Dolly's The Tea Shop — Restaurant in Kolkata

BUYER BEWARE We had a supremely bad experience as the very expensive tea we bought from the shop tasted of nothing but hot water when we tried it in our guest house.

We bought Oolong which was supposed to have a smokey flavour priced at 8000 Rs a kilo( no smell or taste at all) and premium tea which was priced at 7000 Rs a kilo and had no flavour but some smell. We returned the next day and to their credit they said we had not brewed the tea properly and proceeded to brew exactly the same two cups of tasteless tea. What surprised me most the lady in charge could not recognise the premium tea saying it was muscatel which it was not.

Anyway we were offered to exchange for the cheaper Muscatel at 4000 Rs a kilo which had a little flavour which we did take. No thought was given to the price difference.

Conclusion I have formed is that we were ripped off by people who knew little about tea. We normally use a fantastic tea man in Delhi called Mittel and his tea is light years from this pathetic offering.

A friend recommended Karma Kettle as a place worth visiting in Calcutta ( it is always after the event one gleans the true facts).

Hope...

A hidden gem in Dakshinapan. This place is owned by the first woman tea taster of India and named after her: Dolly. The inside of the tea shop is air conditioned while you can choose to take a seat outside if you want a smoke with your cup of tea. The ambience is really good with old retro music in the background. They hang lanterns from the ceiling which adds to the warm, cosy feeling offered by this tea shop. Almost all sorts of tea that they offer is A+ in quality and in make. The salads are fine. And the sandwiches are quite good too. Dolly's is quite pocket friendly and undeniably one of the better food sections in Dakshinapan. Dakshinapan is non air conditioned and in case you want to take a break from the shopping for a light casual meal, this is the place to go. There is Indthalia outside too but Dolly's provides, good tea, comfort food for lesser bucks, an amazing ambience and a cosy atmosphere. You can buy tea to take back home as well. There are no taxes of any kind imposed on any item on the menu. The menu is rather limited to a few varieties but I would still go back. The pasta however is...

Dolly's Tea is a unique tea shop and stands apart from any other tea shop in Kolkata. I have been visiting the shop since 2003 with the interval of a couple of years. I must say that in the past 20 years, the quality has remained intact. The staff of the shop and amazingly friendly: then and now. The shop is a good place for the connoisseur of tea. It is the best hang out joint for meeting people and spending hours over their aromatic range of tea. Summer is the best time to try out their cold tea specialities, all of which are awesome. They also sell tea leaves. If you are new and do not know which one to try, they will guide you to select the best that will relax you and assist in unwinding yourself. Among various options, I would recommend corn cheese sandwich and cold orange mint tea. But, keep exploring. It is kid friendly. Parking is available at the Dakhinapan Shopping Complex parking lot. It is closed on a sunday....