Chennai Hangouts

Imagine sitting with your friends around a table with a tall cup of mocha espresso and a chocolate truffle. Then you look at your watch and realise that three hours have passed. Such is the nature of Qwiky's, the coffee shop. It was set up in 1999 and was initially visited only by youngsters below 25. Slowly its reputation spread by word of mouth to people of all ages, thus broadening its visiting crowd from youngsters to that of families.

One main reason why youngsters prefer to hang out at Qwiky's is due to its informal air and feel. The food is self-served and this adds to the intimate feel the restaurant provides to all its customers. Sashi, the owner of Qwiky's remarks, "Many restaurants have a mechanical feel, where the server immediately interrupts by asking for your order and as soon as the meal is finished, he pushes you out by bringing the bill". He also adds, "Qwiky's was designed keeping all this in mind, in order to make it a perfect hangout."



If you are looking for hangouts in the centre of the city, then there are three options -- Coffee Day, Sweet Chariot, and Marry Brown -- all situated in the Ispahani Center at Nungambakkam. The above places attract a lot of college crowd, and you'll see groups of friends from college gather here for a snack before and after class hours. The service is excellent, with modern, catchy music always playing in the background. The servers are mostly youngsters and this enables customers to form an instant bond with them. Each of these restaurants has a specialty of its own. While Marry Brown specialises in a variety of burgers and sandwiches, Sweet Chariot is popular for its cakes and pastries and Coffee Day, as its name suggests, popular amongst the coffee crowd.

If you are in the mood to try traditional food, then Gangotree on Cathedral Road is a great place for delectable Chat items. Gangotree opened in 1994. Bharat, the owner, says "Youngsters and families come in an equal ratio, with the families frequenting the restaurant mainly in the evenings". Their main attraction is the quality of the chat items available on the menu. The good news for the Chennai crowd is that they plan to open more outlets in Chennai in the near future.

While most restaurants serve only one type of food, Red-E, the first food court in India has revolutionised the standard of the one cuisine restaurant. Red-E is a self-service restaurant with North Indian, South Indian, Continental and American food, all under one roof. The other appealing factor is its energising background music. Previously only youngsters and teenagers frequented the place, but these days the family crowd has increased. Making the name 'Red-E' smaller and less aggressive on the brochures and signboards brought about this change. The menu was also altered and games were brought in to attract children. Now their customers range from the kids to the elderly.

With the rising popularity of Pizza, 'Pizza Hut' has emerged as a favourite hangout in Chennai. Pizza Hut first came to India in 1996, and they currently have three branches in Chennai. They also have outlets in Delhi, Bangalore and Agra. Their owner says, "Pizza is always associated with youngsters as most of the older people prefer customary Indian food". Pizza Hut attracts a youthful crowd by conducting birthday parties and other such celebrations. Pizza Hut and Pepsi have also joined forces, to promote commercials for Pepsi Hut.

If you are bored of hanging out in restaurants and need a little more action, then its time for you to check out the Bowling parlours. Bowling is also a sport that could be played by six people. Thus it also provides an opportunity for group enjoyment. As bowling is an indoor game it can be can be played at all times of the day, making it an all time favourite. What better fun than to watch a friend roll a ball confidently, only to watch it land in the gutter? The loud music and informal atmosphere also attract people of all ages.

As a quieter alternative, Internet browsing centres provide air-conditioned comfort to check mail and chat with friends. Browsing centres such as Satyam I-way provide the privacy to browse with fast Internet connections. Soft drinks and eatables are also available, and one can while away the time with leisure. These places tend to serve as economic alternatives to the purchasing of a home computer. Moreover in case you happen to be a cyber junkie you can also establish monthly accounts with ease.

Finally, if you want a longer outing and a feel of Mother Nature, you can travel to the Besant Nagar beach for an evening of quiet fun. The mangoes, sundals and corn available here are for the adventurous but for all others there are innumerable other beachside restaurants doting its coast. Well if you're not the sea and sand kinds and happen to have at your disposal a car, then long drive down the East coast road will be a memorable one. With entertainment parks like Mayajal, MGM Dizee world and VGP Park around, you are never bound to run out of things to do.

So whether you are looking for yummy Pizzas, tasty Bhel Puri, dollops of ice cream, or simply a place to hang out with friends on a Saturday night, Chennai has it all for you. Recent years have brought a drastic increase in the number of restaurants, cafes, Internet centres and bowling arenas. Boring weekends spent at home are now a thing of the past as Chennai has opened up in more ways than one. So watch out Chennaites the future is here and looks like it going to stay.