Laxmi Chai Wale, Varanasi

I'm not sure how, but this place always seems open. It's a feeling I can't explain.

Located (as one uncle explained it to me) in Kashi. Not in Banaras, not in Varanasi, but in Kashi: the busiest and oldest part of one of the oldest cities in the world.

Kashi was the name of the city of Varanasi, and is still called the same by many. It was Kashi once, then became Banaras (or, as the British called it, Benaras), and then after independence, Varanasi.

There's something about the city that you won't understand until you go there. It's the only city I would visit not once more, but multiple times just to exist there. I wouldn't like to go to Varanasi. I would like to go to Kashi.

The Chai

Chai in small kulhads alongside butter toast and malai toast at Laxmi Chai Wale, Varanasi

The chai is perfectly normal, not heavy like in Rajasthan and Punjab. It's paani zyada (more water) and from Varanasi eastwards you'll get similar chai. It's super kadak, meaning super strong with a lot of chai patti.

The way they serve is interesting. You get seated, and then after the chai is ready, someone from the shop comes to you, hands you a small kulhad, and pours some chai. It's a small sip of chai, but you can keep asking for refills from the person distributing it.

The morning crowd at Laxmi Chai Wale gathered around the counter, in the lanes of Kashi

One fascinating thing I noticed: a majority of people at Kashi don't keep count of the money. Whatever you give them, they assume is correct. For an establishment as busy as Laxmi Chai is, I expected some order, but once you finish, you just tell the person at the counter what you had, and he'll tell you the amount. It's completely uncommon in India to depend on the honesty of people. But that's what happens at Laxmi Chai. Oh, and they don't accept cash.

The Toasts: The Real Star

Before we move on, the toasts deserve their own moment. They are as important as the chai here, if not more. The chai may be okay, but the toasts are a different game entirely.

A close-up of the coal-toasted bread at Laxmi Chai Wale: thick, smoky, and generously buttered

The bread is unlike the usual bread: super thick, about three times the thickness of regular bread from a grocery shop. I've only seen this kind of bread twice or three times while travelling (the second time I can remember is at Chitto Babur Dokan in Calcutta). All toasts are made on a coal-based flame, which gives them a very slight smoky taste.

Malai toast: a spread of fresh malai over the hot coal-toasted bread, sprinkled with sugar (not powdered, but in crystal form). The most popular one, and it often sells out early in the day. I didn't like it as much, personally.

The Caesarean toast: you guessed it, the name means exactly what it says. The bread is slit open through the centre, and a piece of Amul butter is put through it. Then taken to the coal furnace and slowly toasted. First bite, and you'll understand how beautiful and creative this concept is. The butter is absorbed into the inner layer of the bread. It doesn't burst; it oozes, bringing the beautiful flavour of salted Amul butter.

White butter toast: generously spread with white butter, then sprinkled with sugar crystals. Super simple, absolutely tasty.

Regular butter toast: a generous slump of butter spread through the bread. Super simple, absolutely yummy.

The four varieties of coal-toasted bread at Laxmi Chai Wale, laid out on the wooden counter

Laxmi Chai Wale opens very early (like all the famous spots, at 4am) and closes after midnight. It seems it is always open. It's been running for about 75 years now.

Kashi is an experience you ought to have, and Laxmi Chai Wale just enhances it. Please go there.

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Rating: 9/10. Not just for the chai and the toasts, but for the full experience.

Part of the Iconic Chai Stops of India series.