The café, named after Cuba’s Fidel Castro, offers a perfect opportunity to soak up some sun while chatting with friends on a lazy winter afternoon. Something that Tanushree Dey, a Literature student, does regularly. “You can find me here from morning till evening. I run here after every class,” she says. Her friend Suraiya agrees. “After eating at the other three canteens in Jamia, this comes as a major relief,” she says.

At a time when Delhi University students are filling RTIs for cleaner canteens, the Castro Café has a dozen men in caps and plastic gloves cleaning up the place. “We maintain the utmost hygiene. You can never fall sick from our food,” says Mayank Tandon, the manager. The café has been set up in association with the Fast Trax food chain that has similar cafes in five schools of Delhi.

However, cleanliness and comfort at the café come at a price. A cup of coffee costs Rs 5, a parantha is for Rs10 while a masala dosa costs Rs 28. Taxes are extra.

Yet, says Gulshan, a 3rd year science student, the prices have ensured that only those who want to eat come here. “Unlike the other shady cafes, you will not find any leering boys here,” she says.