Kolkata, formarly known as Calcutta was India’s capital under the British Raj from 1772 to 1911 and emerged as a big trading post for the East India Company. The city witnessed influx of different communities with their cultural traditions around the mid-eighteenth century. Calcutta became a culinary melting pot of Americans, Parsis, Jews, Chinese and migrants from within the country such as Marwaris, Gujaratis, Punjabis, Sindhis, Oriyas, Biharis and South Indians.
Ingredients, tastes, smells, colours of foods tell stories of history, heritage and values. In this era of flashy restaurants across Kolkata, there remain iconic eatries serving authentic cuisines of the city with old-age charm. Most of them are located in northern and central Kolkata.
Some of the pre-independence era heritage restaurants in Kolkata are: Indian Coffee House (College Street), Nahoum & Sons (New Market), Allen Kitchen (Shobha Bazar), Mitra Cafe ( located at multiple locations in the city, the oldest one stands at Shobha Bazar), Flury’s (Park Street), Swadhin Bharat Hindu Hotel (College Street), Nizam’s (Dharmatala, near New Market), Shiraz Golden Restaurant (Park Street area), Dilkhusha Cabin (College Street), Trikas (Park Street), Bachan’s Dhaba (Rash Behari Avenue), Paramount, famous for sarbat (Collage Square). Besides, there are age-old sweet shops scattered in Kolkata.
Calcutta Walks conducts themetic tours that help in discovering Kolkata. One of these tours is ‘Cabin Food Walk’ organised around and including Indian Coffee House. It is a 3-hour tour. Meeting Point: Oberoi Grand hotel lobby. Price Rs 3000 per person inclusive of food.
https://calcuttawalks.com/
Photo credit (from above)
Discover India
Calcutta Walks
Swadhin Bharat Hindu Hotel
