The Old Kothi

Set inside a 140-year-old pol house, restored by a young architect who returned from Berlin. They serve only filter coffee, masala chai, and one daily snack. The carved wooden ceiling alone is worth the trip into the old city.

Coffee in Ahmedabad has been a slow-build story. For most of the 2010s, the city's idea of a café was a milky cappuccino at CCD and a pastry that had been sitting under a glass dome since the previous Tuesday. Then came the Bombay imports, and slowly, a few homegrown shops that took the work seriously. Amalgam is the most serious of them.

The owner, Karan, spent eight years at a hedge fund in Lower Parel before deciding he'd rather own a roastery. He sources from a single estate in Coorg and a couple of small farms outside Chikmagalur, roasts on a small Probat in the back, and — crucially — pays attention to the espresso machine. Most cafés in this city run their groupheads filthy. His are immaculate.

The food menu is short by design. The croissant is from Blackforest down the road (he doesn't pretend to bake). The eggs are good. The ragi pancakes are surprisingly excellent. Don't order the salads.

Sit upstairs. There's a window seat that looks out onto the courtyard, and it's the best chair in any café in this city.

— Riya Shah · Visited Mar 2026 & Apr 2026