“Come on in, we are deaf and mute and we love having conversations.”
“Your foot-tapping tells me, the music here is great,” was the line written on the tshirt of one of the workers that touched our hearts the moment we read it.
While any cafe is recognized via its ambience and the food quality; light bulbs, placards, and sign language are what explicate an extraordinary cafe serving food with love since 2015. We are talking about ‘Echoes’, a restaurant that is run by specially-abled staff – those who are speech and hearing impaired. The staff communicates seamlessly with the smiling gestures and their creative ways. Located in the Hudson Lane, GTB Nagar, this restaurant is a must-visit place to gain a heartwarming experience.
FOOD SERVED WITH A SOCIAL PURPOSE
Three friends who wanted to pursue their dream that would reflect the vision of a better society. That’s how they came up with the idea of a restaurant that would serve delicious food with a social purpose. Starting in 2015, this restaurant is dearer to college-going students for its budget-friendly delightful food. The refreshing vibes of the restaurant are enhanced by the music and delightful ambience.
At no point, you will feel that there is a hindrance in communication with the staff or any such sort of thing. The moment you enter the cafe, a smiling face welcomes you with an open heart.
THE CREATIVE WAY TO COMMUNICATE
The staff of Echoes has its creative ways to communicate with you. Various things tickle your curiosity and awake the child inside you. Let’s take you on a short tour of the cafe:
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Cue Cards
The restaurant has special cue cards placed on each table for the customers to convey their message to the staff. These cue cards have instructions written on them like ‘Fork’, ‘Spoon’, ‘Knife’, ‘Clear The Table’, ‘Bring The Menu’, ‘Pack the Food’ and many others. With these cue cards, the staff can understand your needs and cater to the service. If you want your bill, just show the ‘Bring the Bill’ cue card to the staff and soon they come up with your bill, it is that easy.
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The Switch and the Light
When you go there, you’ll notice the switch button at each table. Since the staff of the cafe can’t hear, by pressing these buttons you can call them to your table. These buttons light up the bulb that indicates the staff that they are called and it also specifies the particular table to which they have to go.
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Menu and its Code
To order the appetizing food, the staff gives you a writing pad to note down your order. You must be thinking about what is so special about this. Here it is! Special codes are assigned to each food item. Let’s say you want to order Momos, there are different codes for different types of Momos. M1 for Steam Momos, M2 for Tandoori Momos and so on. So just choose the code for Momos that you wish to order and write it down on the writing pad. Mention the dish code, quantity and customization (if any) and wait for the delicious food to arrive at your table.
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Food
Echoes’ food is scrumptious, to say the least, and loved by students. Being nearest to the North campus, students of Delhi University are often seen here. The cafe serves finger-licking tastes in Italian, Mexican, Chinese, and Continental cuisine. The must-have dishes that are recommended by many people are Tandoori Momos, White Sauce Pasta, Nachos, Ferraro Shake and Kitkat Shake.
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Ambience
As soon as you enter this restaurant, you will feel the positive vibes of the staff. Their smiling faces make your visit worth it. Apart from the vibes, the ambience of Echoes is so beautiful that you will fall in love with this place. The picture-perfect interiors enhance the beauty of this place. The interior, the signboard and the sweet gestures of the staff make this cafe an exhilarated place.
Echoes makes you realise that language is not necessary for communication. It is not just a cafe that serves mouth-watering food but is an emotion for everyone who visits it.
‘Talk with your eyes and speak with your hands’ as the speech is simply too overrated. Do you feel the same? If not, visit the restaurant, experience a world that is different yet so similar and you will feel the same.
