PU’s coffee house bounces back after four-year hibernation

Panjab University’s iconic South Indian Coffee House at the Student Centre, which was closed in 2019 due to low footfall, was recently reopened with an array of multi-cuisine dishes and beverages on the menu

Panjab University’s iconic South Indian Coffee House at the Student Centre, which was closed in 2019 due to low footfall, was recently reopened with an array of multi-cuisine dishes and beverages on the menu. We asked students, staffers, and alumni their feelings on the changes, here’s what they said:

Students having fun at the recently reopened South Indian Coffee House at Student Centre, Panjab University, in Chandigarh (Photo: Ravi Kumar/HT)

“The coffee house is a must-visit spot that has served PU students since 1975. The eatery shutting down in 2019 was heartbreaking, but now that it’s reopened, we can revisit old memories while trying out the new cuisines,” says Kiranjeet Kaur, an alumna of PU.

MBA student Rahul Sharma says, “I had heard so much about the eatery from my elder brother who is an alumnus. I always wanted to make memories here with my gang just like him, and with the reopening, it’s now possible!”

“I’m here to revisit the memories of my student days while sipping a hot cuppa coffee with my batchmates,” adds Vineet Chadha, an alumnus.

Students lining up to try out the new menu at the coffee house (Photo: Ravi Kumar/HT)

Rajeev, a staffer, says, “Along with the original south Indian menu, we have added paneer tikka, chole bhature, aloo parantha, vegetable biryani, egg biryani, aloo tikki, bhelpuri, popcorn, burritos, pasta, and more to draw more crowd.”

Chemistry department’s third-year student Nidhi Bhatia says she cannot wait to try out the food and ambience of the coffee house. “We went to the eatery thrice but every time it was jam-packed. The alumni are coming in huge numbers to revisit their memories and it makes us want to make such memories,” she adds.