- Fabulous food.
- Unique, homely setting.
- Very busy and requires advance booking.
- Doesn't fit many people and it can be difficult to get a table.
- 2 Elgin Lane (behind Netaji Bhawan ), Kolkata (Calcutta).
- Phone: (33)2475 9880.
- Open from 12.30 p.m. to 3 p.m. for lunch and 7.30 p.m. to 11 p.m. for dinner. It's closed on Mondays.
- Traditional Bengali cuisine.
- Moderate price range. A meal will cost around 600 rupees ($15) for two people.
- Seats just over 50 people.
- Mastercard and Visa are accepted.
Kewpies Kitchen started as a small, unassuming, family run restaurant over a decade ago but has taken the city of Kolkata by storm. It's not hard to understand why. There are so many things about Kewpies that make it stand out, right from the moment you arrive.
The first thing is the restaurant's setting -- it's located down a not easy to find side street in the owner's home. This takes the concept of home cooking to a whole new level.
Inside, diners are seated in one of four different rooms. The main one only holds around 14 people and was originally the house's garage. The other rooms are small and intimate, adding to the homely environment of the place.
The highlight of Kewpie's menu is their traditional Bengali thali (platter). The food is presented in small terracotta bowls, and served a top a banana leaf on a round terracotta plate. Although fish is the focal point of Bengali cuisine, both vegetarian and non-vegtarian options are available for 200-300 rupees each.
The food, most of which is likely to be a new experience for your tastebuds, is superb. It's not surprising, given that the owner's wife had written two cookbooks on Bengali cuisine before she passed away in 1994.
If you only eat out at one good restaurant in Kolkata, this should be it.
