Food is a major feature of the festival and Kolkata is reputed to be a foodie’s paradise. Sure enough, during a festival this grand you are bound to find the most delicious and incredible variety of Bengali cuisine. From snacks and sweet dishes that only Kolkata is famous for to the Durga Puja special – themed bhog meals that have a little of everything. This Durga Puja you can’t miss any of the irresistible grub out there for every palate. Here’s a definite few restaurants you ought to visit when you’re in the City of Joy for ’pujo‘.
Oh!Calcutta
With money to splurge on eating out during the festival, you won't be disappointed with Oh! Calcutta. This award-winning, fine dining restaurant has now opened up branches in major cities across India. It aims to recreate dishes from traditional old-style Bengali recipes, selected through painstaking research. With an elegant ambiance, this place will surely leave an impression on you.
Bohemian
For something deliciously different, try Bohemian's contemporary Bengali fusion food. The menu has tweaked traditional fare plus a range of innovative global dishes, including many vegetarian options.
Bohemian: Contemporary Fusion Food (Source)
Kasturi
Awarded the best Bengali food by Times Food Guide two years in a row,Kasturi is the pioneer of Dhakai Bengali cuisine in Kolkata. Their cooking is a cut above the curry house norms. The kitchen delivers Bangladeshi food with a degree of panache.
The Bhoj Company
Located in the heart of the city, the small comfortable place will take you to paradise with its Bangladeshi cuisine. The vegetarian portions are good for one person whereas the non-veg portions can be shared by two. There is nothing you will regret about investing in this place.
Dum Biryani (Source: tripadvisor)
Bhojohori Manna
Named after the famous Bengali song rendered by Manna Dey in the 70s, this is a family of restaurants with a difference. The menus are handwritten every day on a whiteboard and are designed keeping in mind the season, the weather, the festivities and of course the raw material available on that given day.
Dessert at Bhojohori Manna (Source: tripadvisor)
Kewpie’s Kitchen
Witnessing a modest beginning from a garage in 1991, the restaurant captured a niche in the market for specialty Bengali restaurants. Their USP now, as was then, is home-cooked authentic Bengali food served in an eclectic ambiance.
Prince
Situated on Mirza Galib Street,this tiny yet pleasingly done-up restaurant will make you feel warm and welcome with its menu, atmosphere and service. This humbly priced place is great for pandal-hoppers during the Pujo to drop in and satiate those hunger pangs.
Vegetarian dishes at Prince (Source: Zomato)
TeroParbon
TeroParbon, located in Hindustan Park, is one of the few authentic Bengali cuisine restaurants in Kolkata.It derives its name from a Bengali saying ’baro mashe tero parbon‘,meaning 13 festivals in 12 months, which refers to the festival-filled life of Bengalis. The restaurant is a good pick for eating out for any Bengali occasion, be it Durga Pujo, Poila Baisakh or any other of the proverbial ‘teroparbon’.
Grand aamish thali at Tero Parbon (Source)
Sholo Ana Bangali
An authentic Bengali restaurant, the interiors of the place resemble that of a village hut of Bengal. Popular for its extremely swift service and reasonable prices, the hub is a smart pick for the festival hoppers.
Although these fine-dining places are popular amongst friends and families during the festival of Durga Puja, the crowd is still big on street food. Biryani, egg, chicken and mutton rolls, chaat, mini-meals, momos, authentic Bengali fish fries, cutlets, chops, singharas (samosa), chowmein, puchka (paanipuri), churmur, ice-cream, sweets and much more are the popular binging items for the pandal-hoppers.
Lead image Courtesy: Kolkata Pages (Source)
