As we entered 145 Café & Bar, the eye-soothing colour pallette of blues and beige, stole our hearts. While the long bar adorned one side of the space, the other was occupied with a performance stage, snooker table, and large French windows. Moving to the shaded outdoors, it was nestled between the views of The 42, Vidyasagar Setu, St. Thomas Church, and other iconic landmarks of the city. Indulge dropped in for a hearty meal at 145 Café & Bar as it opened doors at Kolkata’s Park Street, its first destination outside Bombay.
“145 is a high-energy brand we thought would fit well in Kolkata. We loved the lively ambience, international Cuisine, and perfectly curated cocktails and wanted the City of Joy to experience the same,” states Tanay Agarwal and Aayush Killa, franchise partners for Kolkata.
The Chilled soba noodle salad comprising chilli and sesame dressing with edamame and nori, was the perfect starter to kick off with. The nuts and seeds gave the desired crunch to the cold savoury noodles while the nori and confit garlic added the right amount of pungency to the dish. Next in line, were crispy fried thin potato skins called Magic masala potato skins, with a dust of Indian spices. Served with mayonnaise, it was the perfect anytime munch-along snack.
The Kebab non-veg platter consisted of assortments of mutton Kheema Seekh Kebab, Chicken Reshmi Kebab, and Chicken Tikka which were piping hot, with juicy and smokey meat. We took a skyline-admiring break and quietly sipped the Yuzu sour, a gin-based cocktail with yuzu puree, fresh cucumber, and litchi juice. The drink was citrusy and minty and provided a refreshing sweet taste.
Next, we dug into the 12-inch wood-fire-oven-made Burrata pizza. The flatbread pizza with a burrata in the middle was not overloaded with cheese, which was its USP. One could spread as much cheese to their liking and devour the delicious classic pizza with mushrooms. Before moving on to the desserts came the Grape G&T, another cocktail made with fresh Californian Grapes, elderflower syrup, mint leaves, gin, and tonic. Though the grape flavor was subtle, on the whole, it is recommended for those who like to have their drinks strong.
The delicious menu came to a conclusion with two desserts. The Lotus biscoff ice cream sandwich was a signature 145 Café & Bar dish transported straight from Bombay. Bite-sized creamy and buttery Lotus Biscoff Ice cream packed between crunchy biscuits was a delight to bite into. The Cookie dough pizza with Nutella and ice cream was just the pizza variation we were looking for all along. A unique mixture of hot dough and cold ice cream, it’s a Nutella and chocolate lover’s haven.
We would definitely recommend a stop at 145 Café & Bar with friends and family to enjoy the food, drinks and admire the beauty of the Kolkata skyline.
Price for two (approx): Rs 1500 (without alcohol) / Rs 2000 (with alcohol)
24 Park Street, Celica House, 10th Floor
Photographs: Pritam Sarkar