Restaurant India News: Common Time Opens Second Delhi Café in Basant Lok, Targets Premium Neighbourhood Market

Common Time has opened its second Delhi outlet at Basant Lok Market in Vasant Vihar, strengthening its presence in the capital’s premium café segment. The expansion reflects a measured neighbourhood-led growth strategy rather than a destination-driven model.

Founded by Jaivardhan and Sagar Bhatia of Bhatia Hospitality Group, Common Time was positioned as a contemporary café concept shaped by global travel, design sensibility and everyday coffee consumption habits. Its first outlet in Lodhi Colony established the brand among Delhi’s creative and urban audience. The Basant Lok opening signals a move toward a more residential, routine-driven catchment.

Vasant Vihar, known for its mix of embassies, long-term residents and internationally exposed consumers, offers a customer base that prioritises consistency and product quality over experiential spectacle. The location aligns with the founders’ intent to embed the café into everyday neighbourhood patterns rather than position it as a one-time visit venue.

The new outlet retains the brand’s established design framework, developed in collaboration with RENESA Architecture Studio under Sanchit Arora. The layout features warm materials, minimal surfaces and a centralised espresso bar designed to keep beverage preparation visible to guests. The spatial planning supports extended stays, informal meetings and repeat visits, reflecting a community-oriented retail approach.

On the menu side, the coffee programme focuses on core beverages with selective reinterpretations. All drinks are prepared in-house without syrups. Signature offerings include an iced brown butter latte, Earl Grey flat white and Competition Latte, along with rotating Indian and international single-origin pour-overs. The food menu includes coffee-paired sandwiches such as pesto caprese focaccia and smoked chicken chipotle ciabatta, in addition to viennoiserie and desserts including garlic cheese croissants and layered carrot cake. The assortment is structured to encourage habitual consumption and repeat footfall.

In line with its first outlet, the Basant Lok café also integrates a retail component featuring curated merchandise, fragrances and coffee tools. This extension into lifestyle retail reflects a broader strategy to increase per-customer spend and brand recall beyond food and beverage.

Jaivardhan Bhatia, Co-Founder, shares, “Common Time was always imagined as a neighbourhood ritual rather than a destination. Vasant Vihar represents the kind of community where people value consistency, craft, and familiarity. With this café, we’re continuing to build spaces that become part of everyday life, places you return to without needing a reason.”

The company has outlined further domestic expansion into Mumbai and Bengaluru, followed by international entries in Sri Lanka and Nepal later this year. The Basant Lok launch indicates that Common Time’s growth model will continue to focus on high-density urban pockets with strong repeat potential rather than high-visibility flagship formats.

With two operational outlets in Delhi and expansion plans underway, Common Time is positioning itself within India’s evolving premium café market through neighbourhood integration, controlled scaling and retail-driven revenue diversification.