Get all your potato cravings satiated at this new cafe in South Kolkata

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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