6 Best Restaurants in Kolkata (Calcutta), India

This well-liked restaurant is known for its traditional and contemporary Bengali cuisine. Try the prawns or the hilsa (a local fish), wrapped in banana leaves and steamed in a mustard and coconut marinade. The buffet here is one of the best you can get in the city—it's a great introduction to Bengali dishes.

This local favorite serves Cantonese, Szechuan, and Indian dishes in a setting that innovatively mixes Chinese and German-chalet style. Try the crisp fried chicken served with a mild sauce, the boneless chilli chicken, or the minced lamb cooked with cubes of tofu and hot garlic sauce.

Started in 2002, this is one of the most successful chains for traditional Bengali cuisine in upscale settings. All-time favorite dishes here include river prawns cooked in coconut milk and served in tender coconut shells.

This is one of the city's oldest restaurants, with an atmosphere that harkens back to its early days in the 1960s (some of the staff may actually date from those times, too). The Chelo kebab—a simple dish plated to resemble a cello with buttered saffron rice, a fried egg, two pieces of mutton (goat) kebabs, and one chicken kebab—is wildly popular. The dining room is intimate, thanks to the small tables, with white stucco walls, Tiffany-style lamps, and soft lighting.

Small and cozy, with minimalist furniture and plate-glass windows, this restaurant is run by a friendly, helpful staff. Don't-miss choices include prawn salad, fish-and-chips, lobster thermidor, and chilli crab.

With opulent furniture and ornate upholstery, Zaranj remains popular for its North-West Frontier cuisine and tandoori classics. The Zaranji raan, a favorite among guests, is a whole leg of goat marinated in Indian spices and slowly grilled—it takes a good 30 minutes to prepare, but it melts in your mouth.