A Contemporary, Hip Cafe with a Rustic Soul

"Sweet dreams till sunbeams find you

Sweet dreams that leave all worries behind you

But in your dreams whatever they be

Dream a little dream of me"

Ever since I stepped into Caffe Tonino yesterday this verse from the Julie Gold song has been buzzing in my head. I think it's because I can imagine this restaurant in the morning with the gentle winter sun filtering in through the windows. An image that's as romantic and dreamy as this song. I don't know... or maybe it's because I can picture myself sitting here by myself, immersed in a book and listening to this song playing dreamily in the background...

It's rare that you get a chance to step into a restaurant that looks like one of those lovely restaurant interiors that that you wistfully look at on Pinterest. You know the ones I mean right? I end up pinning them up on boards titled 'dreamy spaces' or 'my kind of space', etc :) 

I was lucky enough yesterday, to visit the newly opened Caffe Tonino, in Connaught Place and was so blown away by the interiors. To say it was 'my kind of space' would be a complete understatement. It was almost as though someone had read my mind and created a space with so many elements that I love, from the white painted exposed brick walls, the chevron cement tiled flooring and bar, the parquet wooden floors and the vintage pendant lamps that cast a warm glow over the tables.

I was told that the interiors were conceptualised by owner Simran Sawhney. In fact it was a great pleasure talking with Simran about how she wanted to create a space for this restaurant, serving Italian cafe food with a slight continental influence. She explained that what she wanted was a hip and contemporary space, but still very rustic at heart. A space for the young Delhi crowd to chill over coffee or a drink and some good food. I think they have done a smashing job with this. 

Of course I enjoyed some great food while I was there as well and I'll be covering that in a later post that will be up soon. Till then take a look and enjoy the eye candy that is Caffe Tonino. 

[All images clicked by Shalini Pereira- Please do not use without prior written permission]

When it Rains, it Pours... and I'm Drowning!

So the last few weeks I've been very sporadic when it comes to posting on the blog. Everything's good at my end, but I've been drowning in a pile of work! Don't get me wrong, work is always welcome, but the last 10 days were especially tough. 

It's always tough when a new project comes along, there is a sense of excitement about the conceptualising, but most clients are interested in getting the site started, which means slogging over boring old electrical, false ceiling and civil drawings :(  before the good stuff starts. 

Been doing a lot of this lately... not fun at all!

But in between all that boring drafting and checking and numbering switch boards, I've been doodling and coming up with ideas for different spaces... as a break from the mind numbing monotony of making electrical drawings. 

A welcome break... sketching out concepts

A point was reached a few days ago when I noticed I had started gorging on nutella slathered toast and coffee... chocolate and coffee means I'm stressed and overworked! Lol. Today though, things have eased up, and I got in some time to clean the house and re-arrange a few things. And I decided to relax and click a few pics. Feels good to hold onto a camera instead of a mouse :)

Hopefully the weekend should be quiet and relaxed with no crazy running around. X'mas is coming and I need to get organised :) 

[All images by Shalini Pereira- Please do not use without prior written permission]