Xing - Saltlake

Xing is a small multi-cuisine eatery having Chinese & North Indian dishes in its menu, located on BE Block (Kwality Bus stop). It is a budget restaurant having two levels, each with 6-7 tables. The ceiling is low; there are ordinary cushioned steel chairs, small square tables and economical plates & crockery. Toilet is clean & service is good. Weekend evenings & during festival seasons, it remains crowded, whereas on regular weekdays, hardly 3 or 4 groups come. There is no problem in parking the car. Among Chinese dishes, I would suggest you to try out Konjee Chicken as starter (it is crispy & spicy), special Xing Fried Rice with chicken Latmeikai (sweet side-dish) in main course or mutton polao among Indian dishes. Quantity is ok. For 3 persons, the price would be around Rs. 420- 450 (with tax). Free home delivery is available for areas in and around saltlake.

Location: BE-111, Saltlake

Contact No.: (+91)-(33)-65009326 / 40040364, (+91)-9874237784

View Larger Map

Oasis - Park Street

OASIS is a bar-cum-restaurant located just beside olypub. The interior is not so good, but the sofas are really comfortable, and the air conditioning equally cold in summers and the service is also good. Getting a table is easy, as there not too much rush of people unlike other cheap restaurants, and it has two floors to accommodate a lot of people. You can see a nice part of Park Street through the transparent glass panes. The downstairs is lit very brightly in comparison to upstairs. Many cocktails like screwdriver, bloody Mary, Orange Blossom, Mint Julep, Caesar, Tequila Sunrise are available. Beer costs around Rs. 140. The Tandoori Chicken and kebab items are really scrumptious. The average cost for food and beverages for 2 persons is around Rs. 800-900.

Location: 33, Park Street, Opp. Music World

Contact No.: +(91)-(33)-22299033, 30231033

Mags (Magnolia) - Park Street

The dim lighting at MAGS (also known as Magnolia) is perfect cover for its simple brown interiors. The furniture isn’t anything fancy either. Mags sticks to the theme of simplicity with basic chairs, leather-covered sofas and sturdy tables. However, the no-frills interior doesn’t mean that it’s unclean. The restaurant and bar cover two floors, the lower level being the “family section”. However, the upper level is mostly frequented by men who drop by for a few after-hour drinks. Because of the rock-bottom prices for the tipple, one can drink like a fish here, even on a shoe-string budget. There’s lot to choose from as well—regular whiskeys to premium liquor like Teachers. If you're lucky, you’d find Black Label as well at prices you could expect only in Goa. Beer, vodka, rum and cocktails round off the bar menu. As with most multi-cuisine restaurants that serve alcohol, the food isn’t impressive enough to write home about. The vegetable dishes on the menu are simply there to make it look complete. But surprisingly, the non-veg items are great: be it starters or the mutton and fish dishes in the main course. The hot garlic chicken tastes sweeter than gulab jamun! Chili Chicken dry and spring chicken are the best starters. Do try out the Tutti Frutti in desserts.

Location: 12 K, Opposite Park Hotel, Park Street

Contact No.: +(91)-(33)-40011443, +(91)-9231549154

Olypub - Park Street

Beef Steak - Chateau Briand

Chicken A la Kiev

Mutton steak - Hamburger Steak

Olypub Entrance at Park Street Kolkata

OLYPUB is a pilgrimage for all those who love - beer, beef, Kolkata and life. Its a truly old place - one of those that emit the ‘old is gold’ feeling quite strongly.

Waldorf - Russell Street

WALDORF is one of the oldest and most traditional restaurants in Kolkata. The decor is elegant and the dishes served are exotically flavored. Its dimly lit inside with many fish acquiriums on many sides. A good meal for two persons is around Rs. 400 - 500. Originally Waldorf was situated at Park Street (present day MARCO POLO IN CHINA). Due to legal problems it has relocated to Russel Street (The Street opposite to The Park Hotel). I've tried out chicken sweet corn soup and the prawn wafers, followed by chicken noodles, sweet & sour chicken and garlic chicken. Though my favourite side dishes are Chilli Pork and Chilli Prawn Balls.

Location: 13 D, Russell Street, Midleton Row

Contact No.: +(91)-(33)-65354952, 40011424

Peter Cat - Park Street

Chelo Kebab

Kolkata's renowned PETER CAT restaurant has managed to survive both fire and the passage of time. It remains as popular now as it was when it opened, way back in the swinging sixties. This makes it one of the oldest restaurants in Kolkata. If you haven't heard of it yet, you no doubt will. Peter Cat's warm and dimly lit interior speaks of history. Waiters look resplendent in crisp Rajasthani white and red costumes, which match the colors of the restaurant's interior but curiously contrast with its name -- a name that doesn't give away much at all. If you dig around though, you'll discover it’s the namesake of a famous cat who lived in Lords cricket ground in London from 1952 to 1964 (and Kolkata is a city addicted to cricket). Another thing is the food. The menu, which comes in the shape of a cat's head, contains some real delights. Of course, I have to mention the chelo kebab. Two minced mutton kebabs and one chicken kebab, served with rice and an egg, it's legendary amongst the residents of Kolkata. However, if you feel like a break from Indian food, you'll welcome the sizzlers. They're just as sought after. I ordered the chicken steak sizzler (chicken breast, vegetables, egg, and sauce) and it was cooked to perfection. Both meals are priced at around Rs. 200.

Location: 18 A, Near Music World, Park Street

Contact No.: +(91)-(33)-22298841, 22172942

Chicken Steak Sizzler

Mayonnaise Chicken

View Larger Map

Zhilann - City Centre (Saltlake)

Zhilánn maybe small, with only a few tables, but is extensively decorated in Thai style with lamps and miniature statues, and Chinese scripts inscription. The stress is on authenticity of recipes from various provinces of China and beyond. Popular latest English hit songs are played in the background. The menu highlights a wide array of dishes from Canton to Sczhewan, Hunan to Hakka, Thai to Malaysian. The menu is elaborate with a wide variety for vegetarian as well. You can try out the tangy crispy chicken, the lamb in black pepper sauce, dimsums platters, ginger pimento fried rice, Hakka noodles, Prawn in Oyster sauce and other spicy Thai curries. The Thai food is really great to taste and the service is equally good with more than two persons always standing near the table. The sofas are comfortable with a lot of space. However the mocktails are not up to the mark as compared to its price. Desserts are also simple. I would rate it at 6.5 out of 10.

Contact No.: +(91)-(33)-23580994, +(91)-9051416443, 9883241842, 9831801516

Location: B 302, City Center, Block B, 3RD Floor.

Pizza Hut - City Centre (Saltlake)

Pizza Hut, which completed 15 years in India, now has 131 restaurants across India in 34 cities. Out of the 8 in Kolkata, The city centre, CC 2, and Camac Street are dine-in, the rest being delivery / take away. The ambience is good, yellow printed lamp shades hang from the ceiling, ordinary wooden round tables with very soft cozy comfortable sofas. The service ladies are extremely helpful and well-behaved, but the food takes much time to prepare in busy hours. There are pizzas in many ranges, depending on your budget. You would surely love this place and its lip smacking pizzas, pastas, garlic breads, salads, desserts, mocktails and other Italian dishes. If you don’t want to spend much, you can opt for budget meals, for 2, 4, and 6. There is a meal for Rs. 129 per person that serves 1 pizza, 2 garlic breads and 1 beverage, each of which has a quite a no. of choices. Check their official website at http://www.pizzahut.co.in/ for more information.

Contact No.: 033-23580984

Price Last Updated on Dec 2012

Garlic Bread

Potato Wedges

Crunchy Pizza and Masala Soda

Aladdin - Mirza Ghalib St. (Free School St.)

Aladdin (an Anglicisation of the Arabic name Alā ad-Dīn, Arabic: علاء الدين literally "nobility of the faith") is one of the tales of medieval Arabian origin in the ‘The Book of One Thousand and One Nights’ (Arabian Nights). This North Indian, Mughlai restaurant is new & is not so well-known but offers tasty kababs and biriyani at reasonable prices of Rs. 250 for two persons.

Location: 55, Mirza Galib Street
Contact No.: 033 40646235, +91 9163514225

Arsalan- Muzaffar Ahmed Street (Ripon Street)

Arsalan is a very well-known chain of mughlai / Indian cuisine restaurants in Kolkata. Its main branch is in Park Circus & it has a total of 3 branches in Kolkata. In such places don’t go for the hygiene, ambience, tables, interior decoration, crowd or any related stuff, the main point here is that the food is too tasty, so overlook everything else and grab it. Even the 5-star hotels with their high profile chefs will not be able to cook such awesome biriyani which arsalan or shiraz offers. It has home delivery services too. Apart from the chicken / mutton biriyani, one should try out the tandoori chicken, Mutton Sheek Kabab, chicken bharta. I don’t know what spices, butter, cashew or masala they add to Mutton Tikka (or Reshmi : try out both) Butter masala, but the gravy feels too good in the mouth. Firni is a must have as a dessert. You could check out the menu on their website: http://www.arsalanrestaurant.in/

Location: 119A, Muzaffar Ahmed Street, (Ripon Street)

Contact No.:

033-22277493/7494

On Track - Mirza Ghalib St. (Free School St.)

On Track is cool for kids as it has an artificial railway bogey & an engine where a person sits & enjoys the food; Special effects of vibration & sound of train is also present to add a bit more . An almost full-sized steam train heads straight for the window offering parents a unique, up market dining experience in leather-seated Pullman carriages while the kids play in the locomotive. Over-keen waiters flock like vultures but food standards vary. Apart from all this the paneer butter masala, Crispy chilly baby corn rocks! I should also mention that this place is a little less known in Park Street area but is worth visiting.
Location: 25 B, Park Street
Contact No.: +(91)-(33)-22273955, 22273956 

Tung Fong- Mirza Ghalib St. (Free School St.)

Tung Fong serves authentic Chinese as their main cuisine. I discovered that Tung Fong is run by a Chinese family from Tangra. They also run Kimling & Beijing at Tangra. The ambience is quite elegant & it is one of the very few restaurants in that area which has a buffet in the afternoon; it is economical, tasty and has loads of items from different types of salads, starters, Sweet Corn Soup (veg) & Thai soup (non-veg), veg wanton, crispy baby corn, dim sums, fried mushroom, chili potato, red chilly chicken, smoked lamb, garlic prawns, Yang Chu fried rice, Hakka noodles, Honey Glazed Chicken, Kung Pao Prawn, Thai Garlic Fish other gravy side dishes. It also serves complimentary beverage from choices of beer, lime soda, aerated drinks & others. There is vanilla ice-cream with hot chocolate sauce as dessert in the buffet apart from fruits. I had once invited many friends to this place on my birthday. The buffet price per head at that time was around Rs.280, but now it has risen to Rs. 456 (inclusive of taxes)*. In the night, there is À la carte & it is advisable to avoid the weekends as there is rush, which is natural due to the low costs but the thing is the waiting time there is very high and that is not because of heavy rush, but because the service turn around time is very high there. If possible do a telephonic reservation, but as we know, Bengalis go for dinner unplanned as the way it should be! 
Location: 25/B, Park Street
Contact No.: +(91)-(33)-22174969, 22174989, +(91)-9831083530, 9903019200

View Larger Map
*Price updated on Mar 2013