The first venue most musicians in Shillong play and the city's spiritual home for live music. Cafe Shillong sits on the first floor of a converted house in Laitumkhrah and runs acoustic sets most weekend evenings — covers of Dylan, Hendrix, and Pink Floyd alongside Khasi-language originals.
The food is honest cafe fare — sandwiches, pasta, decent coffee, local beer — and the room is small enough that you are never more than a few metres from whoever is playing. The walls are a mural of every band that has ever performed; arrive early on a Saturday or queue outside.