The Monks café in the popular sitcom ‘Seinfeld,’ the Nervosa Café in the sitcom ‘Frasier,’ and the Central Perk café in the globally loved sitcom ‘Friends’ have one thing in common. In all three television shows – friendship and romance, conversations and camaraderie, humor and wit – seemingly everything sublime comes alive when characters are placed in a vibrant coffee house. Such is the allure of a coffee shop that people are drawn to it, and it has nothing to do with hunger pangs or the desire to have a meal.
“This idea that a ‘lot can happen over coffee’ took a long time to plant in India. 80 years to be precise. The United Coffee House was created in 1942 by my grandfather Lala Hans Raj Kalra as a place to relish the happy company of friends and family,” says Akash Kalra, the current managing director of this iconic coffee house in Connaught Place.
The story of the founder, Lala Hans Raj Kalra, began in Sialkot in present-day Pakistan, where he ran a flourishing liquor business. Work brought him frequently to other parts of northern India – including Delhi. Lala Hans Raj Kalra was an intrepid entrepreneur who ran multiple enterprises, including the manufacture of country liquor, running multiple stores to sell imported liquor in various parts of the country, along with running a restaurant called Esplanade on the main arterial road of Chandni Chowk.
“According to family fables, one day my grandfather was passing through the newly built Connaught Place – the high-end shopping area created by the British. He realised how majestic and charming this market was. He heard about one grocery shop being available for sale. He got out of his Pontiac car to take a recce of the property. He had one look at the high ceiling, and he was struck by a vision of how this sprawling space could transform into a beautiful Victorian coffee house – much like the places he had seen on his various travels to Europe. And he bought the place,” says Akash, recounting the story he had heard from the elders in the family.
Brewing coffee and memories
Designed by British architect WH Nicholls and executed by his successor Robert Tor Russell, Connaught Place of the 1940s was a posh and exclusive space. It had shops by expats – for expats. Everything that the British needed was there in one large circular space – from meticulous tailoring to spotless dry cleaning, from impeccable shoe shopping to immaculate hair cutting, from bookshops to toy shops. There was almost everything – except a great place to have coffee.
United Coffee House (UCH) was named so to reflect its ethos as a place where people could come together to chat and converse, to relish good company and great food – all amid warm coffee aromas. From the very beginning, UCH chose to serve the best coffee from the finest coffee estates in South India. “We created our own blends from beans collected from various parts of Nilgiris. To complement the coffee, we had Continental savory offerings like cutlets, small patties, chops, layered sandwiches, scones, along with a large choice of bakery items like cakes and pastries to go with coffee,” says Akash.
UCH managed to please the largely expat clientele because they roped in some of the best chefs from Calcutta who had been trained by British cooks in catering to the British palate for a long time.
During the 1950s, it was the Kayasths and Mathurs of Delhi who had the best non-vegetarian kitchens running in their homes. Having worked closely within the British setup as bureaucrats, administrators, lawyers, and chartered accountants – many of Kayasth non-vegetarian dishes were actually inventive fusions of continental, regional, and North Indian cooking. These then were the next batch of additions to the UCH menu. The result was that by the early 1960s, UCH food had started creating a name for itself.
Soon, a power hub
Given its location near the seat of the government, UCH also became a popular hub for powerful bureaucrats and officials to meet and exchange hushed gossip about postings and transfers within the government corridors. From a place of laid-back leisure – during the 1970s, the UCH became a ‘power hub’ place to be seen by your colleagues as well as competitors. “When my father, Gandharv Kumar Kalra joined the family enterprise, the business of running UCH was a high-stress job because the place was filled with who’s who of Delhi,” says Akash. Gandharva Kumar had spent three years in the United States. Upon returning, he expanded the menu to include pet American favourites like hot dogs, burgers, sizzlers, and steaks.
By the early 1980s, the restaurant became a popular place for top-end Purani Dilli families. The young scions of seths and sahukars would begin their day with breakfast with friends at UCH and then leave for their workplace. This new trend of early morning banter with brunch became so popular that tables were reserved for different groups, and there was no place to be had until noon.
Then in late evenings, women from high-end business families would bring their extended groups for tea and coffee or for reunions over lavish dinners. So popular Mughlai and tandoori dishes of the northwest frontier like bhuna meat, tandoori chicken, Nargisi kofta, etc., were added along with a lot of Purani Dilli dishes like navratan korma, Akbari naan, Peshawari naan, etc. Some of the favourite desserts were shahi tukda, and baked Alaska – which were original recipes created at UCH.
“Delhi keeps changing and continues to add new flavors. By the time I joined the business during the 1990s, United Coffee House was a quick-service restaurant by the day and a slow dining place by the night,” says Akash.
Whatever may be the pace, by the 1990s, United Coffee House was already known as an iconic place linked to people’s personal memories. Almost everyone has a personal story and nostalgia attached to it.
“My biggest inheritance is the 400-odd traditional recipes with their detailed manuscripts that I have. I feel we are custodians of an era gone by, and we have to make sure that coming generations can continue to relish these flavors. It’s a big responsibility,” says Akash.
This article is part of a series called BusinessHistories exploring iconic businesses in India that have endured tough times and changing markets. Read all articles here.