At the new Zoo Cafe in Guindy Children’s Park, the biggest question is, will the monkeys steal our vadais?

Raj Thiru, CEO of the cafe laughs, “We’ve seen quite a few monkeys make their way here. But our diners are seated inside so their food is safe.”

The 8,000 square feet cafe is spread across two floors. The ground floor serves vegetarian South Indian favourites such as parotta kurma, thattu idlis, benne dosas, bisibelle bhaat, and Madurai jigarthanda among others. “Everything here is priced under ₹100,” says Raj.

The first floor is more jazzed up with rattan cane pendant lights and walls bright with the paintings of birds, animals, and cheerful banana plants. “Here, we serve non vegetarian as well and the menu includes continental and multi-cuisine options such as noodles, pastas, and pizzas, with prices starting at ₹200,” he says.

While Zoo Cafe is near the parking lot, yet another cafe has launched in the heart of the park. A 20-minute walk takes us to Muyal Cafe. We walk past excited kids rolling down slides, couples looking at peacocks and black bucks, and more kids and families squealing at the sheer size of an ostrich, while the rest of the snap-happy crowd clicks numerous pictures with the other inhabitants of the zoo. It feels like a carnival. “It’s amazing that we have such a green space in the middle of the city,” says Raj

Muyal Cafe is a small space with a tiled roof cocooned amidst tall green trees. Despite serving only popcorn, ice cream, chips, and soft drinks, it draws a crowd. All the thatched seating space outside is taken. “Since it’s located inside the park, we are not allowed to light a fire here to cook. But on request we can get our guests’ food from our other cafe. Soon we will serve sandwiches, samosas, and cutlets,” says Raj.

It took a year to build both cafes. Other than the greenery, what drew Raj to this place is “the ample parking space, good footfall, and the fact that it is child-friendly as well as pet-friendly,” he says, as another bus full of school children pulls into the park.