It’s Diwali! 🥳

I popped to Chaii Hub, a vegetarian cafe and coffee shop located in St Neots, to celebrate the Indian festival of light in style.

I have been looking forward to visiting Chaii Hub for some time. The cafe is run by the team who used to own India House in Newham many years ago. At the time, this was my favourite Indian restaurant in Cambridge and I have sorely missed it, which made me excited to visit and try to recapture some of that nostalgic magic.

I absolutely love the layout of this cafe. It is spacious, colourful and is equipped with fantastic facilities for children. There is a dedicated play area in the corner, so parents can relax and enjoy a chai in peace.

Do you have a stroppy teenager or man child? Then Chaii Hub has a selection of arcades with a pool table in their very own gaming room.

They’ve literally thought of everything and I left thinking how much I would use a place like this closer to me.

One can dream!

I kicked back with a hot creamy chai and soaked in the surroundings. The team here are fun and friendly with a real welcoming attitude. I didn’t get a chance to look at their menu but for Diwali they were celebrating with a set Thali menu.

Thali

The Thali is a popular Indian meal which consists of numerous small portions in one platter. It was brought out on its classic silver plate with the following dishes…

Onion bhaji – Iconic Indian fritter

Pakora – Indian fritter

Paneer – Soft Indian cheese

Veg Sabji – Vegetable dish

Jeera Rice – Indian rice

Pani Puri – Crispy hollow sphere with flavoured masala water

Bhature – Fluffy deep-fried bread

Gajrela – Carrot based dessert

Mathiya – Small crispy bread

Chutney – A sweet Indian condiment

The dish was served with a lovely type of deep-fried bread called bhature. It took up half the size of the plate and was versatile enough to go with anything and everything on offer. I partially enjoyed using it to scoop up the curried paneer cheese. This really made sure that you were full by the end of the dish.

For anyone reading the blog will already be aware, I am quite partial to a Pani Puri. This is a popular Indian street food where the Puri (the crispy shell) is filled with onion, potato, and chickpea. It is presented in a small cup filled with flavoured masala water (Pani) made from tamarind, that you are supposed to then pour in then eat in a single big crunchy bite.

The thali even comes with its own dessert made from carrots, called Gajrela. What I love about thali, is you can mix and explore in different ways. I ended up using it on an onion bhaji for kicks (the Indian equivalent of mixing sandwiches with your cake during afternoon tea 😂)  and found it to work quite well. This is the sort of fun you can have with thali. This makes it a great introduction to Indian food for people looking to dip their toe into the cuisine without busting the bank.

Conclusion

St Neots is lucky to have such a great cafe in the town. I can picture myself bringing my toddler here during the day and enjoying a Thali for lunch with a warm creamy chai. The child’s play area will keep him occupied, while I can take in the colourful surrounds and eat in peace. It was great seeing so many retro arcade games, with Street Fighter 2 Turbo being a particular favourite of mine.

More cafes need to take this family friendly approach and abandon this “eat and get out” mentality. This stops people from wanting to spend more time in restaurants and therefore spending more money. Let’s break the stigma that taking your children out needs to be a stressful ordeal and embrace cafes with more family friendly facilities.

Thanks for reading