Keventer's Darjeeling
Category: Mid-scale, Cuisine: English Breakfast & Snacks
About Keventer's
Those who know Darjeeling and keep coming back, to them Keventer's has always been a dear eatery. Having completed 110 years since it's establishment in the British Colonial days, Keventer's has made its own name in serving some of the best English breakfast, tea and snacks in this hill town.
If you relish a sumptuous breakfast, or afternoon tea with snacks, then don't miss out on Keventer's. It's located at the beginning of Nehru Road that leads to the Chowrasta Mall and among a busy shopping area. Keventer's has gone through several facelifts in recent times.
The exterior as well as interior colors have gone through changes at least thrice... starting from a modest Green & White combination to Red, White and Yellow, and now Red and bright Yellow combination. The management has even created a small acronym KEV'S for Keventer's which is displayed in bold right in front of the restaurant building... may be an effort to catch more attention of the passers by and tourists in general.
The ground floor is the take away section and the bakery. This is where you will usually find Rahul Jha at the back-end counter who is the third generation owner of Keventer's. Climb the narrow wooden stairs to the upper floor. There are two sections on the upper floor, one to the left of the landing and the other to the right.
The section to the left is the original section which has a small indoor dining area and beyond that the famous open terrace. The section to the right, which is a covered terrace area, has been newly built.
There are only five small tables in the indoor area to the left that can seat four each. With wood-paneled floor, glass top tables with red tables cloths and wooden chairs with cushions, the ambience is relaxed and casual.
On one side, from the window-side tables here you get marvelous view of the mountain range and the scenery. You can spend hours here sipping a cup of tea and reading a book. From the tables on the other side of the small room you can see the Planters Club and the Nehru Road below. The tables are spread apart and have nice elbow rooms. At the back end is a counter where the waiters arrange the dishes before they serve.
Keventer's Inside Dining, Upper Floor
However, the highlight of the seating in the upper floor is at the lovely open terrace on the left section which is usually the first to get filled up. You get great views all around and can even watch the activities down below on the busy streets. There are several round marble-top tables and plastic chairs that are laid out on the terrace... these were originally wrought iron chairs.
Open terrace at Keventer's Darjeeling
They also set up a bright yellow & red garden umbrella on each table during the winter or if its drizzles, matching the overall color theme. With yellow colored walls, red stoned floor, lamps on the pillars along the wall and unabated views of the town and mountains around, this is where you should try to have your breakfast.
How the open terrace looked originally at Keventer's
But, if the open terrace is full, then your next best option is to take a seat at the section on right of the upper floor which is essentially a roof-covered terrace with both sides open. Since the sides are open, you do get great views of the mountains from this section as well. This section, being a new addition, distinctly looks more modern with translucent roof with wooden beams, wood paneled beams, and comfortable seating.
New roof-covered terrace at Keventer's
Keventer's Menu
So what kind of food do you get here? Keventer's has been traditionally known for its famous full English breakfast. However you do get varieties of sandwiches, burgers and various other meat and snack items here. Here are some of the highlights from the two page laminated menu card:
Chicken specialties for breakfast & snacks
Meat loaf & eggs (this is my favorite here and comes with triangular soft chicken pieces with fried eggs), sausages, salami, chicken cutlet, meat balls, lollipops etc.
Pork specialties for breakfast & snacks
Chinese and cocktail sausages fried, Frank Furter fried, salami fried, bacon & eggs, meat balls, ham salami & eggs fried etc. Try out their pork platter which comes with pork sausages, salamis, meat loafs, bacon and egg fries... you can easily skip your lunch if you have this.
Pork platter at Keventer's, Darjeeling
Sandwiches & Burgers
With chicken, pork and cheese fillings, salami toasted sandwiches, hot dogs, meat loaf sandwiches, ham and bacon burgers. There are vegetarian preparations as well including cheese sandwiches & burgers, baked beans on toast etc.
During breakfast, you will also get toast, butter and eggs made to order. For beverages, there are a number of choices including Darjeeling tea which is served on a pot with brownish ceramic cups, coffee in a pot (hot or cold), chocolate shakes, hot chocolate, hot or cold milk. Try out the unique rose shake. You will of course get standard cold drinks & colas, ice creams, mineral water, sodas, juices etc.
Note that an additional GST is charged on all food items.
TIP: The portions in Keventer's are quite large. If you are taking a full English breakfast, you will possibly need to skip your lunch. I do not personally like the sausages here. They are fried (usually in ghee), quite oily and taste a little bland. But they too come in good quantities. The meat loaf is really nice. The full platter has 500 grams of meet in total. So, it is better to share it between two of you, if possible.
Service at Keventer's
Recently I have noticed that the entire staff at Keventers have been replaced with a new batch of relatively young people. While they do not exude the charm of the older lot and seem a lot nonchalant, this is perhaps the rule of time where everything has to change. Note that during high time there can be a long queue outside and tourists wait for even more than an hour to get a table, and then you won't have a choice of where to sit. During such rush time like summers, puja vacation and Christmas, the service can become very slow.
Just to let you know that since decades I had seen two waiters Mann Bahadur and Dawa Lama serving here. Maan Bahadur worked in Keventer's for over 53 years and Dawa for over 40 years. Their wonderful smiling faces were ideal to start a perfect day in Darjeeling. Update: Mann Bahadur, the oldest serving waiter at Keventer's passed away in September 2012. Dawa Lama has also retired.
Mann Bahadur and Dawa Lama
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Served for over 53 years
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Served for over 40 years
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The Bakery at Keventer's
The bakery and the take away section is at the ground floor. There are varieties of items that are sold here including sausages, ice creams, potato wafers, bread & loafs, chocolates, Darjeeling tea in packets, biscuits & cookies, cold drinks, cheese & butter, bottles of Dalle (special hot chilli pickles of Darjeeling), etc.
Ground Floor Take Away Section, Keventer's
Open Hours
7:30am - 7:30pm.
Keventer's serves breakfast and snacks. They accept credit cards.
Location and Contacts
Keventer's is located right at the beginning of Nehru Road that leads to the Chowrasta Mall. The entrance is from the busy road that has shops and stalls on both sides.
Address: Keventer's, 1 Nehru Road, Darjeeling, India.
Mobile (Rahul Jha): (+91) 9832041448
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Visitors' Reviews/Comments
Ashwini Pailoor(February 2022)
We stepped into Keventers and had a scrumptious breakfast. The sausage loaded plates were such a delightful sight for our foodie eyes!! Something as simple as the coffee tasted amazing.
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