27 Best Restaurants in Kolkata (Calcutta), India

Started in 2002, this is one of the most successful chains for traditional Bengali cuisine in upscale settings. All-time favorite dishes here include river prawns cooked in coconut milk and served in tender coconut shells.

Famous for its tandoor cuisine, Peshawri is rooted in the culinary traditions of the Indian North-West frontier and serves prime-cuts of meat without any gravy or sauce. Charming wooden elements and cushioned stools set this restaurant apart from its contemporary counterparts, transporting guests to simpler times.

This sleek, modern restaurant with massive ceilings is an expat favorite in Kolkata. As the name suggests, the menu here covers a broad variety of dishes from Japan, Mongolia, Korea, Thailand, and China, all made with ingredients sourced from its very own kitchen garden.

This restaurant serving North Indian and Bengali cuisines is a tasteful replica of a rural house, complete with a courtyard, a well, dark wood on taupe stone, copper curios, and metal light fixtures. Delicacies like kakori (traditional sweet bread), gilafi kulcha (layered flatbread), prawn Malali curry, and boneless hilsa paturi (steamed hilsa fish in banana bread; seasonal) are wildly popular here.

Set in the upscale Quest Mall, Yauatcha, a well-regarded dim sum house, is known for great dumplings, tea, and seafood—in short, everything Kolkata is obsessive about. The crispy duck, prawn, and chicken shu mai (dumplings) seem to be the overall favorites.

This well-liked restaurant is known for its traditional and contemporary Bengali cuisine. Try the prawns or the hilsa (a local fish), wrapped in banana leaves and steamed in a mustard and coconut marinade. The buffet here is one of the best you can get in the city—it's a great introduction to Bengali dishes.

A tribute to ancient bazaars of the Middle East, Souk serves contemporary Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cuisines. You can dine on an assortment of dips like muhammara (roasted red pepper dip), as well as falafel, kebabs, and more, in a sleek, contemporary setting.

Kolkata's first upscale Bengali restaurant still draws a crowd. Traditional Bengali delicacies, such as macher sorse paturi (fish cooked with mustard paste) and chingri malai curry (with prawns and coconut milk) are served in an intimate terra-cotta dining room.

This heritage biryani joint has been in operation for nearly a century, with generations of locals heading there for the impeccable Kolkata-style biryani complete with tender mutton, boiled egg, and a slice of potato. Aminia has multiple branches throughout the city.

The city's love affair with biryani—aromatic and spiced rice usually cooked with chicken or mutton (sheep)—is legendary and Arsalan has emerged as one of the most popular and successful biryani destinations. The biryani is served with chunky, golden potatoes and often a piece of hard-boiled egg.

Using aromatic local spices, delicate broths, and infused oils, Avartana executes flavorful yet innovative South Indian dishes. The seafood plates—like the fried crab claws with red chilli chutney—are superb. The cocktails use fresh ingredients and aromatic spices; ask your server for recommended pairings.

This renowned bakery is the hub of all cake shopping during Christmas season in Kolkata. The bakery is famous for its history, heritage, English breakfast spread, and high tea.

This local favorite serves Cantonese, Szechuan, and Indian dishes in a setting that innovatively mixes Chinese and German-chalet style. Try the crisp fried chicken served with a mild sauce, the boneless chilli chicken, or the minced lamb cooked with cubes of tofu and hot garlic sauce.

Nestled in the Taj Bengal, Cal 27 is an international restaurant offering a wide array of both vegetarian and non-vegetarian cuisine from across the world. The architectural motifs typical in Kolkata—green wooden shutters, wrought-iron grills, and white checkered floor—evokes the rich heritage of the city.

Popular with locals and visitors alike, this Chinese fine-dining restaurant may be the best in Kolkata. Choose from a delectable spread of Sichuan and Cantonese dishes, including sweet and sour pork belly, Hong Kong–style tofu, and an indulgent list of dim sum.

The Indian tradition of serving by courses has been revived in Dum Pukht, a restaurant with Mughal-era charms and excellent Awadhi cuisine. Hailing from a lineage of royal khansamas (cooks), Chef Zubair Qureshi has his own formulas for mixing spices, and uses his heirloom recipes to prepare aromatic curries, kormas, kebabs, and biryanis.

At this expansive indoor-outdoor restaurant, you can sample Bengali cuisine at its best. Try their Dhakai morog pulao (chicken pilaf from Dhaka), ilish paturi (steamed hilsa fish in banana leaf), and mishti doi (sweet fermented yogurt).

For breakfast or afternoon tea, Flurys serves nostalgia in a new, contemporary setting. Kolkata's first Swiss confectioner, Flurys serves omelets, croissants, and beans on toast for a classic English breakfast.

Fringed by palm trees, this idyllic lounge is famous for handcrafted teas, coffees, hot chocolate, and delectable finger food both from continental Europe and India. They also serve cocktails and wine.

Kolkata's popular Chinese restaurant, now a national chain, is known for efficient service and spacious interiors with minimalist but comfortable furniture. Try their fish and prawn dishes or the elaborate and reasonably priced buffet.

This quaint rooftop restaurant is run by Manzilat Fatima, a direct descendent of Wajid Ali Shah, the last ruler of Awadh, who brought the art of biryani to the region when he and his entourage fled to Calcutta (Kolkata) after the British annexation of Awadh. In addition to the popular biryanis, you can find finger-licking Awadhi kebabs here. You must make a reservation at least 24 hours in advance.

This is a humble eatery with two chambers, one with air-conditioning and other without, and absolutely no thoughtful décor—yet the food keeps pulling crowds. Momos, dumplings with chicken or meat filling that are served with a spicy red chutney and a thin soup, were introduced to the city by the large Tibetan community that settled here. The dish is popular with students and young officegoers owing to its low price.

This is one of the city's oldest restaurants, with an atmosphere that harkens back to its early days in the 1960s (some of the staff may actually date from those times, too). The Chelo kebab—a simple dish plated to resemble a cello with buttered saffron rice, a fried egg, two pieces of mutton kebabs, and one chicken kebab—is wildly popular. The dining room is intimate, thanks to the small tables, with white stucco walls, Tiffany-style lamps, and soft lighting.

Vegetarian recipes from the erstwhile royal kitchens of India are presented here in a warm, comfortable setting. While here, try the Sheherwali Khasa, a special indigenous tasting menu that offers delicacies from the royal vegetarian kitchens of the Sheherwalis---the Jain nobility from the havelis of Murshidabad.

Overlooking a lake and a swimming pool, this restaurant serves global and Indian comfort cuisine. Classic dishes like butter chicken, lobster thermidor, and chicken Kiev are recommended here.

At this restaurant located at the Taj City Centre New Town, you can snag a seat on its lush alfresco dining space that looks over the cityscape and dine on a selection of pan-Asian dishes. Try their golden fried mushroom in black pepper sauce, spicy edamame truffle oil dumplings, or the Thai lotus root.

With opulent furniture and ornate upholstery, Zaranj remains popular for its North-West Frontier cuisine and tandoori classics. The Zaranji raan, a favorite among guests, is a whole leg of goat marinated in Indian spices and slowly grilled—it takes a good 30 minutes to prepare, but it melts in your mouth.