Cocoa and Crème Rooftop Cafe
- Outdoor seating
- Open late
Chennai · Adyar & Besant Nagar
Cafés in Adyar & Besant Nagar
Cafés on Besant Nagar's numbered avenues behind Elliot's Beach, and a rooftop in Gandhi Nagar.
Photo: Sudipto Chakrabarty, Pexels License
Besant Nagar is named after Annie Besant, who in 1917 became the first woman president of the Indian National Congress, and the Tamil Nadu Housing Board built it from the early 1970s into the early 1980s, over about 4 km² around Indira Nagar and Shastri Nagar.1 On its northern side lies the forested campus of the Theosophical Society, which moved its headquarters from New York to Adyar in 1882 and covers 260 acres on the south bank of the Adyar River.13
The cafés sit in the avenues behind Elliot's Beach: Tummy Tales on 5th Avenue, The Alcove and Brews & Beyond on 7th Avenue, Mud Koffee and QUA Cafe on 4th Main Road, and The Old Potion House on 1st Avenue. Adyar proper adds a rooftop in Gandhi Nagar and cafés off Gandhi Mandapam Road.
Local tip: Walk the beach in the late afternoon, then climb to Cocoa and Crème's rooftop in Gandhi Nagar, which opens at 16:00.
At a glance
16Cafés listed
1With opening hours
16:00Earliest opening
23:00Latest closing
- Opens earliest: Cocoa and Crème Rooftop Cafe, from 16:00 (Daily 16:00–23:00).
- Most common features: outdoor seating (6%), open late (6%).
ATTE Glocal Cafe
Brews & Beyond
C S K Coffee Snacks Kadalai
Ciclo Cafe
Dream cafe
Fika
JC's Cafe
Mud Koffee
Nyra
QUA Cafe
Seeds Lifestyle
The Alcove
The Bistrograph
The Old Potion House
Tummy Tales
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Coffee chains in Adyar & Besant Nagar
Chain
Café Coffee Day
Chain
Starbucks
Chain
Barista
Elliot's Beach and the shrines
Elliot's Beach is named after Edward Elliot, a chief magistrate and superintendent of police in the Madras Presidency, and marks the end of the Marina shore.21 The Karl Schmidt Memorial on the sand honors a Danish sailor who died trying to save a girl from drowning.2
The Shrine of Our Lady of Good Health, known as Annai Vailankanni Church, stands on the shore, and the Ashtalakshmi Temple, built in 1976, is near the beach's southern end.2 The 6th Avenue and the beach host the vintage car rally and half marathons.1
The avenue cafés
The Alcove is at T-22A 7th Avenue and Brews & Beyond at 55/16 on the same avenue. Tummy Tales is at 22 5th Avenue, The Old Potion House at 3 1st Avenue, and Mud Koffee at T-53/B 4th Main Road, with QUA Cafe on the ground floor of a building on the same road.
The cross streets have more: Fika at 13 Second Main Road, The Bistrograph at 13 10th Cross Street, Seeds Lifestyle at 9 11th Cross Street and JC's Cafe at 5 9th Cross Street. Café Coffee Day has a branch on 1st Avenue.
Adyar, Gandhi Nagar and the Theosophical Society
The Theosophical Society's garden holds a banyan about 450 years old whose aerial roots cover some 60,000 square meters.3 Kalakshetra, the dance school started at the Society in 1936, is also in the locality.1
Cocoa and Crème Rooftop Cafe is on the fourth floor of 53/26 Gandhi Nagar 1st Main Road, open daily 16:00–23:00 with outdoor seating. Ciclo Cafe is on Gandhi Mandapam Road, C S K Coffee Snacks Kadalai on Kasturba Nagar 3rd Cross Street, and Dream cafe on 14th Cross Street.
When to go
Chennai's heat peaks from April to June, with averages of 35–40 °C, which pushes beach walks and café terraces toward the evening.4 Elliot's Beach is for walking rather than swimming: 11 people drowned off it in 2010, and police patrol the sand on all-terrain vehicles, two more of which were sanctioned in August 2012.2 Thousands visit the beach every day.2
Sources
- Besant Nagar, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
- Elliot's Beach, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
- Theosophical Society Adyar, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
- Chennai, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
FAQ
Adyar & Besant Nagar cafés: questions
Which cafés are near Elliot's Beach in Besant Nagar, Chennai?
Behind Elliot's Beach, The Alcove and Brews & Beyond are on 7th Avenue, Tummy Tales on 5th Avenue and The Old Potion House on 1st Avenue. Mud Koffee and QUA Cafe are on 4th Main Road, and Fika is at 13 Second Main Road.
Is it safe to swim at Elliot's Beach in Chennai?
Elliot's Beach is better for walking than swimming. Eleven people drowned off it in 2010, and police patrol the sand on all-terrain vehicles. The Karl Schmidt Memorial on the beach honors a Danish sailor who died trying to save a girl from drowning.
Which café in Adyar, Chennai, has a rooftop and stays open late?
Cocoa and Crème Rooftop Cafe, on the fourth floor of 53/26 Gandhi Nagar 1st Main Road in Adyar, opens daily from 16:00 to 23:00 and has outdoor seating. It suits an evening after a walk on Elliot's Beach in Besant Nagar.
For café owners
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