Kolkata's Vintage Tables: Eateries Before 1947

Kolkata carries some of its history not in monuments but in its eateries — places that opened their doors before India won her independence and have barely changed the recipe since. Step into any of these iconic spots, and you're not just ordering food. You're pulling up a chair to be a part of history.

Long before it served its first cup of coffee, this College Street landmark was Albert Hall, built in 1876 as the residence of Ramkamal Sen. Ground zero for many pre-lndependence political meets. It wasn't until 1942 that the Coffee Board turned it into a coffee house — and in 1947, newly independent India renamed it Indian Coffee House. 

Down the decades since its opening, its wooden tables have hosted everyone from Rabindranath Tagore and Subhas Chandra Bose to Ritwik Ghatak and Sunil Gangopadhyay, and adda — Bengal's particular art of the unhurried debate — on politics and intellectual matters to movies and sports  It continues to be a hub of new ideas and young blood as generations after generations of college goers keep ‘Coffee House-er sei adda-ta’ alive.

Must have: Coffee
Location: 15 Bankim Chatterjee Street

In 1918, Nihar Ranjan Majumdar, a member of the Barishal branch of the Anushilan Samiti (ostensibly a fitness club but in truth an underground revolutionary network), opened a sherbet shop, which was eventually named Paramount. It served as a meeting point for revolutionaries during the freedom struggle and Subhas Chandra Bose, Pulin Behari Das and Satin Sen were all regulars here. Over a century later, the shop is still famed for its chilled and sweet sherbets.

Must have: Daab Sherbet
Location: 1/1/1D Bankim Chatterjee Street, College Square

After a stroll through Boi Para, a heated round of adda at the Coffee House or some bhuri bhoj at yet another pre-Independence era icon — Putiram, there's really only one way to close things out: an ek khili paan from Kalpataru Bhandar. Opened in 1931 beside the University Institute Hall, it has fed the city's intellectuals and idlers alike for nearly a century, and remains a must-visit for all paan enthusiasts.

Must have: Khili paan
Location: 6/1 Bankim Chatterjee Street, College Square

This shop in North Kolkata is among the top five sweet shops for any Bengali mishti connoisseur. Serving sweets, especially sandesh, since 1844 it was a partnership between Girish Chandra Dey and his son-in-law, Nakur Chandra Nandy. From the classic Jolbhora to newer mango and other flavoured sandesh, the shop has delighted its customers for generations. 

Must have: Any kind of sandesh
Location: 56 Ramdulal Sarkar Street

Started by Jiban Krishna Saha in 1884, this unassuming North Kolkata institution has never needed an introduction. The prawn cutlet, made following a recipe still kept firmly within the family, remains the showstopper. The shop's name is borrowed from a Mr Allen, but ownership has always stayed with the Sahas — who, alongside their signature cutlets, also added steaks to the menu.

Must have: Prawn cutlet
Location: 40/1 Jatindra Mohan Avenue

The birthplace of the kathi roll, Nizams opened in New Market in 1932, named for Nizamuddin, son of founder Sheikh Raza Hassan. It began life as a kebab shop — until its British clientele, struggling to eat greasy kebabs on the move, forced a rethink. The kebabs were wrapped in a flaky paratha for easy eating, and by 1964, the iron skewers they were grilled on had given way to bamboo ones, or kathi — giving the kathi roll both its method and its name.

Must have: Kathi rolls
Location: 23 & 24 Hogg Street

Kolkata's first tea room with a fine European confectionery, Flurys opened on Park Street in 1927. It quickly became popular among the city's Englishmen and its affluent locals, drawn in by the pastries and Swiss chocolates. Nearly a century on, despite franchises across the city, the original Flurys outlet continues to be an icon, a part of the city's identity that has people across generations queuing up for its old-world charm and its excellent food.   

Must have: English breakfast, pastries, puffs, Baba cake
Location: 18A Park Street