Nizams

Nizam's is my first destination whenever I visit Kolkata. The old one lost its heritage due to labour unrest and internal management problem but  adjucent to the old one a new outlay has been opened who has brought back the quality of the authentic Nizam's menu. 

Any beef, mutton or chicken preparation by Nizam's, be it byriani,kabab or chap it is simply excellent.

Service is excellent. Price very reasonable for such an excellent food.

Nizam's is my first destination whenever I visit Kolkata. The old one lost its heritage due to labour unrest and internal management problem but  adjucent to the old one a new outlay has been opened who has brought back the quality of the authentic Nizam's menu. 

Any beef, mutton or chicken preparation by Nizam's, be it byriani,kabab or chap it is simply excellent.

Service is excellent. Price very reasonable for such an excellent food.

In a quaint street of New Market, I stare at the boards of two adjacent eateries, each mentioning ‘Nizams’. The one that says ‘since 1932’ is my destination - the original ‘Nizams’ – the place known to have introduced Calcutta’s famous ‘rolls’ (initially called ‘Nizam rolls’, now popular as ‘kathi rolls’/ ‘calcutta rolls’/ ‘frankies’ / et al) 
The last time I visited, I was with my grandparents. This time I’m with my granddaughter. 
Timeless. Priceless.
One look at the waitstaff and my granddaughter says, “Is this a restaurant or an operation theatre?” Their uniforms are dark green. I remind her of the colour of the dome of a mosque she saw.
Her next bright comment, “Hey…this is the same place that comes in one of the Vodafone ads”
“Plastic chairs”, she moans.
As for my part, I’m still trying to register the fact that more than half a century has passed since my last visit…
Coming back to the décor, it’s functional and no more. A place to sit, a tabletop to keep the food. One look at the price list and you know why. Even otherwise, the food is so good you wouldn’t care where you’re sitting!
The staff is warm and friendly. The service, impeccable.
Chicken roll, heavenly
Mutton roll, heavenly
Egg roll, heavenly
Potato paneer roll, ditto
You don’t want chilli, they’ll do it. 
You want loads, not just lots of onions, they’ll do it. 
The potatoes shouldn’t be mashed but the paneer should be grated? They’ll do it!
They are flawless to the point of being bizzare!
And the bill…less than a dollar per person!!
The world may call these food wraps by any name, for people of my generation, they continue to be, ‘Nizam rolls’.

Once upon a time this restaurant used to be very popular for its kati rolls but sadly now the quality of food and service has gone down.