Kolkata is all about nostalgia. Be it the heritage or its food, the city offers you a piece of history every single time. Speaking about food, there's nothing as such called Kolkata cuisine, but it surely has a rich history of gastronomy to explore. Over the years, several sects of people left their strong impression on the food culture of Kolkata - one such being the Anglo-Indian cuisine. This cuisine was developed during the British Raj in India. Throughout the colonial period, several new dishes came into existence with the efforts and innovations of the Indian khansamas. They added spices and other desi ingredients to an otherwise bland Western dishes and offered an all-the-new delicacy to our palate. Bringing one such slice from the history, Chapter 2 in Kolkata is making its patrons experience the delicious Anglo-Indian cuisine.
Deemed to be Kolkata's first retro-dining restaurant, Chapter 2 takes you back to when Kolkata was still Calcutta. With warm lights, cozy setup, retro ambience and live music, this place helps you relive the bygone days. Considering the ambience, one fine evening we decided to visit Chapter 2 and unwind on a busy weekday with some good music and Anglo-Indian food.
Our meal experience started with a bowl of cold cucumber soup that was light, soothing, setting the tone for the evening. We then moved on to the classic Railway fish and potato cutlet and chicken chilli fry. The combination of crunchy texture and spicy filling of the starters increased the appetite and made us feel more inquisitive about the main course.
Cold cucumber soup
Fish-potato cutlet
For the main course, we opted for fish mango curry, pork sorpotel and country captain chicken curry, with the sides of aromatic white rice. While each of these dishes left a good impression on the palate, but what stood out in the lot was country captain chicken curry. It was simple, classic, taking us back to history in just no time. And as the tradition says, the meal was followed by dessert and we opted for tiramisu. While it was surely not the regular ones we get at bakeries, but you surely can order a Chapter 2-style tiramisu to end meal on a sweet note.
Pork sorpotel
Captain chicken curry
Speaking about the curated Anglo-Indian meal, Shiladitya and Debaditya Chaudhury, co-founders at Chapter 2, Kolkata state, "Interestingly, our chef Sushanta's grandfather Late Mr. Bijoy Haldar worked as a chef at the legendary Skyroom, once a gastronome's paradise and known for its Continental fare. Sushanta is now paying ultimate tribute to Kolkata's culinary history by continuing his grandfather's succession."
The Anglo Indian Food Festival at Chapter 2 started from March 18, 2022 and will last till April 18, 2022. If you are still not introduced to Anglo-Indian cuisine, we suggest, Chapter 2 Anglo Indian Food Fest is a good option to start with. And then, sky is the limit to explore the cuisine in details!
Where: Chapter 2, P-377, Hemanta Mukhopadhyay Sarani, Southern Avenue, Kolkata - 700029
Cost for two: Rs. 1000 (plus taxes)
Time: 12 noon to 11.00 pm