These affogatos came together over quesadillas. When Deepak Suresh of Amadora ice-creams met Gero Francis and Annie Gali at Tinga, the city’s first taqueria, they first connected over Mexican food. Then they discovered a shared enthusiasm for icecream and coffee.
Gero runs the Aqualum resort in Tulum, a Mexican town on the Caribbean coastline of the Yucatán Peninsula, and launched Tinga with Annie and Mexican Chef Joacim Ramirez last year. They were looking for a new challenge.
Amadora, popular with the city for its indulgent icecreams and inventive flavours (from ‘toast’, comprising vanilla icecream with buttery, toasted bread, to the peanut butter icecream layered with peanut brittle and hot chocolate fudge) turns 10 this year. And Deepak was looking for a change.
The result: a collaborative, European-style cafe that encourages all of them to bring their A game, uniting icecream and coffee in the best possible way. Of course affogatos are the headliner here: creamy scoops of vanilla wrapped in dark, powerfully fragrant espresso.
The original Amadora has been updated, but still feels familiar. There is now a lot more space for indoor seating, but —especially in this weather — you are more likely to take your double scoop of dark chocolate sorbet and sit outdoors. Beside Amadora, stands So.Ro.Co (Southern Coffee Roasting Company), Gero and Annie’s new venture, focussing on high quality beans from across South India, in the form of espressos, pour overs and cold brews, as well as trendy experimental coffees, including bulletproof coffee and a fragrant citrus blast.
The team’s coffee consultant Viggnesh V explains how he sources beans grown at a higher elevation, collaborates with the estates on the processing, then controls the roasting so that the most delicate notes, dictated by their terroir, are retained. The result is coffee with personality. You can choose between a medium and dark roast: Try a black pourover to enjoy the heady, natural aromas of berries and chocolate. Or dive into a Kapunizer, powerful espresso topped with whipped cream.
Gero and Annie are offering a short Mexican menu here: expect nachos, tacos, chimichangas and empanadas, though the range is smaller than what is available at Tinga. They also have a café menu with hearty sourdough sandwiches, salads and — in a nod to Tinga — Huevos Rancheros as part of the all-day breakfast.
Service is slow, but when the food does arrive, it all comes together with a pleasing rhythm. An Italian sandwich, rich with charred peppers and slabs of mozzarella slathered in pesto sauce; a chicken sandwich creamy with sriracha mayo; crisp parmesan chicken served with garlicky mayonnaise, and a hearty Sogo salad, with arugula, quinoa and walnuts, tossed in citrusy orange vanilla dressing.
Of course coffee follows, mellow and fragrant, paired with Amadora’s buttery marmalade cake, brightened with curls of candied orange peel.
There’s more to come. Deepak, who has experimented with about 300 flavours of icecream with the team over a decade of Amadora, is now baking more, inspired by Soroco’s range of coffee and the relaxed outdoor space. Expect Lamington icecream, a happy amalgamation of coconut, strawberry jam and chocolate, sundaes topped with whipped cream and brioche icecream sandwiches, toasty with frozen hearts.
Amadora and Soroco are at 23, Wallace Garden 3rd Street, Thousand Lights.
