Kolkata (Calcutta) Restaurants

Nizams

#3 of 205 things to do in Kolkata (Calcutta)

#3 of 205 things to do in Kolkata (Calcutta)

4 reviews | Write a review

Good for: food, service, atmosphere, Budget Travellers

Not good for: atmosphere, food, service

  • Address
    • 23/24 Hogg St BBD Bagh
  • Hours
    • 12:00-23:00

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Lonely Planet review for Nizams

Bengal's trademark fast-food is the kati roll. No, that's nothing like a bread-roll. Take a paratha-roti, fry it with a one-sided coating of egg then fill with sliced onions, chilli and your choice of stuffing - typically curried chicken, grilled meat or paneer (unfermented cheese). Roll it up in a twist of paper and it's ready to eat. The classic, recently relaunched, 1932 roll house is Nizams, with faintly Tin-Tin-esque cartoon décor.

 

Traveller reviews for Nizams (4)

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    Roll Royalty

    rudrasg79 recommends this,

    Nizam's Calcutta has to be one of my most favorite childhood memories. In the days before Glitzy malls and movie multiplexes, New Market was the place to go shopping and New Empire and the Lighthouse along with the Globe were the coolest movie theaters in town. Walking distance from all of these and in the heart of pre-globalization Calcutta's movie district was Nizam's. A daytrip to the area with my parents was never complete without lunch at Nizam's. Nizam's is roll royalty, the real mccoy, the first, the pioneer, the peerless. Not only did it give birth to the most common street food of Calcutta, it always stayed a class apart from all the rolls in town. My father in his heyday could have eaten up to 13 of these rolls, my personal best was 7 and i was 13 years old at the time. Unfortunately by the time I was in college Nizam's had shut its doors. Today living continents away from Calcutta, i regretfully count that it has probably been 13 years since I had a Nizam's roll. But i hear that they have opened up again and guess what's the first place I am going to eat when I go back to Calcutta again. I am wrapping up this review since its late at night and i need to go to bed otherwise i could have just gone and on and on about how good Nizam's used to be. Hope it's still as good. Definitely try it if you can.

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    Nizam's is excellent

    kazinasimahmed recommends this,

    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.

    Good for: atmosphere, food, Budget Travellers, service

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    1930s resurrected

    naani_naana recommends this,

    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’.

    Good for: food, service

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    Once upon a time..............

    suvochat does not recommend this,

    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.

    Not good for: atmosphere, food, service

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