Dochi’s Pizzeria & Coffee House | Photo Credit: Dochi
About 48 kilometers from Chandigarh, a two-hour drive leads to Dochi village in the Solan district town of Kasauli, Himachal Pradesh. In popular culture, Kasauli has gained a reputation as a small, touristy town for nature lovers, history connoisseurs, and literary enthusiasts interested in exploring Khushwant Singh’s fancy bungalow on Mall Road or the British- Christ of the Ages visits the church, which was last seen. celluloid in film Madras Cafe, Over the years, the hill station has been evolving, reinventing itself especially when it comes to food and cuisine. The best example of this is the growing popularity of Dochi Pizzeria and Coffee House, a humble roadside cafe serving Italian cuisine in the village Dochi.
Cafe seating | photo credit: amarjot kaur
It was in October 2021 when Vikas Gupta, 34, an entrepreneur from Delhi, started Petit Cafe. Chasing his dream of living in the hills, he stumbles upon a quaint tea shop-cum-daily needs shop, which has now been replaced by a pizzeria.
“In 2019, I started Urbankarigars, an online art company. The business did well, but when Covid hit, we had to stop it. Then my wife and I went to the mountains. I saw a tea stall and thought of opening a place that serves nothing but pizza and coffee. The man who ran the tea stall is now the landlord of Dochi,” he says.
For growth, the hospitality business comes naturally. His family owns a boutique hotel called Basil-The Residency in South Delhi and as a student he did a part-time gig at McDonald’s in Australia. However, Dochi is not your regular fast-food joint. It is comfortable, classy and exclusive.
Woodfire Pizza in Dochi | photo credit: amarjot kaur
The menu offers vegetarian and non-vegetarian calzones and woodfired pizzas made from Italian dough that is fermented for 24 hours to 72 hours. Vikas explains, “We use seven varieties of cheese, including Fior di Latte mozzarella (sourced from Maharashtra), mozzarella parmesan, cheddar and goat cheese (Chandigarh), and feta and gruyere from Amixa Cheese (based in Mashobra) Are.”
Some of the pizzas on the vegetarian menu include different versions of the Margherita pizza, ranging from green chili to classic, farmhouse pizza, marinara, and feta pizza. The non-vegetarian menu ranges from pepperoni, chicken and feta to ham and cheese pizzas. “The Neapolitan artisanal sourdough pizza dough requires a long time to ferment, but only 90 to 130 seconds to cook, depending on the oven temperature and the hydration of the dough. In fact, the coffee we serve here They are freshly ground. We have an in-house blend of premium Arabica beans sourced from South India, Amazon and some imported varieties,” he shared.
Dochi resembles a small cabin. photo credit: amarjot kaur
Dochi is a small cabin which can accommodate hardly 20 people at a time. Its skeleton is made of iron and wood, all painted red, held together with polycarbonate sheets. “There were several factors that led to this design. We wanted to use glass, but the structure was right on the road and surrounded by dense forest. We had to use these polycarbonate sheets for safety concerns. had to be used for maximum visibility and openness. We had to work with a large oven and a fully set up kitchen and seating in a limited space, but it worked for us because we wanted to keep it small and special,” called development.
With the eatery becoming increasingly popular, the pizzeria began serving its guests on a ‘reservation only’ basis about two months ago. “Although we have very quick turnaround times for our tables with super fast service, we had long queues on weekends and public holidays, resulting in parking issues and guests sometimes having to wait for hours. We are getting around 150 people on an average per day. In order to better serve our guests and enhance their dining experience, we decided to take orders through reservation only.”
Woodfire Oven in Dochi | Photo Credit: Dochi
If you love food and nature, Dochi promises an aesthetic taste for both. Tables can be booked on dochi.in; The starting price of the dishes in the menu is ₹510. It remains open between 11.30 am to 8:30 pm.