Caramelle (Ballygunge)

Caramelle Interiors

Kolkata has many cafes where you can grab a cup of coffee anytime. Similarly the latest addition being the “Caramelle” (Le patisserie Cakewalk: A bakery specializing in French pastry) at Jhowtala Road in Ballygunge (near Syed Amir Ali Avenue crossing) which is a perfect gateway for today’s generation. The café aims to introduce a European-styled bistro culture to the city. The owner of the shop has put together two page beverages, three page vegetarian and five page non- vegetarian menu.

The Tea Trove (Sarat Bose Road)

The Tea Trove Interiors

If the saying goes –”a lot can happen over coffee”…then certainly “a lot can happen over tea” too!! Yes, ’The Tea Trove’ located at the Sarat Bose Road gives one the opportunity to freshen up with their various types of ‘tea’, one of the common beverages of this country. People have always preferred ‘hot tea’, but The Tea Trove paves one to a new road, where one is welcomed with brand new tea delights coupled with ice!! ’Tea’ has got an opportunity to expose itself in a totally different style, through this very young, cool, amazing vegetarian tea parlour. Situated in a very busy street, it attracts the school and college crowd and of course the young generation.

D-Oh! Boy (Shakespeare Sarani)

Blueberry Lemon, Chocolicious, Deep Dark Desire,
Triple Choco Blast (Clockwise from top)

Well, the Donuts are here in Kolkata and D-Oh! Boy is one of the leading Donut joints in Kolkata. They have got an outlet in Theater Road (Shakespeare Sarani) which runs out of stock by 8 p.m. in most of the days, thanks to the quality of Donuts they sell.

Le Coffee Creme (Salt Lake)

Le Coffee Creme Salt Lake

Le Coffee Crème is a newly opened Continental - Oriental café cum Hookah joint at the ground floor of a residential house opposite City Centre just beside Mehfil. The location is wonderful to appeal to the shopping crowd though it serves only Vegetarian dishes. The entrance is not right on the road but inside a pavement garage of the building. Right on entering, the small room decorated with stylish automobile photographs on colored wall papers with couches and small wooden tables can easily be mistaken for a waiting area to the real dining area. But it is actually just another room for serving guests like the other two interior ones: One lounge space to the left is neatly done up with pristine interiors, leather cushioned seating, fancy woodwork, Buddha statues, graphic wall paper, silk carpet, cute suspended bar counter. And another region for hookah smoking folks, which is straight ahead, having big LCD screen TV and wall sofas for cozy evenings.

Mitra Cafe (Sovabazar Crossing)

Mitra Cafe entrance

Carrying on the legacy for more than 100 years, this quintessential bengali food joint is a place you should not miss. Located near Sovabazar metro station, Mitra Cafe is always crowded and one have to wait for at least 10 to 15 minutes before getting a table. The takeaway counter also gets a long queue, thanks to the consistent assembly of regular customers who does not fail to grab their daily share of fried delicacies like fish fry, fish cutlet, chicken kabiraji, egg devil, veg chop and many more. Right from the afternoon the crowd starts pouring in.

Indian Coffee House (College Street)

Albert Hall of Indian Coffee House

The Indian Coffee House has four branches in Kolkata, namely the College St. branch, Central Avenue branch, Medical College branch & Jadavpur branch. These are one of the most favourite hang-out places among friend groups of students and youngsters, although one can see several old-timers frequenting the coffee houses on a regular basis. Today its crusty high ceilings and grimy walls ring with deafening student conversation but despite the dishwater coffee, it’s perversely fascinating. It was born in the 1940s, when the Coffee Board set them up. In the 1950s, when the Coffee Board shut down it was reopened by worker cooperatives who were backed by professors of Presidency College & Calcutta University. The history of the Coffee House at College Street can be traced to Albert Hall, which was built in April 1876. Later, the Coffee Board of India decided to start a coffee joint from the Albert Hall in 1942. Notable citizens, including Rabindranath Tagore and Subhas ChandraBose, were frequent visitors to the place. In 1947, the Central Government changed the name of the place to "Coffee House". The place became a meeting place for poets, artistes, literati and people from the world of art and culture.

The Rouge (AJC Bose Rd)

Rouge regular Red Velvet cupcake with chocolate ganache frosting

The Rouge, a little dessert or a cafe joint! Attractive place, with nice decorated seating arrangements, well furnished! The place looks like a fairytale because of its flower printed walls and colorful decoration and the locality is perfect for catching the after school or college crowd. But there are very, very few seats in here and it's situated on this dirty patch of road under the AJC Bose Rd Flyover near Minto Park, very easily missed. It has only 4 tables with yellow and green cushioned chairs. The front glass pane is decorated with croquembouche. 

Rubi's Grill (Gariahat - Dover Lane)

Pork Chop with Butter Rice

I heard about this small little quaint place called Rubi's Grill from a friend of mine and decided to try out some of their food, having received nothing but good reviews about it. The place is very small, yet has a warm and cozy ambiance. It has both indoor and outdoor seating arrangements. On a cool winter evening, it would be pleasant to sit outside and have a nice meal. Charpoys at the entrance to welcome a smoking crowd, mix of lounging rattan chairs and tables of fours, good enough for soul-satisfying pig-outs. The cute niche featuring Salman Rushdie's Midnight's Children, Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code alongside Anton Chekov's Five Plays and the directly hooked online music add to the curiosity. The menu is a humongous 6 page menu with everything American you can find under one roof- from salads with a choice of your own toppings, finger foods, sandwiches, burgers, classic hot dogs, pizzas and pastas to a wide array of gourmet dishes. 

Rubi's Grill Interiors

We ordered Onion rings and a plate of Potato skin with Bacon for starters. Nothing can really go wrong with Onion rings- they were crispy, not too oily and not soggy. They had a good bite to it! The Potato Skins were excellent! Skins, with crispy fried bacon, topped with gooey cheese and some Oregano for flavour- baked to perfection. They were an absolute delight and MUST try! For the entree, we ordered a portion of the Spare Ribs with their authentic, home-made BBQ sauce and a portion of the Pork Chop with butter rice. Oh that marvelous dish of Spare Ribs was beyond anything that I had imagined. The pork ribs, slightly charred on the outside and tender, juicy, yet moist on the inside. The BBQ sauce was sweet and spicy which added that tangy flavor to the dish! One little flaw would be, the pieces had chunks of fat in it and one feels sick if one ends up eating that much of fat. A less of that fat and the dish can do wonders for meat lovers’ taste buds! The Pork Chop had a very good flavor because of the Rosemary they added and the sauce which accompanied it. The Pork was tender, juicy, all the flavors had seeped right through- all in all, a good dish. Again, too much fat for one to consume. A little less of that would be great! All meats came with wedges, mash or vegetables on the side, just as it should. The Lamb Steak, chunky and moist, as it should be, would have been better with a thinner sauce though.

Spare Ribs with Mashed Potatoes

Service, I must add is slightly slow or rather laid back. That isn’t much of a problem if you want to have long conversations with friends enjoying some great food in a warm and cozy place like this one! The approximate cost of a complete meal for 2 persons is Rs. 550.

Rubi's Grill has been a good experience for me and I would recommend everyone to try it atleast once. For people who shudder at the thought of eating pork, this is the place you must try your first piece and you will not be disappointed, for sure! One must not go by the decor, design, location of this place- it’s the food that matters in the end and Rubi's Grill is a pretty decent example of that!

--Review Done By Radhika Chakraberty.

Location: Building No. 7/2 B, Dover Lane, Gariahat, Opposite Dover Lane Post Office, Kolkata-700029

Also at Omega Building, Sector V, Salt Lake City.

Contact No.: (+91) 9007179876, (+91) (33) 40056001, (+91) 9831078111, (+91) 9831211333

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Wise Owl (Rashbehari Avenue Triangular Park)

Wise Owl Interiors

Wise owl is one of those hangout spots where you can relax and watch time fly by without even knowing. If you are looking for a place to sit and relax and also tuck into some food over a long period of time, then pay a visit to wise owl.  Located in the heart of south Kolkata, yet in a quiet part of Gariahat known as the Purna Das Road, this is a place where you would like to come back time and again. With both outdoor and indoor seating area, it can accommodate 30 people at a time. The outdoor lounge area is the most sought after and remains filled up since it is well decorated with plants and wall paintings, allowing a view of the road. Once seated you may light a smoke (yes, smoking is allowed in the outdoor seating area). The ambience of the interior quarter is plain and simple somewhat elegant. With wall paintings adorning the wall and soft music playing in the cool AC air. There is a shelf having all the different kinds of owl sculptures or show pieces. The crowd is a good mix of teenagers to working women to septuagenarians.

Barista Lavazza - Park Street

Barista Lavazza Espresso Bar, with its designed orange walls and cushioned wooden chairs gives you the perfect taste of Italian coffee. Take a pick from some of the lip smacking delicacies from menu and give a refreshing start to your day or even while taking a break in the evening. It’s a good place to hang out with friends over coffee and some snacks. You’ll surely like the coffee here, though it comes for a price, given the brand name. Also when you have to pass some time for some reason, you can just sit here for hours (if its not too crowded) and have coffee as your companion while surfing the net over your laptop or reading a storybook. Sandwiches cost around Rs. 89 and beverages in the range of Rs. 70 – 150. There is a guitar, if you want to play with your friends; also a wooden chessboard for customers to play. Barista sells chocolates, soft-toys, key-chains, coffee mugs, coffee maker, coffee beans and other coffee related accessories as well. There are two floors to accommodate tables for customers to relax, though only a few of them have comfy sofas associated with them. The meal for 2 is economical as compared to Barista Lavazza standards; it costs Rs. 351 inclusive of taxes. It consists of two sandwiches- each two slices (from a choice of chicken tikka, paneer masala, smoked chicken), two beverages (from choice of Hot coffee and brrista cold coffee) and also a dessert (choice of chocolate excess and apple pie). There is meal for 4 as well, which is around Rs. 550-600. For more information on menu and store locations (Total 11 in Kolkata), check their website http://www.barista.co.in/users/index.aspx