Mitra Cafe — Restaurant in Kolkata

This review is for the Shyam Bazar outlet of the famous fast food chain in Kolkata. Most would argue the Shobhabazar outlet to be its most authentic representation for it being its first store and I do not intent to argue with that but the Shyam Bazar one holds a special place to me, but we shall be back to that a little while later. First let's review the food. Almost every item in the menu is someone's personal favorite, and rightly so, cause every item is quite well prepared. In the age of snack bars where most items in the menu feature some permutation and combination of the same five-six base ingredients, Mitra Cafe's menu offers a varied range of items that require different preparations, flavor combinations and are suitable for different meals of the day. From stew to biriyani, hefty spice pumped side dishes to light snacks, the cafe has something for everyone. But, there are two items that come hand in hand with the name of Mitra Cafe; fish kabiraji and fish fry. If you google Mitra Cafe, pictures of these two items would flood your screen that's how iconic these two items are, the first being the more celebrated one of the two. If you are motivated to visit Mitra Cafe after reading this review, be a good lad and order the diamond ones (the diamond fry and diamond kabiraji). Most will say they are just the larger versions of their regular counterparts. NO, THEY ARE NOT! And if they are then, my friend, size does matter. And if you are planning to order just one item from the menu then order the fish diamond fry. According to me, it is way underrated. Now the negatives. Well the dining area is significantly small. But, I find it quite endearing, probably because I have spent a lot of joyous hours of my life there laughing and sharing food with my friends. But I also like it because there is a growing lack of human connection around us. Everywhere we go we are offered options to minimize human contact. Single booths in cafes, single seats in trams and where there is no such option one can always bring out the earphones and with a mere touch on the smart phone can separate oneself from the rest of the world. Mitra Cafe almost snatches that privilege from you cause it's very difficult to avoid the stranger sitting at the other side of the table, when they are breaking the proverbial bread with you and when you have little chance of avoiding the occasional eye contacts because of the congested setting. So go on, order a fish fry in Mitra Cafe and start a conversation with a complete stranger. And if the stranger turns out to be a total weirdo, then you always have the option to put on the earpiece and blast that familiar song and enjoy the...

An 105 years old legendary cafe near the Sovabazar – Central Avenue crossing, with the Sovabazar Metro Station within a stone's throw. This north Kolkata cafe was once a regular stop for many renowned celebrities. From Uttam Kumar to Anjan Dutta to Bratya Basu, this place has welcomed a lot of Stars. Therefore, it is a great old world charm in old kolkata.

The typical style of 'chop cutlet' placed with the old marble top tables and jaded plates and cutlery. Amongst the variety of special items, some renowned items are Mutton Chop, Brain Chop, Mutton Cutlet, Mutton Curry, Mutton Kasha, Mutton Moglai, Dry Mutton Chop, Dry and Gravy Mutton Moglai Do-peaji, Kabiraji and Afghanis . They have the entire repertoire to transport one back in time by 40/50 years.

The food is astoundingly magical to foodies. Many special items of this cafe are simply go out of stock within an hour of opening. Perhaps the only letdown is their tight space which quickly fills up at rush hours!! So book your table as early as possible to enjoy a bite from the 'past'...a taste which will linger in your taste buds for a...

Though international brands of eateries like KFC, PiZza hut, Dominos and MacD have mushroomed all over the city, North Kolkata is still well known for traditional chop ,cutlets , kabirajis and there are few cabins and cafes which not only serve these mouthwatering snacks but also provide you the comfy atmosphere of having adda. Mitra Cafe is one of them.I went to the shyambajar outlet,but I was highly disappointed that I could not relish good food and enjoy a good adda. The service here is not good at all. Staffs are less in number and they are not efficient enough to manage the crowd. The place cannot accommodate more than 10 people and it is untidy as well.The food was ok. I must mention here that I have tasted much better chops n cutlets in other cabins. Diamond fry is the most recommended dish of mitra Cafe but I found it overrated. They don't even bother to buy sufficient number of glasses containing drinking water! In comparison to quality one may find it expensive.I hope the other outlets of mitra cafe may encourage me to write a...