I have always felt that Kolkatans do not get to appreciate the sheer goodness of doughnuts for the lack of proper doughnut sellers..I  mean they are available, say at Monginis or other cake shops but the sheer variety that a doughnut shop offers was missing from the Kolkata scene. I would wait to go abroad for a proper shop selling doughnuts always. Even if it is an hour’s stopover at the foreign airports I always went Doughnut hunting. Opening of "The Donut Baker" has changed it to some extent. I mean I will appreciate a lot more doughnut stores but having one is better than none no?

The Décor
Very standard coffee shop feel. Plastic cheerful furnitures, bright walls with blown up images of donuts and the preparation methods..very young and collegeisque. They have some board games (chess, dart, snake n ladder etc) on offer too. The feel was very festive when we went as it was just after Christmas.

The Food
Lots of different options available for Doughnuts..the colorful display will make even the most cynical desert non lovers to take a bite. I was in colorful heaven when I entered the store. I wanted to try so many of them  but since I was about to eat out at a restaurant I could indulge in only three. The Chocolate fudge Donut, The Chocolate and White choco-chips donut and the Smiley donut. I simply LOVED all of them. But then I am a confirmed doughnut fanatic. But even the others who had accompanied me loved them a lot.
Also available are a selection of hot and cold beverages and sandwiches.

Prices
Awesome! Most of them were INR 40 and the other dishes were not too expensive either. Also there were lots of offers on buying 6 or 12 pieces.

Overall recommendation – 3.5/5 (Could have rated 4/5 if the Basic Doughnut was on offer)
Pocket friendly joint. A heaven for donut lovers and kids. College goers should find it great too as it is nice and inexpensive.

Location: Park Street & Free School Street Crossing (Opposite Mocambo Restaurant), Kolkata, India

Jonsons Café

"I am an alien, I am a legal alien, I am an Englishman in New York………….."

This song kept doing its round in my head the moment I entered the Jonsons Café in Manali Mall..the very English looking pub in the middle of busy Indian Manali market..such a striking breath of fresh air!
I have always loved the feel of English pubs..the garden seating, the heavy glassware,  a glass of chilled beer in the sunshine…I feel there is a kind of simple earthy romanticism attached to it…

The ambiance in Jonson's

Swastika (the blog author, enjoying the warm sun)

We fell in total love with this café at Manali mall and frequented it often during our holiday in Manali. The food was stunning..so simple yet so very delightful. We tried the below dishes and we think anyone who goes to Manali should drop in at Jonsons..sure fire MUST VISIT!

Fried Trout Fish with mint and yogurt Chutney
First let me say, we are not a fan of fish..so coming from us a recommendation of a fish dish is very rare. So when we, vouched fish dis-likers say this is GOOD, you can well imagine how very good it is. The marination of the fish was absolutely perfect. As our knives went through, it felt we were digging into butter and not fish. Taste – just one word “mindblowing”.

Himalayan Trout Fish with Mint & Yogurt Chutney

Chicken skewers
A very pretty looking dish but very average in taste..we have tasted similar feat elsewhere. Nothing new, but good nonetheless.

Chicken Skewers

Cheese Platter 
The cheese platter looked yummy. Coupled with a glass of wine, it was an afternoon well spent. The platter had fresh Himalayan cheese – tasted a lot like paneer..though slightly more watery in texture..topped with some freshly ground pepper..it was the most unique one in the platter. The other cheeses were the usual parmesan, blue and yak cheese but coupled with olives and grapes it brought together the whole impression of fine wine n dine for us.

The yummy Cheese Platter

Wood fired Clay Oven Pizza – Pepperoni
One of the best thin crust pizza I have tasted in my life (Pizza chains in India like Dominos/ Pizza Hut will feel ashamed if they ever get to taste this one). The crust was perfect and freshly baked and more importantly it was baked in Wood Fired Clay Oven! That’s how Pizza should be. I think you can imagine from the picture how sinfully wonderful it tasted. Digging into it with our cheesy fingers..licking off the plate clean..ummm..when can I go back?

Wood Fired Clay Oven Pizza

Average cost of a meal for 2 people (with alcoholic beverages) is about Rs.1500.
PS We went there quite often and did not have ALL this food in one day ;)

Overall recommendation – 5/5

Some parting shots:

Panoramic view of Jonson's Cafe 

Metro Pole Cafe

 2nd October, being a National Holiday (read Gandhi Jayanti) and dry day in India, we went out for tea/ coffee and snacks. We did not want to go to the regular places like Cafe Coffee Day/ Barista. So while scouting for a new place, we hit upon a Pole. Nope, I am not talking about North or South Pole. It was Metro Pole- Hotel, Restaurant and Cafe.  We chose to try the Cafe Metro Pole..

The decor

It is a small place, pretty nondescript from the outside..however the inside was charming..the small wooden round tables and chairs reminded me of childhood playhouses..and almost to reinstate that there was a rack filled with games and books.

I rummaged through the game pile to find one we liked and started enjoying ourselves though however for us grown ups..I would have preferred some cushioned chairs or sofas.

The food display was quite nice..little flags marking the prices..though there weren't too many options...

The Food

We chose Lemon Iced tea, Non-veg Burger and Non-veg Burritos. The food was more than disappointing here..the burritos filling was prepared with too much of Indian masala, not at all Mexican in taste..very very Indian and not too great. Though the total disappointment came in the form of the burger- Stale Hard Bread! It is not often that I had to send back the food I ordered but it was the case here...the staff realized the food was not fresh and offered us a replacement dish and we ordered Chicken with Sesame seeds..which was not bad...nothing great..average and spicy...

Except the iced tea..which was perfect, the whole meal was a disappointment for us completely.

Stale hard bread Burger

Indianized Burritos (too much Indian masala, to be Mexican)

Chicken with Sesame Seed 

The only respite- Lemon Iced Tea

Over that the service was quite slow though there weren't too many guests..just another table was occupied other than ours.

Verdict

Overall I will not recommend this place to anyone. Please stay away!!!!

Price - Rs. 350 for 2 snacks and 2 drinks
Address - 174 Sarat Bose Road (near Deshapriya Park Xing), Kolkata, W.B. (India)

Rating - 1.5/5

Byloom Cafe

We have been to rooftop café, poolside café, café on a deserted highway but how about a Café within a “saree” shop? What can you expect from such a café? That’s what we explored today! As the biggest festival of Bengalis, “Durga Puja” is just a month & a half away, it’s time for us to hop from shop to shop and pick up clothes for selves as well as for near & dear ones. That’s what we were doing today afternoon and discovered this place called “Byloom”. We finished our shopping and while waiting at the payment counter, the Café in the store caught our attention. Our expectation wasn’t much but we should admit that we were pleasantly surprised.

It has the feel of an old world Bengali home .We initially thought that some saree clad Bengali lady will appear to take our order…no lady but the service was superb. The best thing we liked is that the waiters seemed to vanish and only appeared to take orders or serve leaving us in our own little nostalgic moment to contemplate the lives of old rich & royal Bengali families (whose identities are now on a path of extinction in Kolkata!!)

The Decor
The decor is simple- feels like as if you have walked into someone's living room. Colorful handloom cushions to cozy into; it is a charming little place. There is a small area to sit outside with a fountain but it was too hot a day for us to venture outside. The outer area would serve as a perfect rendezvous for love birds in the evening, especially during the winter season.

The Interior

The Fountain outside

Outer sitting area

Wall Decor

The Food
Coming to the food, the menu does not offer a very wide choice (after all it’s a Saree store first) but enough to make a choice for a light meal/ snack. We ordered very basic items mutton chops, fish and chips and fresh lime soda.

Fresh Lime Soda

Mutton Chops with Tomato Kashundi (a concoction of tomato & mustard sauce)

Fish & Chips

Verdict The food was finger-licking delicious with a capital “D”. The melt in the mouth- superb quality of fish fry was among the best that we have tasted in a while. It’s served with mayonnaise and French fries. We can say that, in recent times we haven’t tasted such fresh “Bheckti” fish!!!!
Mutton chops served with tomato kashundi (a concoction of tomato paste & mustard sauce)....mmm heavenly! Tastes every bit like it was made in a Bengali grand mom’s kithchen.. so wholesome it was.

From the heavy ceramic crockery to the subdued pelmet lighting it is a place well worth exploring!

Address: 58B, Hindusthan Park (Near Krystal Chopstick); Kolkata- 700 029

Price - Rs. 500 for 2 snacks & 2 drinks

Rating: 4/ 5 (We would have love to give it 5/5 but we think, they need to include some more options for the vegetarian people).

(Content: Swastika| Photography: Abhiroop)

Bohemian…unorthodox ….the name is quiet apt if I think about it..

The restaurant is small , the décor is quirky not to mention the mouth watering sumptuous food; I can say this restaurant is clicking with me at all the right places.

The Decor

The theme

The outside décor is very bohemian artistic in an edgy sort of way..the inside is small cozy and to be frank doesn’t quite live up to the promise of edginess perceived from outside. The indoor fountain is pretty nice but IMHO doesn’t connect with the whole Bohemian unorthodox edginess theme..

The food

I am one happy bunny to be talking about the food in here..I ate there last Sunday and have already recommended the place to at least 15 people! The food is mostly a fusion of Bengali (or Indian?) and contienental..and the tastes blend together in a delightful sort of way..They also have a classic continental menu which we tried.

What we tried!

Starter – Bacon wrapped prawns (we were recommended this dish by everyone who visited this joint before us). Large prawns wrapped in bacon , marinated in a sweet and savoury sauce and roasted to perfection. It was served with a Mayo dip which was probably mango flavoured! It was awesomeness in one word - a sheer delight on the palate!

Bacon wrapped Prawns

Mocktails - We tried Magic potion and  Sex on the Beach, and though they looked pretty similar they quiet different…while one was topped up with pepper powder the other had shredded rinds of "gondhoraj" (Bengali term) lime which elevated it to a different level completely.

Sex on the Beach & Magic Potion

Main course

We went the traditional way here and chose to go with the Ham steak and the Chicken steak..both were nice and wholesome in a no non sense sort of a way. The presentation had details which we hadn’t overlooked..tiny bits of carrots and thyme(??) surrounded the plate. The portion sizes were rather large and I guiltily admit that I wasn’t able to finish my portion.

Chicken Steak

Ham Steak

Dessert

YUMMM from the word go.We tried the Gondhoraj Souffle…which was soufflé flavoured with rinds of the gondhoraj lime again! We are not usually a big fan of soufflé but would grant this full points without batting an eyelid. It had the perfect balance of sweet & bitter..we shared our dessert to blissfulness :)

Gondhoraj Souffle

Overall recommendation – 4.5/5 ..must visit. Though book your tables in advance during the weekends if you don’t want to stand and wait outside for at least half an hour like us!

Average Price – Rs 1400 for a couple for all 4 courses

Location – 32/4, Old Ballygunge 1st Lane, Ballygunge, Kolkata