Afternoon tea with cupcakes won’t be the same anymore.
Mrs. Magpie, the cute little cafe brand that launched on 570, Lake Terrace Road, is bidding farewell after more than a decade.
The cafe that held a whimsical charm with its Alice in Wonderland and Charlie & the Chocolate Factory vibe, held a captive customer base, and was a pioneer in Kolkata’s cafe boom era.
What spurred the decision to wrap up? “I've been wanting to wrap up for a while. After Baba (my father) passed away, my heart wasn’t in it anymore,” confides Sohini Basu aka Mrs Magpie.
Then came her discovery of intolerance to lactose, gluten and yeast. “The joy of developing recipes has diminished. I’m having to relearn eating. I want food to be a part of my life but not the main part anymore,” says the Le Cordon Bleu alumnus.
A cosy corner of the cafe, that held a whimsical charm
So what’s next? Sohini’s calling lies in Goa, where she spent much of last year excitedly building up her Airbnb villa in Velha (next to Assagao in north Goa). “It’s a four-bedroom Airbnb villa with a pool; five mins away from all the restaurants and still private,” she says. Doing up the space has been enjoyable for the curly-haired girl with magic fingers. “I am thinking of stepping into interiors. I enjoyed doing up the villa though I probably need formal training,” she grins.
[Click here to see her Airbnb listing]
For Sohini, opening Mrs. Magpie in 2012 wasn’t a piece of cake… or cupcake! It began as a celebration cake-focused brand “but the cafe sort of took over”. After the very popular nestling off Vivekananda Park, Mrs. Magpie flew down to Kasba in 2015 where it operated as a bistro for a year. Then in 2016, the cafe brand flew to Salt Lake in a spacious setting, and finally opened in Santoshpur in 2021.
Mrs. Magpie’s iconic hot chocolate, with different toppings
Fans expressed their sadness online. “A big part of December’s essence is the hot chocolate you guys make. Please stay,” wrote a loyalist on the brand’s Instagram page. Another lamented,, “So heartbroken. I had so many SO SO SO MANY memories here. A part of my life will be gone”.
However, fret not, there’s sweet news to end with. Sohini is planning to host workshops in Kolkata where she will generously share the recipes of Mrs. Magpie. “It’s like my giving back to our loyal customers. They can keep the recipes even if Magpie’s shut!”
The iconic hot chocolate recipe? Yes, that’s included too.
