They say that ‘happiness is a buffet’ and who doesn’t like a whole array of dishes beautifully presented in front of your eyes with the option of eating till you almost drop dead. The buffet service probably started a very long time ago and it has been definitely there for the last 2 – 3 decades. However, in today’s day and age, the buffet has taken over the plated service. Most of the high end restaurants, all day dining, and coffee shops have buffet service, some every day and some on weekends only. With the fast moving life of today’s generation, the buffet seems to be the answer of experiencing good food in the fastest possible way. While all five star hotels have a fabulous buffet service for their breakfast, lunch or dinner, we are going to leave them out from this list and speak about a few standalone restaurants that have succeeded to make a name for them in throwing a lavish buffet.
6 Ballygunge Place is one name that is synonymous with value for money lavish buffet in Bengali cuisine. They have buffet service for lunch and dinner on all days and they have given the ‘all you can eat’ a different name altogether. They serve at least 4 kinds of non vegetarian dishes, from fish, mutton, chicken and prawns. There is always a starter with some luchi (pooris). The vegetarian also have more than enough options to satiate their hunger and taste buds. No one has to vouch for the quality and the taste of the food at 6 BP. One will have to experience it to believe it. And the best part is that it is quite easy on the pocket.
Oh! Calcutta, another nationally known name has never let down its patrons in their extravagant buffet service. Although a bit pricey, they serve all kinds of veg and non veg varieties. Sometimes they also serve crabs. This buffet is bound to transform the everyday ordinary to something special. And no, they don’t do this every day. This one is for the weekends only.
Barbeque Nation, another national brand with its every growing presence has two outlets in Kolkata. An apt place for people of Kolkata for the amount of food that one person can consume for a very reasonable amount. Equally good for both vegetarian and non vegetarian options, most of the starters are served on skewers and placed on the live pit on each individual table. The main course is also quite a joyful jumble of dishes. However one must look out for the dessert spread, especially the assorted kulfi counters where you get a variety of flavours from paan masala to strawberry, kesar pista, malai etc with a huge range of toppings.
Being the electronic hub of the city, Sector V boasts of a number of restaurants serving buffet menu and one of them has mastered the art of a great buffet to capture the corporate lunches or dinners has been Ocean Grill. They have an amazing variety of seafood which can be ordered separately. Great place for quick office lunches with a large group of people and the buffet consists of seafood variety as well as the regular Indian menu of vegetarian and non vegetarian selection.
Sigree Global Grill is another Speciality restaurant’s feather in the cap after Mainland China. Grills from across the globe are their forte and they have a unique style of presenting the grills on a charcoal pit dug inside each table. Sometimes there is Japanese teriyaki chicken and sometimes Argentine fish chimichurri in the starters. They have a different buffet selection everyday and always there is something interesting to find. Again, for Kolkata, it may be a bit pricey, however the grills are totally worth it.
The erstwhile Sarson, which was located in Southcity mall have now moved to Purnadas Road in a new avatar called Sarson360 Degree. They have quite a handsome lunch and dinner buffet spread on weekends and dinner buffets on Wednesdays and Fridays, which the Sarson loyalist vouch for. The starters are worth all the money and are usually served at the table.
When we talk about buffets, we cannot leave Mainland China out of the list. There a multiple outlets and all of them have one thing common, the food is good. It is definitely steep in pricing considering it is not a five star, however, be prepared for to savour the delicately balanced food from the dainty suimai to some ginger capsicum fried rice or the fiery Kolkata bhekti in Sichuan sauce. The buffet always offers amazing options, having at least 4 different varieties of meat and seafood. Lately there is also a khowsuey counter to tantalise the taste buds and dimsum counter with three different kinds of dips
Bombay Brasserrie in a short time has managed to enthral the people of the city by presenting a very stylish and gastronomically uplifting experience. Yes, it is Indian food, but presented in a very thought provoking and unique manner. Monday to Fridays is a great time to experience the food through their lunch buffet, which is very reasonably priced and there is a whole array of their popular and some unique dishes.
Written By
A true blue Kolkata foodie, Anindya loves cooking and eating his Kosha Mangsho. Anindya weaves stories around food as he believes exceptional food is an emotional experience. Previously a restauranter, now a passionate photographer and traveller, he runs a successful blog called Pikturenama and contributes to other publications.
