aiming to open up their second location in the next few weeks. The cafe will be taking over the former home of the now-shuttered imPerfect Fresh Eats.

 

 

 

 

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"Abhilash and I have always loved Liberty Village for its vibrant energy and community. Having worked in tech over the past decade, we've appreciated neighbourhood cafés with great snacks — places you can walk to, work from or meet up with friends at," Mehta said. 

"We believe that every downtown neighbourhood deserves its own Indian cafe, and Liberty Village felt like the right next step. We'll be sharing sneak peeks very soon — can't wait to bring Thindi to the west side!" 

The new location will feature their freshly made signature sandwiches and classic drinks, including their specialty paneer sandwiches with an upgrade, along with a hot bar offering a variety of comforting vegetarian and vegan snacks. 

Thindi Cafe's second location will be located at 153 East Liberty St.