Kolkata looks inwards to add a flourish to its food

Chefs and mixologists take inspiration from Bengali culture and combine it with global styles to bring energy into the food scene

- Priyadarshini Chatterjee

(clockwise, from above) Subhobrata Majumder; Katherine Lim; and Koyel Roy Nandy.

Kolkata has a storied food culture, yet the city is often accused of being nostalgia-drunk, unadventurous, notoriously price conscious and reluctant to embrace the new, unlike Mumbai and Delhi.

Until a few years ago, eating out here usually meant a trip to Park Street vintages like Mocambo or Peter Cat, Tangra favourites serving Chinese food or good-old biryani joints.

Over the last three to four years, though, there has been a proliferation of restaurants and cafés in residential neighbourhoods, in heritage buildings, and on rooftops overlooking some of the city's best views. National chains like Social Restaurants and the Olive Group have finally opened. But what is truly exciting is the homegrown culinary culture that's taking shape, riding on the vision and creativity of entrepreneurs who have trained and travelled around the world to bring home fresh ideas.

"Kolkata's food scene has grown more confident and self-assured," says chef Rituparna Banerjee, who, along with husband Avinandan, runs Curry Fwd Collaborations, a culinary consulting company started in 2019. "Chefs and bartenders are expressing their voices, producers and artisans are spotlighting local ingredients, and restaurateurs are daring to launch niche experiential concepts. Most importantly, guests are showing up with curiosity and excitement," she says.

A few months ago, the Banerjees opened Nutcase Etc, a cocktail parlour tucked inside a century-old building in Kalighat in south Kolkata. They've put a spin on typical Calcutta bar food like dim sheddho (boiled eggs) and