Back in time: What makes these Park Street restaurants, icons?

The moment you step out of the Park Street metro station and walk toward Flurys, the footpaths on both sides leading up to the Camac Street crossing are flanked by decades-old diners—famous for serving a legacy of Continental and other flavours. The generations-old restaurants have not only kept the authentic recipes intact, but also serve the delicacies in the exact same manner they have been served for ages, and in the same classic ambience, transporting you to a long-lost colonial era. Be it the smoky sizzlers at Mocambo, the iconic Chelo kebabs at Peter Cat, the hustle and bustle over drinks at Oly Pub or the wholesome Chinese and Indian dishes at Bar BQ, these places retain their charm even among GenZ foodies, who look forward to an exciting gustatory experience at these places. We curate some of the best Park Street spots and delve deep to know what keeps them rocking.

If you are short of time to visit Chinatown, make sure to drop by at Park Street’s Tung Fong. A relatively newer player with a history of two decades and half, this authentic Chinese eatery feels like a warm hug from the very moment you step in. Its warm yellow lights, heavy wooden tables, and cushioned wooden chairs feel as rich and old-school as any other in that area.

Owned by Monica Liu, a name popular in the industry for her Chinese origins and rags-to-riches story, Tung Fong is definitely one of Liu’s most treasured endeavours. The Chinese food here is not overly laden with authentic kitchen-made sauces and is made with the choicest of ingredients. Be it the rich Chilli garlic pepper chicken, the Sweet and sour prawns, or the Fried chicken wontons, just a whiff of these dishes is enough to make you salivate. The best thing about their menu is that they have different portion sizes, half and full plates are available for most of the dishes.

The food at Tung Fong never disappoints. Made fresh from scratch, they have kept it closer to original recipes. Don’t miss out on their yummy tutti frutti!

Bar-B-Q is all about nostalgia in a pocket. From college-students having their first ‘pitched in’ meals to their first dates, or first work lunches, this spacious restaurant has seen many a personal landmark being celebrated over great food. Their signature items like Chilli garlic pepper chicken, comforting Tomato soup and iconic Crispy chilli baby corn have seen generations drooling over them.

Talking about retaining original flavours, owner Viraj Kothari states, “We’ve kept the original flavours alive by sticking to traditional cooking methods and using the high quality ingredients. We also focus on customer feedback to tweak and improve our dishes while keeping its authenticity intact.” Even with time, they have managed to keep the flavours bang on. “Chefs change all the time, but since we restaurateurs work closely with our team, we manage to bring consistency. Being optimistic, we let every chef that enters our kitchen be creative and some have even helped us improve our bestsellers with their novel methods.”

Since 1959, Bar-B-Q has had an immense impact on the cultural milieu. “We see patrons of various generations dining together in the same hall and families coming back. Bar-B-Q has come to symbolise nostalgia and familiarity.” Further, he shares his thoughts on Park Street being the hotspot of emerging eateries, “With several new eateries popping up, it can get pretty competitive at times. Each place tries to stand out with its unique offerings, ambience, and flavours to attract diners. It’s a friendly battle where everyone is trying to win over customers. It’s great for diners because they get more varieties too.”

Viraj, being the third generation entrepreneur, has opened new avenues for the 65-year-old diner. “We’ve recently launched a new brand called Lille, which is a patisserie and boulangerie on Park Street, and we’re looking to grow both brands together.”

Started in 1956, Mocambo was founded by Shivji Velji Kothari and is now run by Nitin Kothari. Whether it’s their iconic Chicken ala kiev, the trademark Fish meuniere, the cheesy Devilled crab or their signature mixed grill sizzler, the diner’s continental menu continues giving Kolkata the taste of the various classic European dishes to date. “Park Street has somehow retained the premiere position on the Kolkata map, especially when it comes to food,” says Nitin, and we couldn’t agree more.

For anyone visiting Kolkata for the first time, it’s that one must-visit place in their bucket list. “Competition is bound to be there in a saturated market, but I just tell my team in all our three diners, (Peter Cat, Mocambo, and Peter Hu), as long as the quality and hygiene of the food are maintained, the place remains clean, and as long as you keep up the service, there is no need to worry,” adds Nitin, who says maintaining quality in the food service is one of the most difficult things to do.

Nitin also believes that if one sticks to the fundamentals, no change in the foodscape will ever disturb it. “Travelling across the world made me realise that if a restaurant is doing good, one should never tamper with it. If you want to give back something to the audience, give better service,” says Nitin.

Undoubtedly one of the most loved stops when it comes to the city’s culinary heritage, Trincas is where the pulse of the city is. From hosting the doyens of music like Usha Uthup to providing a platform for emerging voices, Trincas has retained its originality while embracing the winds of change.

Anand Puri, partner, mentions, “Trincas has retained a number of heritage dishes and fan favourites in its menu since the 1960s. Continental dishes like À la kiev, Lobster thermidor and Stroganoff have for decades formed a part of the cultural heritage of Calcutta.” He also adds, “There have been changes of chefs over the years since the establishment in 1927. It takes skill and a sense of taste to maintain the original flavours. While chefs are given general recipes, a lot of the fine-tuning is done by the owners.”

Having impacted the social life of the city to a major extent, it is keen to witness the evolution of the diner through the many hanging photographs from the bygone days. “Trincas has been resilient, evolutionary, and pathbreaking, all at the same time. It’s the oldest restaurant on Park Street to continue its tradition of live music. It’s the place where a sari-clad lady in the 1960s found superstardom amongst ball-gowned Hollywood-esque crooners. Currently, it continues to break the mould, having started a jazz movement in the City of Joy, becoming a beacon for the LGBTQ community in the city, and with the Trincas Timeline Project, which is a community-based memory project.”

The emergence of new restaurants in the vicinity have only kept it on its toes and it plans to be “relevant through its constantly updated and evolving outlook,” in the future

Probably there’s no one in the city who hasn’t tried the iconic Chelo kebab at Peter Cat. Set up in 1975, the place is still thronged by people outside the establishment during both lunch and dinner time. As owner Nitin Kothari says, all through the years, the recipes haven’t been ‘tweaked’ ever. If customers do not like something, that item goes straight off the menu.

“We do experiment a lot, but my thumb rule is that I will only introduce dishes on the menu that I like,” says Nitin. Nitin also shared how the Chelo kebab came into being. “I like rice, so there goes the buttered rice as the base. I like my meat and egg, we include mutton or chicken kebabs and the poached egg. So, I thought, why not put it all together and put it on the menu? It was not supposed to be this popular, but it became popular and is by far the best-selling item. I take pride in being the first in Kolkata, and maybe in India to have introduced this dish. I still love it. Just the smell of it is so appetising,” Nitin quips.

Originally opened as an authentic North Indian restaurant, Nitin was all set to name the establishment Omar Khayyam, only to realise that he may be limited to only Indian food with this name, and ultimately settled with the current name, Peter Cat. To cater to the demands of the customers, a small continental menu was introduced initially, and then came the sizzlers. While people don’t talk about anything apart from the Chelo Kebab or sizzlers, there is a huge demand for their North Indian menu as well.

If anyone can take the credit for introducing the toothsome Tutti Frutti in Kolkata en masse, it has to be Kwality. “Since 1952, we follow the practice of using the best possible ingredients by training our chefs to maintain the standard of food. There is also a constant check on food and flavours by us personally, to make sure we maintain what we serve. The chefs are mostly the same, but the new ones are trained till they reach a satisfactory level with their cooking,” says Tanvi Ghai, the owner of Kwality.

Having won over people with their Channa bhatura or Fish masala kebab, Kwality is embedded in their memories. “Kolkata, as a city, is very rich in culture and heritage. What we can do as the oldest North Indian restaurant is to imbibe the essence of the city and its culture in our food while giving them authentic flavours and ingredients from the Northern part of the country. This makes it a great give-and-take of cultures.”

Interestingly, Tanvi mentions, “Customers do go to newer eateries and try different cuisines. Many come back for the the food they are used to,” when asked about the rise in diners around the area. Giving a glimpse of the future, she says the aim is, “to improve and keep working on good quality ingredients and food, as well as moving with the current demands of time and offering what the customer wants.”