This new diner in Salt Lake, Kolkata is serving up forgotten colonial classics and Bengali comfort food

Stepping through the dining addition, the third outpost of Epare Bangla, feels less like entering a busy modern Bengali restaurant and more like being welcomed into a bright, airy heritage home.

Bathed in soft natural light, the sprawling room pairs off-white walls with classic green-cushioned wooden chairs. Curated showcases of traditional Bengali art instantly drew our eyes and invited us to pause for a photo before reaching for the menu.

What we tried at the newly-opened third outpost of Epare Bangla?

Chef Bhaskar Dasgupta, one of the foremost flagbearers of modern Bengali cuisine, took us through the menu and shared: “The menu is curated based on three things—dishes influenced by Nawab families along with colonial influences, recipes popularised by mothers and grandmothers, and Bengal’s lost recipes. The Dim posto bharta, Ilish bharta, Dal chingri bharta, Shutki bharta are some of those age-old recipes, along with Nawabi recipes like Chitol maacher kathi kabab, colonial recipes like Bhetki phorashi karigari to something very simple like a Bhapa koi.”

We started with a portion of Aam mochar chop and fell in love instantly. Banana flower croquettes were delicately flavoured with aam ada (mango ginger), with bites of peanuts and raisins. If you want something tangy in chicken, go for the Sojnekhali tok jhal tawa murgi. The long chicken strips are marinated in homemade raw mango pickle, ginger, garlic, and green chilli and are charred to perfection. But if cheese is all you want, definitely order Chingri chine kabab, a colonial, spicy and cheesy stuffed prawn delicacy.

Even the chef-recommended Bhetki phorashi karigari is really good. The French-style crumb-fried bhetki chop is stuffed with cheese and herbed mushrooms.

Starters were followed by Luchi-alur dom, Bhaat (steamed rice), Shukto, Moong dal, Dal chingri bharta, Daab chingri and Pressure cooker mangshor jhol. We couldn’t resist the phulko luchi and spicy baby potato dum with peas, and it was an instant hit.

As we were about to fold up, a bowl of Morog polau and Dhonepata kanchalonka murgi arrived to serenade us. The sweet and savoury Persian polau, paired with the spicy, tangy chicken tantalised all our tastebuds.

We wrapped up our gustatory trail with a smooth Bhapa doi, and an interesting Patishapta rabri, filled with grated coconut and homemade rabri, lightly sweet but oh so good!

Meal for two: INR 1,000++

Timings: 12 pm-5 pm, 7 pm-10.30 pm.

Location: AJ-13, Sector 2, Salt Lake, Kolkata-700091

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