01MustPark Street
Peter Cat
ORDER
Chelo kebab
The Chelo Kebab, buttered rice under skewers, is a Calcutta rite. Dim, old-world, always a wait. Order it, always.
vouch
vouchforit.club/kolkata
Sweet Tooth
Where Calcutta eats, and argues about it
15 spots · Kolkata
Continental
2 spots02Park Street
Mocambo
ORDER
Devilled crab, chicken a la Kiev
Frozen in gorgeous 1970s amber. Devilled crab, chicken a la Kiev, prawn cocktail. Order the old classics.
Breakfast
1 spot01Park Street
Flurys
ORDER
English breakfast, rum ball
The 1927 tearoom Calcutta breakfasts at. The English breakfast, a rum ball to go. Touristy, still charming.
Kebabs
1 spot01MustNew Market
Nizam's
ORDER
Mutton kathi roll
Where the kathi roll was invented, since 1932. Paratha, egg, spiced kebab, wrapped in paper. The original.
Biryani
1 spot01MustMullick Bazar
Shiraz
ORDER
Mutton biryani with aloo
Calcutta biryani means a fat potato and egg in fragrant rice, and Shiraz does it best. Mutton, always.
Adda
1 spot01MustCollege Street
Indian Coffee House
ORDER
Infusion and cutlets
Not for the food, for the ceiling fans, the shouting, the adda. An infusion, a cutlet, an argument that never ends.
Bengali
3 spots01Shyambazar
Golbari
ORDER
Kosha mangsho
The kosha mangsho that stains your fingers black and your memory forever. Dark, intense. A north Calcutta must.
02Elgin
Kewpie's
ORDER
The Bengali thali
A Bengali home turned tiny restaurant, and it feels like it. The thali, shukto to chutney, like a Bengali mum makes.
03Ballygunge
Bhojohori Manna
ORDER
Daab chingri, kosha mangsho
The reliable Bengali standby. Daab chingri (prawns in a coconut), kosha mangsho, everyday classics done right.
Street
2 spots01Esplanade
Anadi Cabin
ORDER
Mughlai porota
The mughlai porota, egg-and-keema stuffed fried bread, is the messy Calcutta classic. Cheap, greasy, unbeatable.
02Shobhabazar
Allen Kitchen
ORDER
Prawn cutlet
A north Calcutta hole-in-the-wall famous for one thing: the giant prawn cutlet, fried to order. Go early, they run out.
Sweets
4 spots01MustEsplanade
K.C. Das
ORDER
Rosogolla, baked sandesh
Where the rosogolla was invented, full stop. Spongy, syrup-soaked, straight from the tin. Still the standard.
02Bhowanipore
Balaram Mullick
ORDER
Baked rosogolla, chocolate sandesh
The sweet shop pushing Bengali mishti forward. Baked rosogolla, the chocolate sandesh. Old name, quietly inventive.
03Hedua
Nakur Chandra
ORDER
Jol bhora sandesh
Since 1844, the sandesh benchmark. The jolbhora, a syrup-filled surprise inside, is the one to get. Tiny, revered, cash.
04College Street
Paramount
ORDER
Daab sherbet
A 1918 sherbet shop that survived everything. The daab (green coconut) sherbet on a College Street afternoon. A tradition.
That's vouch's taste. Yours is worth a home too.
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