There are countless ways to incorporate the humble potato in any Bengali’s daily diet. Right from the simple yet soul-satisfying aloo bhaate (mashed potatoes), spicy aloo kabli (a potato-based street snack), and chatpata jhuri aloo bhaja (crispy potato fries), to the sacrosanct Mangsher jhol er aloo (potato in chicken/mutton curry) or the smouldering potato in a biryani, this simple root vegetable is a mandatory ingredient in almost all the dishes we rustle up. In fact, it will be difficult to name any home-cooked meal that doesn’t feature this tuberous vegetable. It’s this eternal love for potatoes that the newly opened cafe, Ariko, wants to capitalise on.

Ariko: The newly-opened potato-forward cafe in South Kolkata

Tucked in an alley on Motilal Nehru Road near Deshapriya Park, Ariko is putting the potato on centre stage with an exclusive potato-forward menu, boasting a huge range of jacket potatoes, potato tornadoes, and long fries.

Co-founder Aritra Purohit first tasted a jacket potato in London and researched for a decade on this humble spud. He was later joined by his wife, Shrestha, and her brother Konil Sarkar. The trio has set up a simple café in plain white and sage green, lit up with a few cane light fittings. Besides, the cat posters throw in a little cuteness to its appearance.

Here are what we tried at Ariko, opened recently near Kalighat

We started with a Yuzu cold brew, lightly sweet and refreshing. It was paired with the OG Potato tornado, and its peri peri version. The latter was super crispy on the edges with a soft centre, just perfect to share with a group over coffee and chatter. From their signature menu, we chose two variants.

The Creamy mushroom corn and herb dish featured slow-baked potato, filled with butter, garlic mushroom bits, sweet corn kernels, and herb cream, topped with parmesan dust. It is a great bait for cheese lovers.

We soaked our throats with a Vietnamese cold coffee before moving on to the much-awaited dish, Kashundi fish jacket potato. What works for this reimagined version of Bengal’s shorshe maach is the creamy, slow-baked potato with flaky white fish. The sweetness of caramelised onions cutting through the pungency of mustard made this item simply irresistible.

We called it a day with a Tiramisu scoop because there’s always room for a dessert in a true-blue Bengali tummy!

Meal for two: INR 400++.

Timing: 12 pm to 10.30 pm.

At Manoharpukur, Kalighat

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