Bright interiors, big divans, sling chairs, psychedelic lights and soothing music ? the perfect setting for a lounge bar. But here, you?ll have to settle for Caf? Latte instead of cocktails, Mocha instead of martini. For, coffee chains are whipping up a heady mix of lounge and light bites.

With coffee shops emerging as a key chillout zone for the youth, Caf? Coffee Day, Coffee Pai Caf? and Caffeine are all joining the lounge list in Calcutta. Caf? Coffee Day is eyeing a March launch for its Lake Road lounge, spread over 1,500 sq ft. Serving vegetarian and non-vegetarian snacks, along with coffee and coffee-based mocktails, the setting and the ambience will be lounge-like, with the d?cor dominated by divans and sling chairs.

?We want to prove that coffee, which is not as expensive as alcohol, can also be had in the plush environs of a lounge,? reveals a spokesperson for the chain, with nine outlets in Calcutta.

The first lounge venture in Hauz Khas, Delhi, is doing very well, adds the spokesperson for Caf? Coffee Day. The youth destination in south Calcutta will even have a raised platform for fashion shows and live music.

New Alipore is the stage for Coffee Pai Caf??s lounge debut in the Bengali New Year.

?The existing Coffee Pai outlets are catering to the masses. We want to create a niche market and make coffee a lifestyle drink. Lounges are a hit with the classes. Hence, a lounge cafe,? explains Naveen Pai, director of the Coffee Pai Caf? chain.

The absence of alcohol and the live kitchen should be big draws. ?It?s not the alcohol but the comfort component that makes a lounge. We want to give the lounge lizards a non-alcoholic option,? adds Pai.

In the live kitchen, ?make your own dishes? will be the food flavour, with introduction of cigars and fresh fruit juices also on the cards.

But Caffeine on Elgin Road is beating the two to the lounge by converting its first floor into 1,100 sq ft of Idle Wild, by the first week of March.

?The basic concept behind the lounge is the relaxation factor. We are trying to provide the right mood but with soft beverages,? says Rajdeep Ghoshal, owner of Caffeine.

The place will boast low tables and soft leather sofas, beanbags and cushions. No alcohol please, but flavoured hookahs, coffee concoctions and coffee mocktails will do just fine here, with a range of kebabs and Thai starters as appetisers.