This newly opened Kolkata cafe has a frills-free menu and a fashion studio

A slice of blueberry cheesecake, a cup of coffee, a little retail therapy, and lots of greens can surely take away the blues brought about by the gloomy weather and sudden outpours. We visited the newly opened Amaltash Cafe and Studio in Salt Lake, Sector III , and it is a place offering all such dishes and more.

Fusing food and textiles, Amaltash, brainchild of fashion designer Arnab Sengupta and his textile designer wife Ipshita Sengupta, has an exquisite range of handwoven linen and jamdani saris, printed cotton bush shirts, dupattas in earthy, muted tones, hand-painted notebooks, lamps among other things. From ajrakhs to indigos, sanganeri prints and more, one may spot many colours displayed brightly against the backdrop of the cafe's white walls.

The menu was compact and we happily sat down with a glass of chilled lemon iced tea after spending minutes checking out the products. The chicken burger paired with french fries had a patty that could have been a bit juicier, but we loved the lipsmacking grilled chicken pesto wrap filled with grilled chicken pieces dunked into a creamy, flavourful pesto sauce, and wrapped tightly in a tortilla.

For mains, there was penne in a creamy white sauce paired with a piece of cheesy garlic bread. The sauce was of perfect consistency and was not floury. A bite into the crunchy garlic, cheese toast, dipped into the white sauce tasted heavenly.

After a heavy meal, a dessert was a must for us, and we ended our gustatory trail with a yummy blueberry cheesecake.

Meal for two: INR 500 onwards

Pictures by Anindya Saha