Baker Street Restaurant, Pondicherry

Baker Street has been a fixture of White Town's café scene for years, occupying a prominent corner on Rue Bussy, named for Dupleix's lieutenant Charles de Bussy. Inspired by Pondicherry's French heritage, it blends the atmosphere of a neighbourhood boulangerie with an approachable café menu, making it equally popular with locals, expatriates, and visitors. The offering is deliberately concise but consistently executed: freshly baked breads, sandwiches, quiches, lasagne, pasta, savoury bakes, and a pastry counter lined with éclairs, croissants, tarts, and changing daily specials.

The chicken and olive sandwich remains the house classic: generously filled with well-seasoned chicken, briny olives, crisp vegetables, and served on bread baked fresh in-house each morning. The éclairs, available in rotating flavours alongside the traditional chocolate, are among the city's best and often disappear before lunchtime. Quiches are equally dependable, while the croissants strike an admirable balance between crisp, flaky layers and buttery richness.

The atmosphere feels distinctly local rather than overtly touristy. Residents stop in for their daily bread, regulars settle down with coffee and laptops, and cyclists and morning walkers drift in after exploring the seaside promenade. Considering the quality of the baking, prices remain remarkably reasonable by White Town standards.