Its what you want it to be. Review on Cafe Amethyst, Royapettah, Chennai

Amethyst is a Chennai coffee shop, boutique, and theatre of sorts. Its a spacious old colonial style house set in a large compound with an unkempt garden in Jeypore Colony, a leafy and quiet neighborhood in an upmarket part of Chennai.

On the ground floor is the Moca Cafe, a coffee house with an unhurried air, a limited menu of short eats of indifferent quality, and surprisingly downmarket waiters.

The nicest thing about Moca is the ambience. In a city that shouts, it is a place where you can have coffee and unhurried conversation at low decibels on wicker chairs on a verandah looking out on the garden through bamboo slatted sun-blinds ('chik' if you know the word). The prices are at the Rs 50 to Rs 75 per item level - a little below the prices at the loud and characterless Qwikys and Cafe Day coffee chains much frequented by the 'Yo' crowd.

The crowd at Moca is young and callow - or was when I visited ? and tended to be uninhibited in their displays of affection, particularly near the car park.

But Amethyst is also a culture vulture's delight. I've been there for a couple of English literary dos - a reading of Elliot's poetry, an enactment of ghostly tales arranged by the British Council (I think). The crowd for these shows was thankfully more eclectic - academics, pony tailed bohemians, corporate types, little old women who seemed to belong to Agatha Christie novels, and college kids. It was interesting and fun.

So I guess your Amethyst experience is what you want it to be.

PS. For the record, Amethyst is also a shop. There are trinkets and clothes at ridiculous prices for sale. Ignore.