Here & Now is one of the Cafe in the busy HSR layout area which has somehow caught the attention of many people.  The café has an advantage of being located right opposite to the BDA complex in HSR layout but there is also something more to the place that I fascinate people.  I too was one of the food lovers who decided to visit this place after seeing all the hype around the café. 

Ambiance

The restaurant is quite casual, which is what most of the people like nowadays.  Most of the youngster would love to hang out at places like this.

As you climb up the stairs to reach the café on the 1^st floor, you see the sketches and pictures of the interiors of the café.  There is this unusual rope which is hung up, not sure what it is meant for or what it means.  Seems more like a work of art which sure did look weird to me.

Then you see this wording on the wall that welcomes you to café. The words ask you to relax, enjoy the grind, find bliss, talk to you neighbour.  They also go on to say that the best companions are made without wifi.  Well, I am sure if that’s not the case for the present generation.  Then it talks about having an eternal companion.  I thought that the words were too heavy and a little bit boring.  Not sure how many guests would care to read it.

As I entered inside, I could see that they have very simple and neat interiors.  Small plants hanging by the walls, without AC, find the old Rally Fans, books, carroms, foosball, musical instruments and snippets from ‘Calvin & Hobbes’.  I sure did get good vibes entering this place and felt relaxed.

But I was a little disappointed with the restroom in which the doors, wouldn’t shut easily and there were tissues lying around everywhere.  That was a little bit of shocker as I thought they would keep it really clean.  Enough of data about the interiors, time to share more updates on the menu, food and drinks.

Food

The menu is quite elaborate and clearly the café serves American food.  As part of the menu, they have variety of Breakfast options, Burgers, Pastas, Sandwiches, Hot and Cold drinks options.

Sandwich Wichcraft

While I was very hungry, I was wondering what item to order as there was no special recommendations.  The person who came to take the order, talked with me for a while and suggested that I should go for the witchcraft sandwich as it’s the safe bet.

Sandwich craft is a sandwich option where you can create your own by adding 3 items.  I was a little surprised when he said that it comes in a long bread/sub format which is similar to the subway.  I asked for Mushroom, Olives and Jalapenos.  The only reason why I selected Jalapenos was to be able to get some spice.  Every sandwich comes with Lettuce and some homemade mayo in it.

The sandwich was served and it came with a good portion of French fries & ketchup.  The person was kind enough to put a little bit of cheese, otherwise I came to know that it is on chargeable basis.

I took a bite at the sandwich and felt that it was pretty good.  But did it not wow me that much.  The lettuce and other items looked fresh and also the Mushroom seemed to have been sautéed a little before adding.  Frankly it was just normal, nothing very fancy apart from the price.

The plating also looked quite ordinary, food served on a plain white plate, I guess they could have done something funky there.  Sometimes it also matters, if the items served and presented in worth the money spent.

I suggested they should ask if the customer wants it a little spicier so a spicier sauce like Smoke House, Chipotle or Mustard can be added.  And also, I thought that sandwich did not have the seasoning.  Even after telling the person did not bother getting some, surprising.

Cold Coffee

This was a good drink that I ordered.  I somehow resisted the temptation of asking for a scoop of ice-cream.  The drink for sure was quite frothy, seems like they used a thick milk.  The flavour of coffee was coming pretty decent.  Then again, it did not make me jump off my seat and ask for another one.

Overall Experience

A good place to hang out with friends over a breakfast, coffee, cold-coffee or whatever.  It might get a little warm if you visit it in the afternoon, hopefully the rally fan will help.  The taste of the food is nice, nothing great as well to take back font memories.  I feel that they seem to have too many items in the menu which can be cut down.  They have nearly 20 items as breakfast options.  Seems this is more like a meat eating place, found the veg options limited.  Pricing for sure is a little on the higher side.  Food and drinks are just above average but can improve a lot.  Maybe I need to try a few more dishes here.  My current rating for this place is 3.5/5.

Rating in other departments.

Food – 3.5/5
Drinks – 3.5/5
Ambiance – 3.75/5
Service – 3.5/5

Food for 2 at this place will easily come to anywhere between INR 500-800 considering you take some food and drink.