Grand Market Pavilion — Restaurant in Kolkata

i think its false advertising when your restaurant boasts serving multiple cuisines but can do none of them particularly well.. the immense variety here takes precedence over the actual taste of the dishes on offer. what's the point of having hundreds of dishes in your menu if most of them taste painfully mediocre? don't get me wrong, some dishes were great, but most were bland, inauthentic and unmemorable. nothing made my tastebuds go 'wow!', which is a shame since you're the premier establishment in the city and an international brand

you'll find everything here - A to Z - sushis, salads, biryani, noodles, momos - but most of it was below average.. and if i wanted to eat below average food, i'd eat at home!!

tandoor starters had no variety whatsoever - the fish, chicken and paneer had the same reshmi marinade sauce - no green chutney pahadi kebabs, no mutton seekh kebabs, no galawati kebabs offered at this 5 star joint

also, the mussels at the buffet are for show only - were stashed away in a discrete corner and looked like it had been stored there since 1986

costs rupees 5000 for two people (including taxes and tips) which would've been justified had your restaurant actually served up something memorable, which it did not

plus points - beautifully decorated, the lighting fixtures all over are mesmerising and very pleasant, amazing indian palatial inspired architectural design - a beautifully crafted building overall comfortable seating, lots of privacy, slowpaced and quiet; unlike the chaotic hustle-bustle of barbecue nation or other buffets servers and waiters were very polite, prompt and provided wonderful service i liked the desserts at the end, but paying rupees 5,000 just to swallow sugar doesn't make much sense to me

minus points - uninspired, bland food no matter the number of cuisines on offer - having hundreds of dishes in their buffet seems like their sole business and advertising model, not the depth of flavors - but visual variety can never triumph over actual gustatory enjoyment starters were shockingly bad, even a chain buffet restaurant like barbecue nation has better options no drinks - at all - not even a can of pepsi to go with your food - so you're left high and dry unless you're willing to spend even more and order overpriced drinks - i think rupees 2200 per person warrants a can of pepsi or even a glass of lemonade? receptionist was kind of untrained, we had to hunt her down to check into our reservation rather than being welcomed in - she saw us entering and just ignored us, i guess

some dishes i tried - (don't remember all) chicken biryani - bland and boring, chicken was chewy and dried out like leather mutton biryani - rice had the same flavor as that of chicken biryani, which was disappointing since India has so many varieties of biryani. so don't expect ambur style biryani, kolkata style biryani, malabar style biryani or any variations. on the plus side, the mutton was juicy and tasted great. mutton nihari - swimming in oil with no discernible taste, was not authentic at all - nihari in name only chicken makhani - was good shrimp torkari - liked it sushi - was good irish lamb stew - disastrous, tasted like overcooked lamb in salty water with mushy vegetables dal makhani - good paneer dishes - average, pretty sweet (lots of added sugar), some might like it, some might not salads - tasted stale - like leftovers from a previous buffet service, not fresh, terribly sliced, cut and presented croissants, bakery items - nothing...

Took my parents to celebrate my birthday here. Their first time experiencing ITC that they wanted to visit so much since i was a child but couldn't afford.

I don't know if it was a one time thing but the service was horrible. We felt like lost souls in the building. The only person who greeted us by themselves was the valet. Pretty disappointed for a first visit.. and now last visit.

Place is nice, smells not so good ... Looks old and not maintained well ... I can see why its loosing popularity. Went for buffet had to search around and call someone to get directions. And i am not being pretentious.. we grow up with a dream that when we earn good we will be at such a place where we will be treated like royalty because we will be paying like royalty for the service.

Never had any expectation from food.. let me tell u rich guys have poor food taste ... But expected better service. Instead i had to look at my dad walking around like we are in a bhandari..on the road. We have to beg for attention.

No one cane to our table to sit us, or ask us or guide us. We went to the pavilion market buffet. Now i know buffets are not that great anywhere but its ITC for gods sake. I hav been to Taj, marriot, roseate house, and so many 5 stars... No where is the service this bad. Food is crap everywhere except roseate jouse and Taj in my experience so far.

Had asked for 4 thumbs up .. took 18 mins to give. Asked for bill, had to wait 15 mins.. then we left.. the lady came running after us to give. In total it took 21 mins to get a physical bill i mean are u joking? I paid a grand for this service?

The cheese were horrbile tasting... But i guess thts how they taste. But the clams where definitely rancid. It was yuck.. horrbile. I mean no one tastes it befor serving??? I had to beg for bowls.. there is no helper and the chefs inside keep aviiding unless u shout call them. None of the food was upto the mark except for dal makhni maybe. And few others. Pani puri was horrbile in a city like kolkata?

Soup was brilliant so was the big fish. Sweets were also nice. Better outside for much cheaper price but passable. Dahi balle was nice.

I seriously consider kolkata to be a dead city now for service. Only ones better off are the ones who are out of the place. Horrible service. But 2 stars for the cleanliness inside.

Didn't want to give it but dad asked not to be too rude. I wouldn't want to eat here for free even. It not that i am not giving a chance but its very evident from the way everything is functioning here is that the bosses at the top are totally unaware of the laziness of the probably judgemental staff. Or they have given up hope for the hotel. Either way.... A lost...

A huge place that serves a lavish breakfast like how monarchs did. The options served were plenty and I was spoilt for choices. Located inside the posh ITC Royal Bengal, this place has valet parking with huge parking spaces. The ambiance is nothing short of royalty with ample seating space and a wide-spread buffet option.

I recommend starting light with their healthy veg & fruit juices. So much variety even with their juices and smoothies some of which I've not even heard of - Apple celery, bottle gourd turmeric, and bitter gourd cucumber, WOW!! 😁

Most of the foreigners out there went on with their classic milkshakes which were too good, creamy, and very light on sugar, so smooth cold coffee, diet day, or cheat day? Meh!! 😉

A large assortment of eggs, Flakes & oats impressed me. They have a melange of omelets which I've hardly seen in regular hotels. Eggs Benedict was spot on!! 👌

Salads & cold cuts would impress someone conscious of his protein intake. 😋

Amongst cakes & bread were the ever-delicious doughnuts, brioche, fruit cakes, and muffins. They were so soft, pretty moist, fluffy, and delicious!! 🥰

French toast, waffles & Pancakes were straight from the stone, hot and jiggly pancakes while the Waffles were crunchy and sweet - Do not forget to top them up with a scoop of the whipped cream and/or the maple syrup to devour the real deal!! 🤩 Pain au Chocolat and croissants were flaky and wafery on the outside, airy and gooey on the inside with mild sweet, blissful!!! 😘

A large spread only for the Indian, Chinese & Continental dishes. The list of items made my head spin since that day I realized how much was indeed too much. Chose the Chinese chicken dumplings with their native chili oil; perfectly cooked with light meat, ain't spicy, aromatic with the oil, and satisfied my cravings to the T. 😇

To wrap up the meal was the classic dum chai which was frothy, creamy, and very strong which I usually prefer. It settles well within the tummy and dances on taste buds for a long while. 🫡

Table booking is recommended on any day with the service being extraordinary. I had no complaints whatsoever with both the time taken to serve and the attitude of the employees around. Lastly, on the price part, they're indeed expensive so this might not be anyone's regular go-to spot.

*Personal rating...