Forget city bustle, enjoy satisfying tea at beautiful rooftop garden

Dhaka : People can now get away from the hustle and bustle of the city and enjoy a hearty cup of tea at a beautiful rooftop garden, thanks to the new and popular environmental friendly café and restaurant Cha Bagan in the capital.
With the wish of having a beautiful garden on the rooftop, and enjoy a sip on a satisfying cup of tea amid greenery and nature, something this pollution-filled city lacks, Syeda Gulru Hasan made a perfect little "Cha Bagan" for herself. Staying true to her dream, she poured her heart out building this mesmerising place of nature with the help of her family and prominent landscape designer Rafeya Abedin. To their delight, it turned out to be an awe-inspiring landscape, very organic, but no less grand. 

There are several in this fast-paced city who feel trapped surrounded by concrete buildings and wish to get lost amid nature even for a moment either after a hard day of work or whenever they feel low or too overwhelming - a dream that Gulru shared. This led Gulru to turn her rooftop garden into a café and restaurant. And that is how the city people, to their delight, got Cha Bagan located at plot 55, road 21, Banani in the capital.      
From the outside, you will see an old and rustic yet eye-catching 80s building with sights of a garden on the rooftop. After walking up the external staircase, encompassed with bamboo walls, a red brick passageway will lead you out of the city and to a wild rooftop garden. Stepping into the rooftop, you will love the iconic traditional take on Bengali culture seen in the landscape of the café come restaurant. 
You will find yourself in an unfinished wooden structure occupied by the tropical shrubberies of the country surrounded and 20 feet vine walls. Pathways of cement steps and mason-jar lights will guide your around the labyrinth of a garden. 
The entire place remains calm with shades of tree-green, wood-brown, clay-nude and stone-grey colours, making you feel at home amid nature. Several varieties of trees from big old to hanging to shrubs amazingly adorn the café. Flowers and leaves of several varieties, colours, and fragrances mesmerise you to forget you are in a city-building in the first place. The chairs and tables made of woods go perfectly with the tone the café wants to set.

 

 

Interestingly, as the café is mostly complemented by organic elements, in each season, it beholds a different look and vibe. This is what makes the café truly stand out. You will see it in one colour in spring and in another one in summer. In nature, there is no monotony. Same goes with Cha Bagan. 
Just like its vibes, the café's menu too comprises many varieties of items, all favourite to its loyal and repeat customers. The wide range of delicacies the café offers starts with special teas, ranging from BDT 100 to BDT 140, including populars such as masala cha and malai cha 'that solve everything'.
However, city-dwellers can never forget their love for coffee, and that makes Cha Bagan's coffees fan-favourites as well. All the classic coffees are available at BDT 120-250 for singles and BDT 145-340 for doubles.
Seasonal fresh juices and cold beverage items are also crowd winners as people get to enjoy mouth-watering items at a reasonable price in an environment so peaceful for calm and quiet ones and instragrammable for trend lovers too. 
Just like the environment of Cha Bagan, its menu also varies from season to season. In winter, they were offering pithas. Now they are going to bring hafsa and hydrabadi biryanis, but people have to pre-order them. 
Their kebabs and 'jal khabar' which comprises daal puri, French fries and nuggets, are also crowd pleasers, just like their delectable platters are to heavy-diners.  
With a capacity of 50 people, the restaurant opened its doors to the public in September 2020 after the pandemic. However, to their surprise, Cha Bagan is receiving massive response from people of all ages. On weekends, Cha Bagan offers specials as people rush there in holidays to catch a break from their daily lives and enjoy with family and friends. 
Also cafes stay packed till late in the city and Cha Bagan is no different. Thus, they are considering to remain open late till 2:00 am in the future.