My new go-to work spot in Srithanu: ETHOS, and why the purple pancakes are worth the hype

OK so I'm aware "new cafe recommendation" is not a groundbreaking blog topic, but ETHOS has genuinely become part of my weekly routine since I finally went, and I get asked for cafe recommendations constantly, so here we are. 😅

Where it is and what it is

ETHOS Wholefood Cafe & Shala sits just off the main coastal road in Srithanu, about 50 metres toward the temple — right in the middle of what's basically become the island's yoga village. It's part cafe, part yoga and pilates shala, part general wellness/community hub. The garden out front is the real draw for me: proper tropical shade, filtered light through the leaves, the kind of spot where you sit down for a coffee and somehow two hours pass.

The food

The purple pancakes are the thing everyone mentions first, and yes, they're good — not just Instagram-good, actually good, with real texture. Smoothie bowls are solid too, and the homemade lunch menu changes but has consistently been the kind of food I actually want after a rainy-season afternoon rather than something I'm forcing down because it's "healthy."

Working from there

It's genuinely laptop-friendly, which isn't a given at every wellness-adjacent cafe on this island (some of them very obviously want you to finish your smoothie and leave). Wifi's held up fine for video calls in my experience, and nobody's hovered wondering why I've been nursing one oat latte for three hours.

Worth knowing before you go

• Open Wednesday–Saturday and Monday–Tuesday, 9am–6pm — closed Sundays, so don't plan a Sunday work session around it like I did once
• They run up to 30 yoga/pilates/breathwork classes a week if you want to combine a coffee stop with an actual class
• It gets a genuine local crowd, not just tourists — good sign for a place, in my experience

Not sponsored, not affiliated, just a genuinely good find in a village that already has a lot of decent cafes competing for the same crowd.