Shillong sits at about 1,500 metres on a plateau of pine ridges, which means the city is built on slopes and almost everything has a view of something. That geography is why the café culture here is older and better than anywhere else in the Northeast, and why looking for rooftop cafes in Shillong is a slightly funny exercise. Half the city is effectively a rooftop.
The other reason is music. Shillong has produced a disproportionate share of India’s rock and blues musicians, and its cafés grew up around that scene rather than around coffee trends. You can still feel it.
Axomor lists 44 restaurants and cafés in Shillong with verified ratings, hours and price bands. These are the ones worth your afternoon.
The Short List
| Place | Rating | Hours | Category |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cafe Seuji | 4.9 | 12:00 PM to 7:00 PM | Café |
| The Press Cafe | 4.8 | 12:00 PM to 8:30 PM | Café |
| Shad Skye | 4.7 | 1:00 PM to 1:00 AM | Bar |
| Tring Tring | 4.7 | 1:00 PM to 1:00 AM | Restaurant |
| Flare Restaurant | 4.7 | 12:30 PM to 9:30 PM | Restaurant |
| ATMOSPHERE | 4.6 | 1:00 PM to 10:00 PM | Restaurant |
| Scotty’s Shillong | 4.6 | 11:00 AM to 8:30 PM | Café |
| Cherrry bean Café | 4.6 | 11:30 AM to 10:00 PM | Café |
| CLICK CAFE | 4.6 | 10:30 AM to 9:00 PM | Café |
| RHCP (Red Hill Cafe Point) | 4.3 | 2:00 PM to 8:45 PM | Café, Coffee Shop |
| The Loft | 4.1 | Open 24 hrs | Café, Chinese |
| Dylan’s Café | 4.0 | 9:30 AM to 11:30 PM | Café, Breakfast |
| ML 05 Cafe | 4.0 | 10:00 AM to 8:30 PM | Café, Breakfast |
| Smoky Falls Tribe Coffee | 4.3 | 11:00 AM to 9:00 PM | Café, Coffee Shop |
The Highest Rated
Cafe Seuji holds 4.9, the top rating in our entire Shillong list, though on a small sample of 15 reviews. Open noon to 7:00 PM, which is a short window, so plan around it.
The Press Cafe at 4.8 from 95 reviews is the better bet on evidence, open noon to 8:30 PM in the ₹₹ band. It is the one to try first if you only have one afternoon.
Flare Restaurant carries 4.7 from nearly 1,500 reviews, the strongest combination of rating and sample size in the city. Open 12:30 PM to 9:30 PM.
For Evenings and Late Nights
Shillong closes earlier than most Indian cities, so the places that stay open matter.
Shad Skye and Tring Tring both run until 1:00 AM, the latest closing times in our directory, and both hold 4.7. Shad Skye is listed as a bar, Tring Tring as a restaurant.
The Loft is listed as open around the clock, which in practice means it is the fallback when everything else has shut. 4.1 from 782 reviews.
Dylan’s Café runs to 11:30 PM and has the second largest review count of any café in the city at over 3,800. Named for the obvious reason, and it is a fixture of the Shillong music scene.
For Coffee Specifically
Smoky Falls Tribe Coffee is Meghalaya grown coffee, 4.3 from 308 reviews, open 11:00 AM to 9:00 PM. Meghalaya coffee is a young industry and this is the place to try it.
RHCP (Red Hill Cafe Point) opens at 2:00 PM and closes at 8:45 PM, 4.3 from 120 reviews.
CLICK CAFE opens earliest of the well rated cafés at 10:30 AM, 4.6 from 252 reviews.
For Breakfast
Shillong is not an early city. Most cafés do not open until 11:00 AM or later, and several do not start until 1:00 PM.
The exceptions: ML 05 Cafe from 10:00 AM, tagged for breakfast, with a large review base of nearly 2,900. Dylan’s Café from 9:30 AM. Extra Butter Pure Veg Restaurant from 8:30 AM at 4.7, which is the highest rated early option in the city.
Local Food, Not Just Coffee
If you have come to Meghalaya, eat Khasi food at least once.
Amazing Khasi restaurant is tagged Northeast Indian and Meghalayan in our data, 4.8 from 36 reviews, open 10:00 AM to 10:00 PM. Khasi cooking runs to pork, rice, black sesame and the local chilli, and jadoh, a rice and pork dish, is the thing to order.
Snow Lion Tibetan Restaurant covers the Tibetan and Nepali side, 4.5, open 1:00 PM to 8:00 PM. Momos in Shillong are a serious matter.
City Hut Family Dhaba has by far the largest review count in the city at almost 11,000, rated 4.4. It is the popular institution rather than the connoisseur pick.
Vegetarian Options
Shillong is easier for vegetarians than its reputation suggests. Jiva veg restaurant holds 4.4 from over 1,900 reviews, open 8:30 AM to 9:30 PM, and Extra Butter at 4.7 from 440 is the higher rated of the two.
What It Costs
Almost every place in our Shillong directory sits in the ₹₹ band. Expect roughly Rs 300 to Rs 600 per person at a café for food and coffee, and Rs 600 to Rs 1,200 for two at a proper restaurant meal.
Shillong is marginally more expensive than Guwahati for eating out, which tracks with everything else in the hills.
When to Go
October to April is the comfortable season. Shillong is pleasant year round by Indian standards, rarely getting properly hot, but monsoon from June to September brings persistent rain and the outdoor seating that makes the city’s cafés good becomes irrelevant.
December and January are cold enough at night to want the indoor tables, and Shillong fills completely over Christmas and New Year. Book accommodation weeks ahead for those dates.
Weekday afternoons are the quiet window. Weekend evenings the popular places fill by 7:00 PM.
Where These Fit in a Trip
Shillong is the base for most Meghalaya itineraries, and you will pass through it at least twice. Use the café afternoons as recovery days between the harder legs, particularly after the Nongriat trek.
Nearby, Umiam Lake is 20 minutes north on the Guwahati road, Elephant Falls is a short drive from the city, and the Don Bosco Museum is the best single introduction to the region’s tribal cultures anywhere in the Northeast.
Our Shillong tourist attractions guide covers what to do around the eating, and the 5 day Meghalaya itinerary shows how Shillong fits into a full trip.
Browse the Full List
These fourteen are a selection. The full directory of restaurants and cafés in Shillong has all 44 places with ratings, hours, cuisines and maps.
If you are also passing through Assam, compare against our list of the best cafés in Guwahati, and browse all Meghalaya destinations for the rest of the state.
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