The new Kup Modern Kitchen and Coffee bar in Alwarpet passes the vibe check

Sip on the litchi cold brew with a side of podi fries and a Sri Lankan coconut curry pasta at Kup Modern Kitchen and Coffee Bar

An abundance of old-world charm welcomes you into Kup Modern Kitchen and Coffee Bar; the old school bakelite switches, patterned flooring, pillars, and outdoor seating area at the patio. The charm of this space, which houses the cafe, was not lost on Kup’s founder Jivesh Goenka, when he stumbled upon it as a dilapidated house, sometime ago. 

“For some reason, when I saw the house, I was instantly drawn to it,” says the entrepreneur who runs his own design company. Kup Coffee Roasters in Nungambakkam was his first foray into the food and beverage industry in January 2023. Nearly two years later, Kup in Alwarpet has opened its doors. 

The cafe, which can seat over a 100 people, has both indoor and outdoor spaces. Much of the house’s original design has been thoughtfully retained, with the larger rooms and cosy corners converted into dining spaces. If you were wondering how important coffee is to the brand, Kup has a dedicated space for it — a coffee lab located right in the centre. Through its glass walls, we see baristas tinkering around a host of shiny coffee machines and working on their signature brews. 

The litchi cold brew is strong and cold with a fruity hit. While the warm lavender and rosemary mocha combines interesting flavours and is not too sweet, the hazelnut pistachio latte, another iced drink could have used with a stronger hit of pistachio, a flavour that is becoming increasingly popular in the city’s cafes. Kup might be coffee focussed, but has other inventive options as well unlike most other cafes in the city – the caramel mai tai for instance, is a winner. The orange infused hot chocolate is another excellent option for the non-coffee drinkers. 

The single origin coffees at Kup are from everywhere, and Jivesh says they have six variants from across the country and a couple from South America and Indonesia as well. “We are also looking at coffee from Northeast India as well. At any given point of time, we have at least seven to eight single origin variants that our customers can choose from; at the coffee lab, they can speak to the baristas and ask for a brew with the bean of their choice which is freshly ground,” he explains. There is also a decaf option, if you are trying to cut back on the caffeine.

The food menu includes a host of meal options. The Sri Lankan coconut curry pasta, which we try with chicken, makes for a warm, hearty bowl. The unlikely choice of sauce for pasta comes together surprisingly well. There’s also a berry pulav and rogan josh, and a chicken karage toast (Japanese fried chicken on brioche bread) on their diverse menu. While their podi fries are a nice spicy twist on the classic fries, there’s also butter chicken fries and naga chilli fries. 

Kup also houses a small event space, and the Page 27 Children’s library. With over 1,500 books across genres for children, the library offers day passes as well as memberships.