Jonsons Café

"I am an alien, I am a legal alien, I am an Englishman in New York………….."

This song kept doing its round in my head the moment I entered the Jonsons Café in Manali Mall..the very English looking pub in the middle of busy Indian Manali market..such a striking breath of fresh air!
I have always loved the feel of English pubs..the garden seating, the heavy glassware,  a glass of chilled beer in the sunshine…I feel there is a kind of simple earthy romanticism attached to it…

The ambiance in Jonson's

Swastika (the blog author, enjoying the warm sun)

We fell in total love with this café at Manali mall and frequented it often during our holiday in Manali. The food was stunning..so simple yet so very delightful. We tried the below dishes and we think anyone who goes to Manali should drop in at Jonsons..sure fire MUST VISIT!

Fried Trout Fish with mint and yogurt Chutney
First let me say, we are not a fan of fish..so coming from us a recommendation of a fish dish is very rare. So when we, vouched fish dis-likers say this is GOOD, you can well imagine how very good it is. The marination of the fish was absolutely perfect. As our knives went through, it felt we were digging into butter and not fish. Taste – just one word “mindblowing”.

Himalayan Trout Fish with Mint & Yogurt Chutney

Chicken skewers
A very pretty looking dish but very average in taste..we have tasted similar feat elsewhere. Nothing new, but good nonetheless.

Chicken Skewers

Cheese Platter 
The cheese platter looked yummy. Coupled with a glass of wine, it was an afternoon well spent. The platter had fresh Himalayan cheese – tasted a lot like paneer..though slightly more watery in texture..topped with some freshly ground pepper..it was the most unique one in the platter. The other cheeses were the usual parmesan, blue and yak cheese but coupled with olives and grapes it brought together the whole impression of fine wine n dine for us.

The yummy Cheese Platter

Wood fired Clay Oven Pizza – Pepperoni
One of the best thin crust pizza I have tasted in my life (Pizza chains in India like Dominos/ Pizza Hut will feel ashamed if they ever get to taste this one). The crust was perfect and freshly baked and more importantly it was baked in Wood Fired Clay Oven! That’s how Pizza should be. I think you can imagine from the picture how sinfully wonderful it tasted. Digging into it with our cheesy fingers..licking off the plate clean..ummm..when can I go back?

Wood Fired Clay Oven Pizza

Average cost of a meal for 2 people (with alcoholic beverages) is about Rs.1500.
PS We went there quite often and did not have ALL this food in one day ;)

Overall recommendation – 5/5

Some parting shots:

Panoramic view of Jonson's Cafe