Brown Bread Bakery
Good for: food, having breakfast, having lunch, daytime eating, eating
Not good for: they don't care about Indian, Nothing, quality bread, eating, late night
- Address
- 17 Tripura Bhairavi
- Price
- mains Rs75-230
Lonely Planet review for Brown Bread Bakery
Not only does this place lead the way socially and environmentally – it supports a local school, runs a women’s empowerment group, uses organic produce wherever possible, and refills your water bottles for you (Rs5) – but the food is also terrific. The fabulous menu includes more than 20 varieties of cheese and more than 30 types of bread, cookies and cakes as well as main courses from around the world. The ambience is spot on too, with seating on cushions around low tables and live classical music performances in the evenings. Admittedly, it’s pricier than most, but part of the profits go to the charity Learn for Life.
Traveller reviews for Brown Bread Bakery (21)
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why indian and western are not allowed in restaurant )
rajivbora12345 does not recommend this,
I m in India and i can't go to this restaurant . i been with my friend from swiz and owner say that indian are not allowed . this restaurant in India .
They don't care about Indian people . my friend from swizerland soon she also write something bad here . she feel so much bad about this restaurant .may be they doing some cheating with western tourist and indian can know may be that's why Indian people are not allowed .Not good for: they don't care about Indian
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Very nice and clean food. I love the applestrudel.
ulrikevo recommends this,
I have been there in January and I really loved it. At first I was a little bit confused as I have been to Varanasi in 2007 and it took me a moment to realise that the bakery moved across the street. Very nice and clean food.
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Great place to hang out
KateCorroonS recommends this,
I spent a while in Varanasi and visited a lot of restaurants, and the Brown Bread Bakery is by far my favorite. The roof top has great views and the staff are all helpful and nice. The food is good and clean, and there are a ton of different options on the menu. The breakfast buffet was great in the morning. There are pictures on the walls of all of the kids from their school which was really great to see. One of the floors is more of a "hang out room" with floor seating (which was really comfortable), tons of pillows and a nice couch. It was a good place for when it gets too cold on the roof. There's live music every night with sitar and tabla (traditional Indian drums). I know it's a bit confusing with the two brown bread bakery's but when you get the real one it's worth the confusion. The right one has the YELLOW sign and the bottom two floors have stores with clothes, tapestries and really great silver jewelry. The bakery also sells organic products like tea, shampoo, conditioner, and soap. It has everything you could want. I highly recommend a visit to this restaurant!
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The most very peculiar restaurant in Varanasi
davidbodego recommends this,
If you want to visit a different place in Varanasi, something unique, not-tourist place... simply good ambience, a real great taste and multinational food, with the fashion of the old and familiar indian houses, and with an exquisite customer deal with... this is your place. Don´t forget it!
Good for: peaceful food
Not good for: Nothing
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Amazing food (if you go to the right one!)
stephaniedevriesaus recommends this,
Yes the food is a bit slow, yes the interior is a little gloomy, but the amazing fresh food is worth the wait, the live music is fantastic and it is a great place to hang and meet fellow travellers.
I ate at Brown Bread Bakery many times during my 3 week stint in Varanasi and contrary to the slanderous reviews below, the original Brown Bread Bakery )17 Tripura Bhairavi) remains open, has not moved location, and their are no cockroaches crawling in the windows.
Each meal is prepared fresh (I asked to watch) and the quality of the food is unbelievable. It may be a little pricy but they continue to donate 20% of profits to the Learn for Life School located next to their guest house, Uma Guest House. Downstairs they sell Jam and Muesli made by the Arti Women's Empowerment Group
Brown Bread Bakery have closed their second cafe Brownie (referred to in LP), but have opened a new second restaurant with a rooftop at Rudra Guest House (www.rudraguesthouse.com). Don't be confused by the staff at the red brown bread bakery (the one that is multiple storey with a rooftop and yellow/green organic signs) that has opened across the road from the original Brown Bread Bakery. I refused to eat their, due to their slanderous remarks about the original bakery, but heard from fellow travelers that the food and bread their was stale.
If you go to the original Brown Bread Bakery you may find the atmosphere slightly gloomy, but it is worth the wait for the food and you will leave with a very satisfied belly. The live music in the evenings (mostly sitar and tabla) is fantastic with professional musicians and you can get take away sandwiches and cakes for your long train trip. The bread is baked fresh daily and I was never disappointed by the food I ate. They do not have all the cheese types available in the menu, but the ones I tried were delicious. I have been told that they are redecorating, reviewing their menu and are training some additional chefs to ensure that their customers receive their food a little more promptly. You can also visit the open air version at Rudra Guest House which serves the same great menu and also donate 20% of their profits to the Learn for Life School.
Number One in Lonely Planet for a reason!!! Just make sure you go to the original one and you will not leave disappointed.
Good for: everyone who enjoys great food
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Quiet place for having a rest
suraj12345 recommends this,
The rooftoprestaurant of the NEW YELLO BROWN-BREAD-BAKERY with its tasty western and also very good indian food is the best place to have a rest from the noisy and stressy atmosphere of varansis oldtown.
Good for: chill out
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certainly no 'top choice'. food was okay, though
kuerbis82 does not recommend this,
after assuring that i got the right 'brown bakery', i was a bit surprised that a top tip would be like this. we're in india, not in a western country, so one has to count in that not everything is as perfect as elsewhere - for sure. but giving a 'top choice' mark in the printed lonely planet, i surely can expect that i get what is proposed in the menu. first, my tea was not organic. no problem for me, but why do they point out that they only sell organic tea? next, the bread bucket proposed to the breakfast wasnt a bread bucket. it was a plain white baguette, and not even good, standard quality i'd say. next, the coffee (tried also, not only tea.. ;) was no filter coffee. this is okay of course but then they shouldnt tell in the menu that they sell filter coffee. rest of the food was standard quality, lighting is gloomy dark but that depends on your taste what you like. serving was a bit slow, but no problem at all. well, i'd say a top choice would be some other place, certainly this not.
Good for: gloomy hangout
Not good for: quality bread
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2 different bakery in the same street ! ! 1 bad 1 good!
tiittilupini recommends this,
it is already a week that I'm in Varanasi, I had the same disappointment of pierre69 when I went to the first german bakery (the one near the henna shop), he is right! I sow a small cocoroach walking inside out of a bread...terrible!!!.
but than I've understood why. the owner of the real german brown bread bakery (a german an very nice guy) did move the bakery on the other side of the street.
you recognize it becouse at the first floor there is a dress and scarf shop, and most of all it is clean!!! the waiters are all very nice and polite, I've always found fresh cheese and the best croassants in varanasi!! the breakfast buffet is very good, and indian food as well.
I reccomend this restourant becouse is one of the best places for tourist!!Good for: food, great ambiance, Anyone who likes good food.
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An expensive disappointment...
pierrep69 does not recommend this,
I went there with some friends. The atmosphere looked nice and we had read excellent critics, so when we read the menu, we were not that surprised by the high prices it offered to our eyes. There, you can find a lot of cheeses, and many continental dishes. Unfortunately, I've never been able to try the most enticing ones, aka the German ones, since when I went there, the waiter would answer my orders with severe eyes and these five simple words: We do not have it. The service was quite long, and the loud heroic fantasy music playing while we were waiting made it even more unpleasant. At least, our orders arrived, and what a disappointment ! The paneer tikka looked like some red paneer pakora, the XL burgers made us laugh about the presumed size of the normal ones, and the chiapati were the most terrible ones we had ever had. In the end, we ran away, not asking for the 4 rupees the too lazy waiter hadn't given us back, promising each other we would never come back.
PS: the toilets may be the worst I have ever seen, it's worth the glimpse.
Good for: spending money
Not good for: eating
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Best place in Varanasi
sampriton recommends this,
2 years earlier i visited the Brown Bread Bakery. After i got fooled by the old location i fast found out that the restaurant changed the location a few meters up the road. They improved the location, now u don t get only great food but also u can use the Wifi, chill out on the rooftop or book a boat where they serve you food and drinks! Check out the new website www.brownbreadbakery.com. The adr mentioned in lonely planet is the old one!! Because of the fame of this restaurant you have some copies , a Brownie restaurant got even listed in latest lonely planet edition as a branch of it, be aware they have nothing to do with each other!!
Good for: brunch, dinner, wifi, Rooftop view
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nice restaurant with good food & drinks and nice atmosphere
briceliaigre recommends this,
The brown bread bakery is a good place to get to know other tourists & travelers, taking good food & drinks and relax.
I really enjoyed there the Indian life music, which takes place there every evening from 7- 9 pm.In the restaurant there is good service and atmosphere. Also the food and drinks are great. I really liked the diversity of bread and cheese there as well as great mango lassi!
There is a lot of different types of food available- European and Indian!In the restaurant (and at ASSI GHAT) there is also an Organic shop, where products with good quality like honey, jam, muesli,etc. are available.
The restaurant and the shops are working together with "Learn For Life" - Badi Asha School in Aurangabad, Varanasi, where at the moment 60 children are getting education and food.
Good for: live music, Great place to relax and chill, having breakfast, having lunch
Not good for: late night
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nice restaurant with good food & drinks and nice atmosphere
michistoll recommends this,
The restaurant has good service.
I like the big diversity of bread and cheese.
its a good place for having breakfast, lunch or dinner!i like the fact, that they offer organic food and products!
Good for: having breakfast, having lunch, having dinner, getting to know other people, meeting friends
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My top choice for food in Varanasi
hobbes2 recommends this,
My experience was that Brown Bread Bakery is a great place to go for food in Varanasi and probably one of the few places where you don't risk getting diarrhea! However, it is very important to know that there are two bakeries which use the same name and are located almost opposite of each other in the same road! If you come from Meer Ghat and walk into the direction of the Golden Temple, you will find the real bakery on the right side of the street. Be aware of that. A part of the profits are used to finance the Badi Asha School in the district of Aurangabad (more information on www.learn-for-life.net). The school takes care of disadvantaged kids and provides teaching, food, and medical treatment for free!
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Gorgonzola Cheese Sandwich
rp78co recommends this,
Just had my first gorgonzola sandwich after 4 month travelling! AMAZING! They have more than 25 different kind of cheese, I know what I do the next days....
Don't get fooled, they changed the location, now they are on the other side of the road. Check out their website www.brownbreadbakery.com.Good for: cheese, bakery, organic shop
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Best clean breakfeast, dinner, drinks in whole Varanasi!
pfeffersepp recommends this,
Good whole grain bread, cakes and sandwiches that are warmed up in the oven before it 'll served. Try the amazing cheese, that comes from Auroville (Puducherry, Tamil Nadu) or of other organic farms of the Himalayan area. At the upper floor you can enjoy the food, big and always fresh drinks on soft mattresses. Good for hang out and read a book. Every day at the evening is also a live concert with Sita and Tabla.
The Brown Bread Bakery has also a small shop downstairs, that offers home made Jam made by a "woman empowerment group of Varanasi", organic cereals or other organic products for take away.But attention! There is a other shop just across the street that has the same name and was the former place of the Brown Bread bakery. Don't try that one!
For some people with an old Travel Guide Book there is an another advise: The "Uma Guest Home" doesn't work together with the project "learn for life society" anymore! Varanasi is still the cheatiest place in India...
Good for: meals, organic, volunteering, ngo
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Good food, Good project
miasand recommends this,
The food in the new Brown Bread Bakery is really great! The new location is just in front of the old one. The place is still a bit under contrucion but the atmosphere is very nice and the staff friendly and funny. And they support a very interesting project, a school for poor children following innovative methods. I suggest to go there, for breakfast, lunch and dinner!!
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BBB chanced location !!!
huschdeguzle recommends this,
The new location of the lovely Brown Bread Bakery is just on the opposite side! And the supported Badi Asham School is now in Aurangabad!
So if you want good Pasta, real Pizza, big salads, amazing chocolate cake (or lemon or brownies!!!), nice atmosphere, ... you should go to the familiar BBB. I'm sure you'll enjoy your stay!!! -
Proyecto Infancia in Badi Asha school for Learn For LIfe
martinochiti recommends this,
New brand school for Learn for Life, situated in Aurangabad.
Great people, great workers.We realized a workshop of photography for kids.
Exhibition of the kid's pictures at the Brown Bread Bakery (the new one too!!).Visit the site of the project www.proyectoinfancia.com
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Craving Chocolate in Chaos.
sidrashow recommends this,
Buried deep within the winding alleyways of India's Holiest city, Varanasi, the Brown Bread Bakery is a slice of heaven off the beaten path. I wandered aimlessly along the bustling stairways of the Ghats, enthralled and intimidated at the enormity of the place. Women sit in closely knit circles, praying and offering puja; just a short step away men sit attentive, ready to give a quick shave or massage to the lucky tourist walking past; brightly adorned Sadhus sit serenely, attracting the flash of cameras and onlookers, their long dreads piled in heaps atop their ashen heads; and people gather idylly, in groups to do the days washing and bath in the holiest of waters underneath the glowing orange sunrise.
It is easy to get lost in Varanasi, just about as easy as it is to get frustrated and exhausted. Brown Bread is a great escape from both of these emotions, which seem to occur quite frequently in the backpacker world of India!
The restaurant is split between a cozy downstairs nook, and a lively spacious upstairs spread out with comfy floor seating; just the kind of laid back casual hippy atmosphere we all need once in a while. As a solo traveller, this place is the perfect spot to relax over a coffee, newspaper, and even a delicious slice of chocolate cake. Travellers come in groups, solo, and in pairs; sitting for hours over the daily news, or their version of the lonely planet, carefully planning out their next death defying travel move.
I spent a few hours sitting, observing, and reading, and it's quite possible I tried all of the coffee flavoured milkshakes on the menu. A great way to pass the time, and step away from the winding jungle of alleys in Varanasi, Brown Bread Bakery not only boasts a homey atmosphere, but where else in India can you find a mix of real espresso coffee, chocolate cake, coffee milkshakes, and home made wheat bread; not to mention the profits help benefit a local charity. Can it get any better than this? I doubt it.Good for: atmosphere, food, Solo Travellers, service
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