This is another of the paradoxes about Calcutta: Calcuttans love to dine out, but traditional Bengali cooking is generally restricted to the home. So while dining out in the city, you can explore various cuisines with ease -- except the Bengali one!

Tangra, near the metropolitan bypass, has traditionally been the settlement of Chinese tannery workers; today, this "Chinatown" challenges you to brave its narrow alleys and discover a wealth of sumptuous Chinese restaurants inside. Rich Muslim cooking can be sampled at places like the Royal,  while Tibetan cafes fill the area around the Rabindra Sadan Metro. The most cosmopolitan strip of the city for bars and restaurants is the western end of Park Street, where names such as Blue Fox  and Moulin Rouge  remind one of the street's role in the 1960s and 1970s as the center of a small but thriving pop and jazz scene.

Restaurants by location

Around Park Street

Bar-B-Q. Good Chinese food in nice surroundings, and a bar downstairs. Closed Thurs.
Address: 43 Park St.

Blue Fox. Restaurant-cum-bar serving a range of cuisine.
Address: 55 Park St.

Flury's. Calcutta landmark, on the corner with Middleton Row. Good for tea, cakes and Swiss pastries - try the rum balls. They also make their own chocolates. Closed Mon.
Address: 18 Park St.

Guptas. Highly recommended Indian food.
Address: 18B Park St.

Kwality. Comfortable, plush and airy, one of Park St's best restaurants, with a range of food as well as ice-cream. Also serves alcohol. Closed Thurs.
Address: 17 Park St.

Tandoor, As the name suggests, it specializes in tandoori food, but it isn't in the same league as Amber. Closed Wed.
Address: 43 Park St.

Trinca's, Multi-cuisine restaurant, strong on Western food, with a bar. Once a popular night spot.
Address: 17B Park St.

Around Sudder Street

Abdul Khalique. Cheap Muslim cafe near the corner of Stuart Lane, serving good kati and egg rolls.
Address: Marquis St.

Blue Sky Cafe. Around a corner, halfway down the strip. A haunt of budget travellers who stumble in for breakfasts of curd and fruit, porridge, burgers and milkshakes.
Address: Sudder St

How Hua, Good Chinese food with an interesting regional menu. Closed Tues.
Address: 10 Mirza Ghalib St.

Kathleen's Around the corner from Sudder St - good for tandoori food, ice-cream, teas and cold beer. They also have a popular bakery and patisserie. Closed Thurs.
Address: 12 Mirza Ghalib St.

Khalsa Simple but long-popular dhaba serving basic cheap food.
Address: Madge Lane.

Nahoum & Sons Fruitcake, chola (Jewish braided bread), cheese straws, chicken patties, bagels and cream cheese - evidence of the dwindling Jewish presence.
Address: F20 New Market.

Nizam's Legendary if somewhat faded place behind New Market to the north, which specializes in the kati roll. These spicy sheesh kebabs, rolled into a paratha of white flour, are now sold throughout the city. Take away or eat in cubicles around the central halls.
Address: 22-25 Hogg Market.

Oasis Small a/c multi-cuisine restaurant between Sudder St and New Market. A good breakfast menu includes sausage and mash. There's another branch at 33 Park Street. Closed Thurs.
Address: 2 Madge Lane.

Ruchika's Snacks and ice-cream, as well as south Indian food.
Address: Chowringhee Centre, opposite New Empire Cinema.

Zaranj Part of the same excellent chain as the Amber; some feel it is even better. Upmarket and plush, specializing in North West Frontier food.
Address: 26 J Nehru Rd at Sudder St (299744).

China Bowl, Dimly lit a/c Chinese restaurant which would otherwise be quite ordinary but for its location near the lakes.
Address: Southern Ave, Gol Park.

The Dhaba, Sikh-run cafe, where the core menu of good Punjabi cooking in the mid-range restaurant upstairs has been extended to cover middle-class tastes. Recommended.
Address: Ballygunge Phari.

Hamro Momo, One of a handful of good Tibetan food cafes on this street.
Address: Suburban Hospital Rd (lane off Chowringhee, opposite Rabindra Sadan Metro).

Kim Wah, Small but good Chinese restaurant close to Ballygunge Phari.
Address: Garcha Rd, Ballygunge.

Kwality, Part of the famous chain with an indifferent ambience but good all-round menu and strong on ice-creams.
Address: Ballygunge Phari.

Lazeez, Comfortable if pricey, and good for both Indian and Western cooking.
Address: Shambhu Nath Pandit St, Bhowanipur.

Momo Plaza, Another good Tibetan cafe, specializing in shyabhaley - large flat momos.
Address: 2A Suburban Hospital Rd (247 8250).

Prema Villas, Genuine south Indian local cafe near the Lakes, serving excellent milky coffee.
Address: Lake Market, off Rashbehari Ave.

Radhu's, Snack bar serving fried fish and Bengali alu dam (steamed spicy potatoes).
Address: Lake Market.

Tibetan Delights, Down a lane just off the road, similar to Momo Plaza but with better ambience. Chicken momos are popular.
Address: Suburban Hospital Rd.

Tangra

Kafulok: Versatile and reliably good restaurant with a good all-round menu.

Kim Fa: One of Tangra's best and most established Chinese restaurants - Thai soup, garlic prawns and chili king prawns which can be quite potent.

Kim Ling: Good family-run restaurant - try the honey chicken, or the chicken with black mushrooms and baby corn.

Sin Fa: Another recommended family-run Chinese restaurant.

Restaurants in hotels

Astor This small hotel has a bar and several restaurants including the multi-cuisine Serai and the Banyan Tree serving Bengali food, but the best is Kebab-e-Que in the garden, which serves excellent tandoori food.
Address: 15 Shakespeare Sarani (242 9950).

Lytton Along with a bar, the hotel has two good restaurants including the Dynasty serving Chinese food and Gaylords serving Indian and Western.
Address: 14 Sudder St (291872).

Park The Zen is an "oriental" restaurant serving dishes from China, Burma, Thailand and Indonesia.
Address: 17 Park St (297336).

Quality Inn Among its eating and drinking places is Ahdee, one of the few restaurants in town to serve genuine Bengali cuisine.
Address: 12 J Nehru Rd (243 0222).

Taj Bengal, Smart and beautifully presented, the Chinoiserie offers some of Calcutta's best Chinese food; Sonargaon (Bengali for Golden Town) serves local delicacies and north Indian food; the Coffee Shop is open all hours and also serves meals
Address: 24B Belvedere Rd, Alipore (283939).

Other

Anand South Indian snacks as well as veggie burgers and milkshakes.
Address: 19 Chittaranjan Ave.

Chung Wah Chinese food in authentic but faded splendour.
Address: Chittaranjan Ave.

Eau Chew A Chinese family-run restaurant above a petrol station. Excellent food but the best dishes like the Chimney Soup are off the menu and best ordered in advance.

India Coffee House Atmospheric historic cafe in the heart of the university area where students and intellectuals continue to meet and debate in faded surroundings.
Address: College St.

Jimmy's Kitchen Justifiably popular Chinese restaurant with specialities like mandarin fish.
Address: AJC Bose Rd and Shakespeare Sarani crossing.

Jyoti Vihar Inexpensive and deservedly popular a/c south Indian cafe near the US Consulate, which gets packed at lunch time.
Address: 3A Ho Chi Minh Sarani.

Royal Legendary restaurant serving excellent Muslim cuisine. Renowned for its chanp - a derivative of chop but cooked with spices and delicious with rumali roti, the super thin "kerchief" bread. The biryanis are highly recommended.
Address: near Nakhoda Masjid, Rabindra Sarani.

Scoop Pleasant riverside location which gets crowded in the evenings. Renowned for its extravagant ice-creams, it also serves pizzas.
Address: 71 Strand Rd, Man-o-War Jetty.

Suruchi Run by a charity - the All Bengal Women's Union - and one of the few places you can sample authentic Bengali cooking. Unpretentious atmosphere, and very reasonable prices. Look out for macher jhol (fish stew). Highly recommended. Closed Sat and Sun evenings.
Address: 89 Elliot Rd.