Emily’s at Rokeby Manor | The Vintage cottage.

Emily's at Rokeby Manor - Interiors
Emily's at Rokeby Manor - Interiors
Emily’s at Rokeby Manor

An English cottage in the mountains of India

Last weekend, I went to Mussoorie. My first ever trip to the ‘queen of hills.’ After an overnight road journey, Saurabh and I reached Landour, where we had chosen to stay.

After a quick nap, we began walking down the hill to kick-start our food exploration. It didn’t take me long to fall in love with the tranquility of this countryside, which had a colonial feel to it. The lush green mountains, misty air, chirping of birds and cute fluffy doggies on the road, made me feel that it’ll be a happy trip.

We stayed at Landour, which meant we were close to the Rokeby Manor. Hence, it was our first pit stop. Sanjay Narang, a Mumbai based restaurateur and the current owner of the property, has beautifully restored the vintage style English cottage, which was built way back in 1840. British artist Emma Bridgewater’s artworks lined up the intricate stonewalls. The wooden staircase and cozy fireplace added further character to this heritage cottage, which certainly had a colonial feel to it.

We were lucky to get a table at the patio, blessed with a view of the mountains. Saurabh and I were really hungry, hence, we quickly ordered for a Breakfast Platter – Cheese Omelet, Toasts, Grilled Tomato, Hash Brown and Masala tea and a plate of Cinnamon French toasts, which were served with butter, maple syrup and honey.

While the food took some time to come, I did not mind waiting, as the environs were so picturesque. The mist was kissing my cheeks and the fresh cool breeze was a huge relief from the painful Delhi summers. I guess, that’s why we Delhiites love being in the mountains.

The moment, the food arrived on our table, I dug in. The Omelette was light and fluffy and gooey inside. I was happy to see that they had served it with in-house bread. Buttery toasty bread with cheesy omelet, this is something that can hardly go wrong. I loved it absolutely. However, it was the hash brown that was tasty although not done in the traditional way. As against a hash brown, where the shredded potatoes are cooked together. It was more like a potato cutlet, nevertheless, it tasted real good.

The surprising bit were Cinnamon French Toasts. Unlike most places in India, Emily’s served sweet French Toasts. The fluffy toast had a subtle sweet flavour with a hint of cinnamon. I relished it to the core. And, to my surprise, Saurabh, who usually despises cinnamon flavour in his desserts, liked it as well. I poured some maple syrup on top with butter and devoured the dish.

As we finished the meal, we realised that we needed leave, to continue our food trail and epic walk to the Mall Road. So, we left with a heavy heart, but a really happy tummy.

Next day, Saurabh’s friend Manish who works there, joined us. After a fun stroll in and around Landour, we found ourselves at Rokeby Manor, again. It was lunchtime and we knew there were no place else we wanted to go, but Emily’s.

We had just finished a walk around the Sister Bazaar, Lal Tibba, Landour Cemetery and Char Dukan. This time we sat inside, as there was hailstorm and we wanted to enjoy the weather, albeit safely. We decided to order Al Greco Pasta, Chicken Mayo Sandwich and Chicken Tikka Wrap.

I loved this quieter side of the town. Unlike the Mall Road in Mussoorie, this place had less number of tourists, cool weather and calm surroundings that one expects of a vacation in the hills.

The food arrived on our table with a beautiful plate of Al Greco Pasta made with al dente penne pasta, cooked in butter along with garlic, broccoli, carrots and feta cheese. Manish who did not want to eat anything cheesy, loved this pasta. The delicious feta cheese, in particular, tied the whole dish together.

Made with in house bread, my Grilled Chicken Mayo sandwich was comfort food at its best. The buttery bread – grilled and filled with chicken chunks and mayo can hardly go wrong. This could be a perfect dish for kids, as it was served with generous amount of fries.

The most disappointing and boring dish out of the lot, however, was Chicken Tikka Wrap. It was more of a roll than a wrap. The filling of capsicum and some veggies, tasted more like mixed-vegetable subzi and I could not taste any chicken tikka. The only saving grace of this dish was mint chutney, which tasted fresh.

By the time we finished eating, we had to leave for Dehradun. Sadly, we had to leave the beautiful Landour, a town I felt I could stay for longer, much longer.

Address: Rokeby Manor, Rajmandi, Landour Cantt, Mussoorie, Dehradun, Uttarakhand 248179

Phone: 0135 263 5604


In a nutshell:

Location:  Located close to the famous Char Dukan, it’s an easy walk from there.

Atmosphere: Vintage cottage, serene mountain surroundings, perfect for those who would like to spend their day with a book and cup of coffee. The British style cottage has cottages, rooms and gardens to spend your day at. For shopping purposes one can check out their shop, The Corner Shop.

Service: Courteous and efficient.

Food: English breakfast, pastas, pizzas and sandwiches to kebabs, they have it all.

Must HavesCheese Omelet, Cinnamon French Toast and Pastas.

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