4.9 stars · around 237 Google reviews · about ₹200–400 for two · roughly 9 am–9 pm, listings show it closed on Tuesdays · Upper Dharamkot, near Shalom Backpackers. Ratings checked August 2026.
There is a great deal of hummus in Dharamkot. There is exactly one place doing benne dosas and Mangalore buns, and this is it.
3 Trees runs a tight Karnataka menu rather than the sprawling everything-menu most hill cafés default to, and the focus pays off in a way you can read straight off the reviews. People do not just say the food was nice; they name specific regional dishes — akki roti, chitranna, thatte idli, paddu, mysore pak. When a café with a few hundred reviews produces that spread of dish names, it means guests are ordering well beyond the obvious and coming back to work through the menu.
What to actually order
Start with the Mysore masala dosa. The red chutney smeared inside is the entire point of the dish and it is done properly here — hot, garlicky, not a token smear. It is comfortably the most-praised thing on the menu.
If you are in for breakfast, the akki roti is the more interesting choice: a soft rice-flour flatbread you will not find anywhere else in the village, and a genuinely different thing to eat at altitude. Mangalore buns — slightly sweet, made with banana — work beautifully alongside the filter coffee.
And get the filter coffee. It is served the right way, in a tumbler and dabara, and after a week of instant sachets in the mountains it lands like a small miracle. Chef Sahil cooks it all; reviewers mostly call him "Sahil anna", and that familiarity tells you what kind of place this is.
The vibe
Small, calm, with a bookshelf you are welcome to actually use. It is pet-friendly. This is a sit-and-read café rather than a stay-till-midnight one — it closes around 9 pm and the energy is quiet well before that. If you want the kind of café where you can hear the person opposite you, this is the address.
Getting there
It sits in Upper Dharamkot near Shalom Backpackers, and the last stretch is a genuine climb — you will find it referenced both as Utopia Road and as the Flugler hostel road depending on which listing you read, which is very Dharamkot. Ask for Shalom Backpackers and you will be pointed the right way. Allow 15 minutes uphill from the Dharamkot main street.
Honest drawbacks
Two things come up. First, the climb: the final stretch is steep, and there is no way around that. Second, a handful of reviewers found the service brisk — not rude, but businesslike and not especially warm. It is a small operation and the kitchen is clearly the priority. If you want to be fussed over, this is not the place.
One more practical note: several listings show the café closed on Tuesdays. Hill-café hours drift with the season, so if you are making a special trip up for the dosas, check before you climb.
Know before you go
- Go for breakfast or early lunch. Dosas are at their best once the pan has been running a while but before the crowd arrives.
- Closes around 9 pm — this is a daytime plan, not a dinner one.
- Possibly closed Tuesdays. Confirm first.
- Inexpensive. Two people eat well for well under ₹500.
If it's closed, or full
If it is a Tuesday, or the climb has beaten you, Mysore Café is the other South Indian kitchen in Upper Dharamkot — smaller, cheaper, and strong on podi idli rather than dosa. Between the two you can eat South Indian in Dharamkot for a week without repeating yourself.
For a coffee-and-book afternoon rather than a meal, The Birdhouse Cakery is the nearer option, and Da'Wiara is the one to walk down to if what you actually want is a properly brewed cup.
Read the full roundup: the best cafés in Dharamkot. Staying a while? Our Dharamkot workation guide covers stays, wifi and monthly budgets — and if you are eating your way across the valley, see where to eat in McLeod Ganj.
← All blog postsQuestions, answered
What should I order at 3 Trees Café in Dharamkot?+
The Mysore masala dosa is the signature — the red chutney inside is the point of the dish. For breakfast, the akki roti (rice-flour flatbread) is the more unusual choice and you will not find it elsewhere in the village. Mangalore buns with filter coffee are the other classic order. The filter coffee itself, served in a tumbler and dabara, is worth the climb on its own.
Is 3 Trees Café closed on any day of the week?+
Several listings show 3 Trees closed on Tuesdays, with usual hours of roughly 9 am to 9 pm. Café hours in Upper Dharamkot shift with the season and the crowd, so if you are making a special trip up for the dosas it is worth confirming before you climb.
Where is 3 Trees Café in Dharamkot?+
In Upper Dharamkot, near Shalom Backpackers. Different listings describe the approach as Utopia Road or the Flugler hostel road; asking locally for Shalom Backpackers is the reliable way to find it. It is about 15 minutes uphill from the Dharamkot main street and the last stretch is steep.