Barista Lavazza is the exclusive seller of Lavazza brand coffee in Myanmar and wants to provide this city with an alternative social venue than the frequented bar-restaurants currently available. Peppering the exterior of this newly-renovated two-storey house are the words “The Real Coffee Experience.” The interior how- ever, proves to be much more. Serving up a full array of western and Indian-inspired dishes, cakes, pastries – and soon – beer and wine, Barista Lavazza has a lot more to offer than just comfy cushions and finely-made espresso. 
ATMOSPHERE
On the inside, vibrant ‘pop’ colors and modern design give this venue a lively and awak- ened feel; no hiding in dark corners at this venue, except perhaps in one of the two VIP rooms available on either floor. With seating for 100+ patrons across two floors, it’s comfortably spacious with plenty of room to spare. Upstairs, a raucous group could easily hold a party, while downstairs, quiet and unassuming customers sip on one of their cappuccinos reading the latest MYANMORE review. An outdoor patio promises star-lit seating during the dry season. There are plans for a pool table and dart-board, to give those of us with nothing to do, something to do.
RECOMMENDATION
We were most impressed with their Indian-inspired sandwiches. Their Nutrela Sand- wich (not Nutella) was a knock-out —a masala-spiced soya filling with sautéed bell peppers between multigrain bread, I couldn’t get enough of it. Their Chicken Tikka sandwich was also quite satisfying. Some of their other western dishes (Pizza and Pas- ta) felt a little less inspired, but perhaps that’s because we were just blown away by all the curry and masala flavour that had just filled our mouths. Rest assured, as the exclusive seller of Lavazza coffee in Myanmar, they make a killer cappuccino— complete with the elegant leaf-shaped fold capitulating the foam. Fur- thermore, it’s nice that they haven’t flooded their menu with an array of superfluous coffee choices that seem to be the norm with coffee shops today. They make a great espresso, and they’re not going to cover that up with loads of caramel and whipped cream. Thank heavens.
PRICE
A meal with drinks easily falls under the 10,000Ks mark, making this an easy place to come and sit for a bite on a regular basis. A shot of espresso will run you 1,500Ks and a cappuccino or latte sell for 2,300Ks—easy money for a morning wake-up call done correctly.
