“Jaipur is in its coffee-smart era,” I wrote a couple of months ago, and restaurateur friends and cafe owners from the city strongly agreed. With specialty coffee now reaching Pink City’s masses, the coffee revolution has finally landed in my city. Trends still arrive in Jaipur after making a mark in Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru—whether it is speakeasies serving espresso martinis or the hype around matcha and iced lattes. Now, the Pink City is growing enthusiastic about everything poured into their glasses, and coffee is what drew them in.
What is remarkable is the equal gusto with which the city’s cafes and coffee houses are responding. One such addition to Jaipur’s coffee and dining scene is Traut Coffee House, founded by Aalia Agarwal and Ujjwal Bijarnia. Traut is where many of Jaipur’s diners are currently heading for java jolts and coffee-focused dinners.
Going Strong On The Beverage Front
I would pitch Traut as a coffee destination above all. While their food, which we will discuss going forward, is spoken of with equal love, their coffees and other beverages steal the show. Mind you, they don’t serve alcohol, yet there is rarely a time from morning till late evening when you will not find the cafe buzzing with diners. Over weekends, expect queues before you find your spot, something uncommon with Jaipur restaurants.
Start off with their Pistachio Crémé Latté, a signature serve on the menu. Pairing a strong shot of espresso with pistachio spread and milk, and topped with a cold foam, the craft beverage is easily the highlight of the menu. The cup’s rim is beaded with finely-ground pistachio powder that adds the right amount of texture to every sip.
I am not someone who, by any means, belongs to the matcha club, but my city is so obsessed with it that I couldn’t help but hop on the bandwagon and try it at Traut. They take their matcha very seriously, and upon the server’s suggestion, I ordered myself their Snow Matcha. As beautiful as it looks on your table, it is delicious. However, if you don’t like your matcha sweet but want the bitterness to linger longer on your palate, this might not be the sip for you. It is for those who prefer the grassiness with some amount of sweetness, too.
Next up, I tried Sun Kissed, an iced coffee that swapped water for orange juice and was refreshing, fruity, yet caffeine-forward in the best way possible. One of their sips that is winning hearts across the city is the Espresso Bomb. Great theatrics as the server drops the espresso shot glass coated with lime and salt into tonic water, and the drink oozes out. It was impressive because it was the first time I was witnessing people experimenting with coffee and pairing it with different ingredients (like tonic water and orange juice).
You can also choose from their manual brews, smoothies, juices, and hot chocolate, so there is still plenty to choose from.
The Food Menu
With the food menu, Traut tries to do it all. It places pan-Asian classics alongside Italian preparations, burgers, and Continental dishes. A concern with such restaurants is that their kitchens rarely maintain quality and flavour across cuisines. If you expect a kitchen to make its pizzas as well as its gyoza or dim sum, that expectation is rather far-fetched and unattainable. Whether the cafe can sustain the crowd, the flavour, and the number of menu offerings remains to be seen. But based on what landed on my plate that day, I would recommend starting with their soups, whether or not it is their season.
I was particularly impressed with their Porcini Mushroom Cappuccino, which was comfort poured in a cup. It resembles a cappuccino from its frothy top, but the aroma of mushrooms will be quick to reach you. I also ordered their Broccoli & Roast Almond soup, which left me well-warmed up for a hearty meal. It was the nuttiness of almonds combined with the herbaceousness of broccoli that paired better than I had ever imagined.
It is officially the year of burgers. At Traut, don’t leave the venue without trying their Smashed Cottage Cheese Burger, which is a simple paneer patty topped with cheese and an in-house sauce, but it turns out to be the best burger I have tried in the Pink City. The idea of gourmet burgers is yet to enter Jaipur; however, if you want to come close to trying the best that the city has to offer, bite into this one at Traut.
They also have small plates like the Florentine Quasedillas and Lemon Garlic Mushroom, along with sandwiches and toasts that could pair well if you are catching up with a friend over coffee, but don’t mind a quick bite too.
If you are settling for a longer meal, don’t forget to try their pizza options. The Pesto Burrata and Mexican vegetarian pizza would be my recommendations. On to my favourite section, the pasta. The pasta roster is not out of the world, but it is solid enough to start with. My favourite from the three I tried was the in-house Spinach Ricotta Ravioli. The pasta tasted fresh, and the filling was as creamy as the sauce. The Rosy Blush Penne is like any other Parma Rosa, while the Pesto and Sun-Dried Tomato Risotto is worth a shot. The pan-Asian section of the menu reads like a book but offers everything from Thai curry and chilli chicken to ramen and pad Thai.
The Final Verdict
Traut Coffee House is, first and foremost, a coffee destination, and that is where it makes its strongest case. Its beverage menu is inventive without feeling gimmicky, giving Jaipur’s growing coffee crowd plenty of reason to return. From the Pistachio Crémé Latté to the Espresso Bomb, there is a clear sense that the team is interested in making coffee more than just a morning pick-me-up.
The food menu is more ambitious, spanning several cuisines and formats, and while not every dish hits the same high notes, there are enough standouts to make a meal here worthwhile. The Smashed Cottage Cheese Burger, Porcini Mushroom Cappuccino, and Spinach Ricotta Ravioli are dishes I would happily return for, while the pizzas and smaller plates make Traut equally suited to a casual coffee catch-up or a longer meal.
For a city still finding its footing in the specialty coffee movement, Traut feels like a timely addition to Jaipur’s coffee landscape. Come for the coffee, stay for the food, and expect to find a crowd that is already doing exactly that.
Information
Address: A-2, Ajmer Rd, Bhrigu Nagar, Vidhyut Nagar, Jaipur, Jaipur Nagar Nigam Area, Rajasthan 302021
Price for two: INR 1,500
