Get set for Kolkata’s finest food tour. Greet your guide and take the subway up to the intellectual heart of the city. Here the Bengal revolutionary fighter Subhas Chandras Bose is more famous than Gandhi and the people are passionate about their rights and independence, not to mention their food.
The evening starts at a little street vendor that blends up one of the district's best tropical lasses. Afterwards, you'll hop from spot to spot tasting some fine Bengali fare - prawns covered in fragrant coconut milk curry, onion bahjis from a revolutionary food stand, succulent mutton kosha and a range of Bengali sweets to name just a few. Finish at one of the oldest colonial coffee houses in Kolkata where nearby university students descend for intellectual discussions.
Greet your guide outside Gate 4 of 'Esplanade metro station' and hop on a short train ride up to a district little visited by foreigners yet renowned by locals for its cuisine. When you disembark, you'll dive straight in with an exotic lasse found at a local street vendor before hopping into a tiny joint that's been whipping up some of the best mutton kosha curries in Kolkata for more than a century. Your guide will uncover stories of old Calcutta.
Visit Kolkata's most celebrated local seafood restaurants where you'll try their signature prawns covered in chingri coconut cream sauce and a mouth-watering curried fish mousse steamed in a banana leaf. After leaving you'll clamber aboard one of the old richshaws, the only place where these wooden carts still exist in India and take a short tour of the area en route to the next foodie stop. Gorge on a prawn kabiraji at a legendary kitchen started by a Scot in the 19th Century. Kolkata might seem busy, but your guide will take you on a walk down through a peaceful district pointing out temples and local life along the way. As you meander the backstreets of old Kolkata, you'll try tasty tidbits from the city's most famous onion bhajis to zingy gram salads made from herbs and pulses.
We'll stop by College Street, where university students pass by piles of school book sellers, heading on their way home from lectures. Drop into a local cafe to sample a famed coconut sherbet drink and then taste Bengali treats at a nearby sweet shop. At the faded grandeur of an old colonial coffee shop where students are busy debating, ceiling fans whirl overhead, and waiters serve coffees in traditional garb. This isn't just a foodie tour, it's a tour into the heart of historic Kolkata.
You will make your own way to the meeting points
• There is some moderate walking on the tour, so please wear comfortable shoes • Please wear appropriate clothing in rainy season • If you think you will have any trouble getting in and out of public transport or up stairs, please contact us