See district pages for restaurant listings.
Kolkata was famous for having the best restaurants long before Indians in other cities learned to eat out. Many of the restaurants that line the streets in the Esplanade area have been around for more than a hundred years unfortunately, many also show their age!. Flury's (http://www.flurysindia.com/), on Park Street, was once considered the best English bakery in all of Asia and you can almost imagine Joe Stilwell and Lord Mountbatten arguing over who had command over the allied forces in Burma while enjoying tea, scones, and clotted cream!
But the joy of food in Kolkata is in its Indian foods. Nizam's at 23-24 Hogg Street, in New Market, is credited with the invention of the famous Kati Kebab roll and still serves up the best of the best. For Mughlai dishes the best place is 'Arsalan'. It has few branches across the city, the fanous being at Park Circus 7 point crossiing.
Street vendors selling egg rolls/chicken rolls abound and their freshly prepared kati rolls are safe to eat and enjoy. Mughali Paratha a paratha stuffed with minced meat is a Kolkata speciality and can be found in various 'cabins' off Chowringhee Road Best is Anadi Cabin,9A Jawahar Lal Nehru Road(Chowringhee.Try Devilled Eggs at Niranjan Agar 279 B chittaranjan Avenue 'Chops', a sort of deep fried ball stuffed with beet and veggies is another peculiarity that you won't find anywhere else in the world. Fuchka, the Kolkata version of paani-puri,but very different than the ones found in Delhi, is available on the streets but be wary of the water!It never troubles the local people and outsiders can safely taste this delicacy as long as they don't drink too much of the water.A few sips will,of course,not cause any harm.
Bangali sweets are famous all over India. Roshogolla cheese balls dipped in a sugary syrup, Panthua - a fried variant of the same, Roshomalai- the same cheeseballs dipped in creamy sweetened milk, Mishti Doi sweet yogurt, Shondhesh several variations available. Try some shops like K.C. Das, Jugal's, Bhim Nag, Nakur Nandy, Sen Mahasoy, Ganguram and not to forget Mithai. These are cheap and should be eaten fresh.
Kolkata is also the home of Indian Chinese food now making inroads in far-off New York!. Chinese restaurants are everywhere so try the Indian variant of hot and sour soup and the famous Indian chinese dish of chilli chicken. The best place to have Chinese is to visit China Town near Tangra - EM Bypass. It serve the best of the chinese dishes and you will find plenty of large, small & medium resturants. Other than China Town, you can try Mainland China, a part of the speciality group which serve authentic chinese food.
Bengali food is centered around fish. Macher jhol, literally fish in curry gravy, is a watery fish curry available everywhere and goes well with rice, but Bengalis everywhere swear by the hilsa fish a variant of shad. Hilsa, lightly marinaded in mustard and steamed is up there with the best fish dishes in the world.
"Oh! Calcutta!" on the fourth Floor of Forum Mall, Elgin Road, serves authentic Bengali food. The specialities are the boneless Hilsa Fish fillet, steamed in a bannana leaf and served with a Mustard Gravy. Many expats, yuppies and affluent Kolkattans frequent this restaurant. The food is great, though bordering on the expensive, and portions usually small. Makes for an interesting evening out, accompanied by the incessant Bengali chatter, so characteristic of Kolkatta.
While it can be difficult to find a restaurant serving authentic Bengali food, today Kolkata has of as many 10 Bengali restaurants. One of the most authentic is Kewpies, situated behind Netaji Bhavan at 2 Elgin Lane. Here, food is served on terra cotta plates with banana leaves. There's also "Aaheli" at Peerless Inn, or the more reasonably priced "Suruchi" at 89 Elliot Road. There is a wide choice of vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes with an emphasis on local fish. Thalis platters are also available. Still, being invited back to a local's place for a home-cooked meal is the best way to sample Bengali cooking!
6 Ballygunge Place is stituated in South Kolkata and also offers an assortment of Bengali dishes. Bhjohori Maana has 6 outlets across the city. In South Kolkata, the Hindisthan Road outlet Gariahat is the best. Taroparbon is situated in Hindusthan Park, and has a large menu.
Kasturi and Rahhuni are eateries, both offering Bangladeshi food and are situated off Free School Street, near Park Street.
Suruchi is an old eatery, which serves only lunch in simple surroundings, and is run by the destitute women of 'The All Bengal Women's Union' at Elliot Road, off Free School Street.
Kolkata also has many excellent vegetarian restaurants ranging from budget to expensive ones. One can find many outlets of "Haldiram's", "Bhikharam", "Tewari Brothers", "Gupta's" serving vegetarians snacks, chaats and sweets. There are also good South Indian restaurants serving crisp dosas, steaming idlis and hot vadas such as "Anand" on the Central Avenue, nearby "Madras Restaurant", "Jyoti Vihar" on the Ho Chi Minh Sarani, "Super Snack Bar" in Alipore & Upper Wood Street, "Garden Cafe" on the Lee Road & Alipore and many others.
For those looking for vegetarian street foods, one can find ubiquitous Jhal Muri somewhat similar to bhel puri of Mumbai a concoction of puffed rice mixed with various spices, vegetables & other ingredients available at street vendors all over Kolkata.
