Koshe Kosha, Rajarhat, Chinar Park — Restaurant in Bidhannagar

During my recent trip to India, I went here for dinner. I heard about this place from friends before.

I enjoyed the food. It was exactly as what I was looking for, simple Bengali meal with little frills. I was not super happy with the fish dish though. The cook threw way too much spices in.

Here are a couple of things that upset me about this establishment:

I had a rough time paying for the meal using my international credit cards. None of my cards would go through their system. I did not have sufficient cash with me. The folks (there were about half a dozen servers loitering around with exactly one guest in the restaurant) seemed to be nonchalant about this issue. Eventually, I had to call a friend who paid for my meal using PayTM.

As I later discussed this issue with other friends, a disturbing fact emerged. It seems that some restaurants deliberately block credit cards and force guests to pay in cash or other P2P mechanisms such as PayTM. Apparently, this is a way to avoid paying CC fees. There may be other reasons.

When I asked the staff to call up the help desk of the payment processor, they gave me the impression that they are doing something; but I became suspicious that they know exactly what is going on and wouldn't do anything to help me pay using my credit card. No one actually called someone else.

This seems like a scam.

The restaurant is on the road side with plenty of vehicular traffic and dust. Yet they do not cover the eating area adequately so we can enjoy a dust free meal. Moreover, when I asked for the direction for the restroom, they pointed me to a hideous looking washbasin. I guess I was looking for a private restroom. Silly me!

I left paying very little tip (usually I am generous with tips when I visit India) and crossed the restaurant off my list for...

Koshe Kosha, a very popular name, popular for its bengali style foods. Went here with my parents on my birthday. As we entered we were given hand sanitiser and served a plate of small papads. We asked for a bowl and a spoon, as I was gonna have 'payas' made by my mom, to which they very courteously gave us the things. We liked it.

Now coming to the food part.

1. Aam Pora Shorbot (Rs 80)... Not good at all... Very average taste... Expected a lot more...

2. Tetuler Sorbot (Rs 75)... Same experience as of aam pora shorbot... Expected a lot more... Could have been better...

3. Non-veg Thali (Rs 495)... Need to talk about this... It came with Rice, Begun bhaja, Jhuri Alu Bhaja, Sukto, Mug Dal, Mochar Ghonto, Pulao, Mach, Mutton Kosha, Chatni, Papad, Rosogolla. Every item was bang on, excellent in taste. 10/10 for all the items in the thali. The thali can be shared, but you cannot ask for extra food in the thali. For people with average appetite 1 non veg thali in enough for 2.

4. Basanti Pulao (Rs 145)... Excellent taste... Nothing more to say.

5. Gondhoraj Murgi (Rs 275)... Had 4 large pieces of chicken, and the smell of gondhoraj lebu can easily be felt... Taste wise excellent...

6. Daab Ice Cream (Rs 150)... This was on another level. If you are at koshe kosha, this item is a must try.

For 3 people we paid Rs 1380 (Including GST)

Overall 10/10 for main course to dessert. Refreshment drinks part can be improved a lot. Surely make a visit, you will come out with...

Taste: 5/5 Ambiance: 4/5 Service: 5/5 Value for money: 5/5 . I visited this place on a date with my new girlfriend. It's diagonally opposite to arsalan and aminia. It's very easy to spot from the same side of the road. Be on the service lane to park. There's enough parking space on the front and on the side lane. It can easily accommodate 30 people. When we visited, we were the only customers. They were playing bollywood music. They have a decent bengali ambiance, good for some nice family time. We ordered a non veg thali and bhapa pomfret. The staff was courteous enough to customize the thali according to our request. We were able to replace chicken kosha with gondhoraj chicken. So feel free to ask them if they can accommodate your requests. Thali was enough for 2 people and they do let you share the thali which is rare and highly appreciated. The service was prompt and courteous. I wish they were available on Zomato/dineout but they weren't. The price are quite budget friendly though, thali plus bhapa pomfret costed around 1k, would definitely recommend for some homely Bengali food on a decent budget for the days when no one feels...