Food Guide – Durga Puja 2019

Bengalis believe in feasting more than fasting, especially during the grand celebration of Durga Puja. This 5-day festival marks that time of the year when you head to different restaurants with your loved ones to relish delicious delicacies and memorable moments. But with pandal hopping, festivities and jam-packed schedules queued, there is hardly any time to find out about special menus at different eateries. So to provide you with some lipsmacking offerings by the best places in town, we have listed some Kolkata-based restaurants and their Durga Puja specials of 2019, which would ensure a memorable experience full of exotic food only.

Chilekotha: Chilekotha has gifted the City of Joy with some indelible loving moments accompanied by some nostalgic and unprecedented culinary excellence. Located in Gariahat, the interior of Chilekotha is designed in a retro-style Kolkata to hold back the heritage of Kolkata. This 50 seater restaurant brings to plate an amalgamation of authentic and progressive Bengali cuisines, and fusion food with a hint of “Bangla’r Moshla”, opens the door for people from all walks of life. Not only this, but they are also ready to surprise the patrons of Kolkata with the most delicious and meticulously curated Durga Puja Special Menu, which offers a variety of delicacies.

This special menu comprises of buffet menus comprising of lipsmacking Bengali delicacies for each day of Pujo. The Pujo menu starts on “Sashti”, they present us with their first range of buffet named as “Aaharey Bodhon”. This Sashti Buffet comprises of Gondhoraj Ghol as their welcome drink. In starters, they offer us Lonka Bhapey Murgi and Chana Motorshutir Ball and in the main course, they offer us with Bhaja Maslar Aloordum, Begun Basanti, Pabda Shorsher Roshona, kalo Bhuna Mutton and many more items.

On “Saptami”, they present us with their “Swadey Saptami” buffet. This buffet comprises another refreshing welcome drink, Aam Panna with two delicious starters – Gondhoraj Chicken and Corn Cutlet. And finally, the main course comprises of dishes such as Potoler Dolma, Chingri Malaikari, Doi Pona, Mutton Dakbungalow and many more scrumptious items.

On the third day, Chilekotha brings its “Bhoger Ashtami”. This buffet comprises of Chanch, a traditional and rejuvenating welcome drink with Muchmuchey Chingri and Fritter Basket as starters. In the main course, they have delicacies like Bhuna Khichuri, Labra, Kanchalonka Dhoneypata Aloordum, Katla Macher Rezala, Thakurbarir Mangsho, and many such dishes that are worth trying. On the fourth day, they have on offer “Oitijhyer Nabami”. This buffet menu comprises of Tok Mishti Shorbot with Fish Orly and Potato Cheese Ball as starters. In the main course, we can indulge in dishes like Dhakai Fulkopi, Dhakai Bhuna Chingri, Mutton Tehri and many more delicious items.

On the final day of the festive season, Chilekotha brings us their special “Chetepute Bijoya” buffet. This one presents us with a delicious and cooling welcome drink with our all-time favourite Fish Fry and Gondhoraj Chicken as starters. In the main course, the buffet offers us

Dalpoori, Hing diye Aloor dum, Dhokar Dalna, Basanti Polau, Dhoneypata Kanchalonka Murgi, and many more sumptuous Bengali specialties.

And, no the menu does not end here. Chilekotha also has a separate a la carte menu that comprises a wide variety of options in Starters, Rice, Dal and a section specially meant for the fish lovers. Not only this, but they also have on offer some luscious Mutton and Chicken delicacies with some refreshing and cooling beverages. Some of the must try items from the a la carte menu are Hansher Mangsho Kosha, Topshe Fry, Mutton Dakbanglow, Murgi r Dakbanglow and Chitol Muittha. Along with these, you can also treat your taste-buds with Chilekotha’s traditional Bengali sinful desserts to make you feel content and cheerful after a delicious meal.

Where: Chilekotha

Address: 7/2B, Dover Lane, Ballygunge, Kolkata – 700029

Tenure: From 4th October to 8th October, 2019

Timings: All day open (The Outlet Opens at 12 Noon)

Price of the Buffet: Rs. 1260/- (including GST) Rs. 840/- (including GST) (for kids) Price Range for the A la carte section: From Rs. 80/- to Rs. 600/- (+taxes)

Karma Kettle: Amidst the flurry of crowded streets in the heart of Kolkata, it can be surprisingly hard to find a quaint and cozy place where you can just sit down and enjoy your cup of tea, without being distracted by the cacophony of the city. But it’s not only about this, if your heart wants a break from the monotonous places in town and wants to have an experience like never before, then Karma Kettle is the right place to drop in at this Puja. Karma Kettle, who has been winning our hearts for the last few years with its Ballygunge outlet, started its journey with its tea-room where one can relish their favorite cup of tea with every bit of calmness and has now recently opened its new outlet at Alipore, which is designed more like a French cafe.

Karma Kettle has also successfully managed to impress the folks of Kolkata with its friendly staff and most importantly, with its upgraded offerings. You can indulge in their wholesome All Day Breakfast Menu, A Kid’s Menu, High Tea Menu, where they present us with some of the luxurious Combos like The Burra Saheb, Gora Saheb, the Kanchenjunga High Tea Set and the Big Ben Express High Tea Sets. The Alipore café also offers us some extremely flavorsome delicacies such as Fresh Summer Berry Pizza, the Vietnamese Spring Roll, the Vada Pav Slider, and the Mexican Bean Slider to name a few. Not only this, but you can also rejuvenate yourself with their various kinds of teas such as Darjeeling Tea, White Tea, Oolong Tea, Matcha Tea, Kolkata Special Teas, Iced Teas and many more. The teas here are not only special but they are also the unique traditional ones bounded together with the freshness of spices, fruits, and flowers.

Apart from these, you can avail some of the other refreshing beverages from the menu too. Out of all the places in the town, this particular one sums up for a perfect location where one can indulge in a steaming cuppa along with some mouth-watering nibbles and make your festive season all the more unique and memorable.

Where: Karma Kettle

Address: 17/1D, Near State Bank of India, Alipore, Kolkata – 700027 4, Swinhoe St, Ekdalia, Ballygunge, Kolkata, West Bengal 700019

Timings: 9 AM to 9 PM (Alipore outlet) 12 Noon to 8 PM (Ballygunge outlet) (Tuesday to Sunday)

Price Range: Rs. 60/- to Rs. 600/- (+taxes)

Ocean Grill: Ocean Grill has opened the doors to “seafood-lovers” of Kolkata to dive into the world of seafood and explore the taste beyond the continent. It has given a chance to go far off the stereotypical food and stimulate the taste buds with the best creative mixture of exotic and Indian seafood.The interior of the restaurant exhibits an exotic oceanic look with a pinch of elegance. Be it the Octopus lamps hanging from the ceiling or the Shark shaped décor in the wall, it never fails to create the aura of the large expanse of the sea. Every wall of the restaurant bears unique sets of fish patterns that give the diners a thrilling ambience and the fish tanks filled with imported fishes add up an eccentric feeling to the diners’ experience.

With this, they are also introducing their special Durga Puja menu with a buffet full of mouth-watering items from Bengali, North Indian, Chinese and Italian cuisines. From Soups to Salads to Starters to wide options in Main course and Desserts, this buffet has something for everyone! You can indulge in dishes like Dahi ke Sholay, Mutton Shami Kebab, Laccha Onion Salad, Chef’s Special Pasta, Baked Boondi, and many more sumptuous delicacies. There are some traditional Bengali accompaniments too such as Jhurjhure Aloo Bhaja, Begun Bhaja, Aamsotto Khejur Chutney and many more! Voted as the best buffet in Kolkata by Zomato users in 2014, Ocean Grill also brings us a special a la carte menu, especially for the festive season.

The a la carte menu too comprises of a wide number of dishes. From soups to salads to starters to main course, the menu has everything we need and crave in this festival. Along with these, there are some Continental Specialties in the menu too. Not only this, the menu also presents us with some of Ocean Grill’s Specialties such as their Seafood Platter, Fillets, Whole Fishes and many more delicious items. And then finally you can give a sweet ending to your festive feast by indulging in some of the specials desserts of this menu such as Profiteroles, Firni, Gulab Jamun with Ice cream, etc which are surely going to make you fall in love with the place.

Where: Ocean Grill

Address: Ocean Grill, 1st Floor, Infinity Benchmark, Block EP & GP, Opp. RDB Cinemas, Sector V, Salt Lake, Kolkata – 700091 Tenure: 4 th October to 8th October, 2019

Timings: 12 Noon to 11 PM Price of the

Buffet: Rs. 1199/- (+taxes)

Price Range of the a la carte menu: From Rs. 50/- to Rs. 1599/- (+taxes)

Aajisai: Aajisai, the restaurant, which is located on the fifth floor of Quest Mall, Kolkata already won the hearts of the people by its fully automated Sushi Conveyor Belt along with the Live Teppanyaki counter. Over the last one and a half years, it has been flattering the gastronomes of Kolkata with a hand full of experience than never before. Aajisai is always prominent when it comes to giving surprises to the patrons, be it for their Japanese delicacies, or their rich and classy ambience or their unique and delicious special festive menus. Yes, Aajisai is also in the race with its Durga Puja Special Menu which will surprise the patrons with the best of Japanese flavours!

The Durga Puja Special menu comprises of 5 delicious items such as Omu Rice (egg wrapped fried rice with vegetables), Amazu Chicken, where you can indulge in some grilled boneless chicken marinated in sweet vinegar and cooked in chef’s special soy sauce, Wasabi Prawns, (deep-fried prawns marinated in wasabi and tossed with parsley flavour mayonnaise), Vegetable Harumaki, which is a Japanese style vegetable spring roll and last but not the least, all of ours favourite Japanese delicacy, Chicken Dengaku Roll (Sushi), where you’ll be served with a Chicken with miso paste roll, covered with tanuki.

Where: Aajisai

Address: Aajisai, 5th floor, Quest Mall, Ballygunge, Kolkata- 700017

Tenure: 3 rd October to 8th October, 2019

Timings: 12 Noon – 11 PM Price

Range: Rs. 350/- to Rs. 900/- (+taxes)

Bune – The Coffee Room: A layback place, covering around 800 sqft area, with a homely atmosphere and comfort food for the soul is what Bune-The Coffee Room gifts us. This cozy “Coffee Room” in town, located in the by-lanes of Southern Part of Kolkata gives you the perfect space and ambience to spend time with your loved ones, or yourself. The place is divided into three zones and is softly lit that would soothe down your soul, creating a deeper emotional connection with your near and dear ones. The food has also been designed to be comfort food that is served fast and filling. So what’s a better place than this to spend your festive days?

The menu here offers us an assortment of dishes to choose from. To be more precise, it has something for each one of us. From wholesome Salads to delicious nibbles to the perfect main course, this place presents us with all those delicacies which we would love to indulge in. Some of the must-try items from each section of the menu are Roasted Lemon Chicken Salad, Fish Finger with Tartar Sauce, Chicken Momos, Pasta available in both Penne and Spaghetti, Chilly Chicken with fried rice and many more. You can even go for their minimeals – Fish & Chips with Tartar Sauce, which undoubtedly would leave us tongue-tied.

Where: Bune – The Coffee Room

Address: 14A, Lake View Road, Ballygunge, Kolkata, West Bengal 700029

Tenure: From 28th September to 29th October

Timings: 1 PM to 10 PM 12 PM to 2 AM (from 1st October to 7th October)

Price Range: From Rs. 69/- to Rs. 329/- (+taxes)

American Waffle House: American Waffle House started its journey from 96 sqft shop with two stool seating arrangement which currently has six outlets in Kolkata. They intentionally picked up locations for their outlets which are far from the hustle-bustle of the city to offer their patrons an ambiance which is peaceful and relaxing. All the outlets give us the feeling that we are not clustered among the mass. Not only this, but the waffles made here are the most unique and authentic, with ingredients as waffle toppings which are scientifically proven as stress-buster.

As we know that desserts are not only a delightful conclusion to a heavy meal, rather it often works as an ultimate mood booster. So of course after a scrumptious meal, the only thing which we need and crave is a scrumptious dessert and when we talk about dessert, there is no other place that pops up in our mind other than the great American Waffle House. Keeping in mind the auspicious festival of Durga Puja, American Waffle House has curated a Durga Puja Special menu comprising of some lip-smacking waffles, brownies, and delicious beverages. The special menu comprises of Kit Kat Crunch Waffle, Candy Gum Red Velvet, Candy Gum Black Velvet, Simply Snickers Waffle, Warm Brownie with Vanilla Ice Cream. In the beverage section, they present us with Virgin Mojito Mint Crusher, Brownie Milkshake and Brownie Vanilla Cookie Sandy.

Where: American Waffle House

Address: 11/A, BeniNandan Street, Bhowanipore, Kolkata - 700025 204/A, Lake Town Rd, Block-B, Sreebhumi, Lake Town, Kolkata - 700048 12/2B, Karl Marx Sarani, Kidderpore, Kolkata - 700023 BF90, Sector 1, Salt Lake, Kolkata 848, Block-P, Alipore, Kolkata 194, Gobindapur Road, Jodhpur Colony, Lake Gardens, Kolkata - 700045

Tenure: From 28th September to 29th October Timings: 10 AM to 4 AM (Bhawanipore outlet) 9 AM to 3 AM (Lake Town outlet) 10 AM to 11 PM (Kidderpore outlet) 12 Noon to 4 AM (Salt Lake outlet) 10 AM to 10 PM (Alipore outlet) 12 Noon to 4 AM (Lake Gardens outlet)

Price Range: From Rs. 80/- to Rs. 160/- (+taxes) So what are you waiting for?

The sound of dhaak, the blue sky dotted with fluffy white clouds and festive cheer in the air. Yes, finally the much awaited Durga Puja is here! So hurry up and drop in at any of these places to make your Puja full of surprises and the best one till date. #HappyDurgaPuja to all!