Kabir's — Restaurant in Kolkata

Ganesh Chandra Avenue in Central Kolkata ,for decades is known as a hub for Computer Hardware , pumps and other Industrial machinery . I was bit surprised when my good friend told me about Kabir's ,while I was searching for a decent Turkish joint .

It was a stiflingly hot late summer afternoon when we were found dragging our half comatose bodies up the carpeted stairs at Kabir's . One gets the impression of walking into a middle eastern Drawing room as one climbs up. The place being too compact , no sitting on the floor business here .

We tried out the genuinely Turkish items from the menu , which does have a quite few Indian items too. I would strongly recommend consulting the helpful waiters here while ordering , otherwise one is almost guaranteed to carry home half eaten portions as parcels .

The things we tried out were : 1. Mutton Manisa Kebap ( Kebab ) Minced mutton cooked over charcoal and served with bread, barbequed salad, tomato salsa , butter and curd .

This thing bowled me over and made our visit worthwhile .

Mutton Ouzi Rice - Basmati rice cooked with succulent mutton and Turkish spices . Baked in pot.

This thing is basically Turkish mutton pulao . It looks like Biriyani , but its a distant cousin. Six pieces of decent sized mutton comes with the rice . Half portion will feed three people with normal appetite . If you are two , most probably you will be carrying a parcel home ( Just doesn't taste the same when it is reheated ).

Baklava Rolls - A typical middle eastern dessert made out of dough , which is served as strips. This was entirely unique to us and cant easily compare to known Indian desserts .

The young waiters out here ; while quite polite need to interact much more with the guests , considering most of the Kolkata dining crowd will be at sea while negotiating with the food .

The Indian part of the menu is priced quite cheap ( the chicken , mutton biryanis and the like ), while the genuinely Turkish items are kind of costly . ( The Half portion of Mutton Ouzi rice we ate , comes for Rs 850 currently ). I cant agree with some other reviews where the restaurant has been tagged inexpensive overall . This place certainly demands ones attention both taste and budget wise , before the diner walks in.

I think there is scope for improvement in the ambience of the place and service and hence holding on to a star in this review .

Cant wait to climb on those carpeted stairs...

Amid the bustling streets of Chadni chowk, tucked behind the gigantic hoardings is this gem of a restaurant. Specialising in Turkish cuisine this restaurant is a new addition to ever-growing and ever changing food landscape of Kolkata. When one thinks of budget food outlets on the back of the mind we always feel that we have to compromise on either quality or quantity. Thankfully this was not the case. With chandeliers dangling from the ceiling and arched doorway embroidery adorning the walls, the decor will definitely keep a budding instagrammer or foodblogger quite busy. The food:

Tavuk shish kebab: four pieces of chicken( with bone) marinated in 5 different spices mainly Fenugreek, coriander and chilli and curd and grilled to perfection. The pieces were soft and succulent. The flavour perfectly sits in your mouth and is not at all overpowering. (4/5)

Chicken Lahmacun: the Turkish version of pizza. Tandoori roti baked a little extra to give it a crispy texture topped with minced chicken and spicy dressing. Even though the taste of the dressing was really nice but sadly I couldn't taste any chicken in it. Maybe it was minced beyond recognition ,😆 (3/5)

Tavuk cheese kebab Yemek: probably the highlight of the lunch. 2 pieces of soft boneless chicken pieces stuffed with cheese. It was accompanied by a spicey gravy, pilaf fried egg and a spicey mixed veggies side. So many things was just perfect for this dish. The pilaf which is basmati rice cooked in saffron. Honestly I was taken aback by how something so simple could taste so amazing. Neither the fragnace nor the taste was overwhelming. It went amazingly well with the spicy gravy of the kebab. The kebabs were something else and out of this world. Even the mixed veg side was awesome.(5/5)

Sultan lokumu: icecream sandwich meeta bread. Two thin slices of white bread with pistachio flavored icecream in between. Not sure whether it was icecream or just cream. It also had coconut crumble in it. Topped with pistachio. Another perfect dish(5/5)

Sheer khurma: or as we Bangali like to call it shemai. It is kind of inbetween of a phirni and shemai. (3/5)

Our total pocket pinch was 565 for two people. All food prices are inclusive of taxes. I would highly recommend the tavuk cheese kebab Yemek and...

Kabir's is one of the few restaurants in Kolkata serving authentic Turkish food. We went there on a slightly chilly winter Friday evening to enjoy the delicacies.

We tried: Turkish Tea Turkish Coffee Marquis Orange Suyu Kanat (Chicken wings prepared in hung curd) Chicken Shawarma Tavuk Cheese Kebap Mutton Alinazik kebap Mutton Manisa kebap Kunafa

The tea had a nice aroma, but my two companion found it a bit too sweet. A little less sweet and it would have been perfect. The coffee was exceptional, a treat for people who enjoy black coffee, had a smokey texture to it. The orange mocktail was good but nothing special. The shawarma was really good and the insides were juicy. Tavuk Cheese Kebap was great, soft chicken kebabs with cheese oozing out of it when you cut it. Both the mutton kebabs were sheekh kebabs served with two kinds of bread. The Alinazik kebap was sheekh kebab on a base of smoked eggplant and hung curd while the Manisa had tomato based gravy and was on the spicier side. The bread served with Alinazik kebab had zatar spice in it and went well with the dish. But the show stealer was the bread that was served with Manisa kebab, it was so flavorful and soft, you could almost eat it without any gravy and complementen the kebabs perfectly. Kanat is basically tandoori chicken wings cooked in hung curd and was good value for money for the price. Last, but not the least, the Kunafa is one of the best desserts I've ever had in a restaurant. Tip : Order the Kunafa when you step into the restaurant because it takes around 45 minutes to 1 hour to prepare.

Cost : The bill came to exact 2500(even we don't know how that happened) for three people.

Must try: Turkish Coffee, Tavuk Cheese Kebap, Kunafa

Ambience & Service : The place had rustic oriental feel to it and mostly empty when we went there. The person in charge is very helpful and will suggest you good dishes according to your preference.

Overall a very nice experience and will definitely want to come...