Must-see restaurants in Kolkata (Calcutta)

  • Corner Courtyard

    Kolkata (Calcutta)

    This reincarnated 1904 mansion has had its walls artistically splattered with doorknobs, locks and old books, complementing its stylish distressed-look…

  • 6 Ballygunge Place

    Kolkata (Calcutta)

    Housed in a superbly renovated mid-20th-century mansion, this top-notch restaurant serves some of the best Bengali fare in town. If you're confused about…

  • Fire and Ice

    Kolkata (Calcutta)

    Founded and directed by an Italian lady from Naples, Fire and Ice's waiters bring forth real Italian (al dente!) pastas and Kolkata’s best thin-crust…

  • Tamarind

    Kolkata (Calcutta)

    This unpretentious restaurant on one of South Kolkata's main thoroughfares serves a melange of traditional and improvised dishes curated from Kerala,…

  • Arsalan

    Kolkata (Calcutta)

    Consistently popular with locals, this central branch of Kolkata's best biryani house is high ceilinged and attractively modern without being fashion…

  • Kewpies

    Kolkata (Calcutta)

    Kewpie's is a Kolkata gastronomic institution, and dining here feels like a lavish dinner party in a gently old-fashioned home. Reared to perfection by a…

  • Yauatcha

    Kolkata (Calcutta)

    Yauatcha has garnered a solid reputation in town for serving Chinese food of the fine-dining variety. There's a vast range of delicious dumplings on the…

  • Aaheli

    Kolkata (Calcutta)

    Top-notch Bengali cuisine comes to you in traditional brassware amid stylish surroundings at this premium restaurant. The dishes feature authentic…

  • Salt House

    Kolkata (Calcutta)

    This stylish new restaurant puts together a delicious menu of European classics (ravioli, risotto, shepherd's pies, and fish and chips, to name a few),…

  • Oh! Calcutta

    Kolkata (Calcutta)

    Situated within a shopping mall, the shutter-edged mirror ‘windows’, bookshelves, paintings and B&W photographs create a casually upmarket feel for…

  • Banana Leaf

    Kolkata (Calcutta)

    Among the best South Indian restaurants in town. The classic dosa, a paper-thin rice-batter crêpe – layered with ingredients such as cottage cheese and…

  • Gupta Brothers

    Kolkata (Calcutta)

    This iconic institution has consistently treated generations of Kolkata foodies to a delicious repertoire of breakfast and evening snacks such as crispy…

  • Manthan & Songhai

    Kolkata (Calcutta)

    This popular address has two restaurants in one location, with a single kitchen turning out good (if not really gourmet) Chinese food. The upstairs…

  • Dacres Lane

    Kolkata (Calcutta)

    A series of food stalls selling a unique combination of creole cuisine is interspersed by a few somewhat-dodgy bar-restaurants, whose fairy lights add…

  • New Aliah Hotel

    Kolkata (Calcutta)

    This central business district eatery has long been a favourite with journalists and bureaucrats, who congregate here at mealtimes to tuck away hearty…

  • Siddheshwari Ashram

    Kolkata (Calcutta)

    For a really local and inexpensive experience, venture into this archetypal old-fashioned eating house serving excellent Bengali food eaten with the …

  • Mocambo

    Kolkata (Calcutta)

    Mocambo dates back to 1956, but with old-fashioned seats in scalloped red leather, it feels more like a mood-lit 1970s steakhouse. A very loyal following…

  • Peter Cat

    Kolkata (Calcutta)

    This phenomenally popular Kolkata institution is best known for its Iranian-style chelo kebabs (barbequed fingers of spiced, minced meat on buttered rice)…

  • Bhojohori Manna

    Kolkata (Calcutta)

    Each Bhojohori Manna branch in town feels very different, but all feature good-quality Bengali food at sensible prices. The branch on Hindustan Rd is…

  • Santa's Fantasea

    Kolkata (Calcutta)

    This modest operation in a tiny South Kolkata lane serves a brilliant range of seafood such as crab, tuna, pomfret and mackerel. But the hidden ace up its…

  • Monkey Bar

    Kolkata (Calcutta)

    A fancy address in Kolkata's fine-dining scene, this upscale eatery tosses up an imaginative range of fusion and experimental delicacies within its grunge…

  • Pabrai's

    Kolkata (Calcutta)

    This home-style dessert house offers a delightful selection of ice creams in tropical flavours such as muskmelon, tender coconut, fig, watermelon and…

  • Blue Sky Cafe

    Kolkata (Calcutta)

    Wise-cracking staff at this travellers' cafe serve up a vast selection of reliable standbys (including great old-style banana pancakes and milkshakes) at…

  • Mamagoto

    Kolkata (Calcutta)

    The decor is stylish, the vibe is laid-back, the service is friendly, and the food is both delicious and comforting. Part of Kolkata's new wave of Chinese…

  • Raj Spanish Cafe

    Kolkata (Calcutta)

    Popular as a hang-out for medium-term charity volunteers, this unpretentious place serves good coffee, lassis, pancakes, and a range of Italian, Mexican…

  • Eau Chew

    Kolkata (Calcutta)

    This hard-to-find eatery is lodged in a dilapidated building above a petrol station, but city foodies know it as an institution that serves a rare spread…

  • Picadilly Square

    Kolkata (Calcutta)

    This cute six-table cafe with two Victorian-style lampposts and a serving counter is fashioned like a street cart, with flooring designed to feel like a…

  • Gabbar's Bar & Kitchen

    Kolkata (Calcutta)

    This excellent eatery has evolved from what used to be Kolkata's coolest Tex-Mex restaurant. It's now a Bollywood-themed resto-bar, the name being a take…

  • The Bakery

    Kolkata (Calcutta)

    A bakery originally opened on this site in 1830, but the comfortably climate-controlled 21st-century incarnation is a far cry from its predecessor,…

  • Blue & Beyond

    Kolkata (Calcutta)

    The drawcard here is an open-air rooftop terrace with wide views over New Market, plus a small glass-walled cocktail bar that falls somewhere between…

  • Haldiram's

    Kolkata (Calcutta)

    This is a chain cafeteria specialising in North Indian snacks and confections, and is popular with students and young executives who root for their…

  • Amber

    Kolkata (Calcutta)

    This two-hall middle-class restaurant serves reliable Indian food, though the signature brain curry isn’t to everyone’s taste. Of the two dining areas,…

  • KC Das

    Kolkata (Calcutta)

    This bustling Bengali sweet shop claims to have invented the iconic rasgulla (cream-cheese balls flavoured with rose-water) way back in 1868. Try the…

  • Suruchi

    Kolkata (Calcutta)

    This canteen-style eatery run by an NGO committed to women's empowerment serves fabulous fish, meat and vegetarian dishes redolent with homemade flavours…

  • Aminia

    Kolkata (Calcutta)

    Relatively downmarket yet respectable, Aminia’s off-white interior has a vaguely retro-1940s cool feel, the ceiling fans whirring high above a single…

  • Drive Inn

    Kolkata (Calcutta)

    Good-value vegetarian and nonvegetarian fare is served in this modest little part-covered urban garden area that twinkles with fairy lights at night. The…

  • Kookie Jar

    Kolkata (Calcutta)

    This confectionery is a long-time favourite with Kolkata's pastry lovers. Try the myriad forms of chocolate cakes and brownies, or bite into a freshly…

  • Anand

    Kolkata (Calcutta)

    Unbelievably tasty pure-veg dosas are served in this well-kept if stylistically dated family restaurant with octagonal mirror panels and timber strips on…

  • Nahoum Bakery

    Kolkata (Calcutta)

    Once hailed for its confections, cakes and bakes, this heritage bakery is now a shadow of its past but still manages to serve some interesting takeways,…

  • Marco Polo

    Kolkata (Calcutta)

    Stylish deep-brown panels incised with flower patterns are backlit to create a moody yet contemporary atmosphere in this split-level restaurant, which…