Reviews Young Bengal Hotel Restaurant

I liked the way how I enjoyed the food as much as SC Bose used to in his time. Many freedom fighter used to gather up here for lunch and dinner and to my surprise, not many people know of it. I had many fishes and mutton here and I’d rate everything here 10 on 10.

Total "Bangaliana"..... Excellent choice of food with lots of bengali fish dishes. Service is good! Every "Bong" should try this place out! Price is quite cheap.

one of the oldest bengali restaurant in khidderpore serving authentic bengali food at a pocket friendly cost.the ambience is quite nice and will take you back to last century.staffs are nice & courteous.all the dishes are quite delicious and way of serving is very nice(banana leaves & earthern water glasses).this place is one of my regular visits and I will recommend people to visit this place.

Amazing Bengali food served at a very affordable price. The place smells of the old Calcutta charm. A pice hotel ..so dont look for luxury. Food is just awesome. Fresh Food served.

My rating 4.25/5
In a nutshell:

A pice hotel opened in 1930s, that still serves authentic Bengali food made from fresh ingredients. If u r in Kolkata and want to try local food as it is cooked at home, either get invited to someone's home or visit here.

Short description - in case u r in a hurry:

Yes, u read it right - Pice hotel. ‘Pice’ was a currency denomination in colonial India. This ‘Pice hotel’ concept was common in that era where every item had to be paid for separately, including salt, onions and lemon wedges. Nowadays they serve salt on the house but rest r still charged.

‘Young Bengal’ movement happened nearly a century before this restaurant opened. It seems the founder was inspired during the centenary celebrations.

It is a 1930s restaurant & nothing much seems to have changed inside. Even the signboard on the façade is completely worn out & faded.

As we entered the gate, we landed in a courtyard, beyond which there was a thatched roof building in which this restaurant is located.

The interiors had some old framed press coverage of this restaurant. The furniture was wood & marble.

Office goers eat here regularly, doctors from nearby hospital, police, army, dock employees, businessmen in the area. Once in a while during occasions do they get people from outside the neighbourhood coming to eat here. However they get NRIs, foreigners etc also as customers who come here after reading on internet.

Bengali food is subtle - quite opposite of North Indian food. One has to develop the taste and appreciation. Please avoid this restaurant if ‘subtle food’ appears to b bland to u. If u appreciate East Indian food, u wud love it.  

Food is home like - with not 'on the face masalas', fresh ingredients and a tinge of sweet - as in 'ghoti' homes.

For the uninitiated, 'bangal' was the term used to describe Hindu families who migrated from east Bengal in early to mid 1900s and 'ghoti' referred to the original inhabitants of West Bengal.

Staff was not in uniform. Nice & warm people who took immense care of us when we were dining.

There is no menu card. Items were hand written with chalk on a black board.

Detailed description - in case u hv the time to njoy reading:

Mochar ghonto with chingri ( banana flower curry with shrimps). It was like home made but as on the day guests r coming, the mom wud make it a bit spiced up (yet not on the face). Tinge of sweet, crunchy mocha tasted yumm. Flavours of masalas made their presence felt. Rate it 4.5/5.

We next tried Pui shak chorchori with macher muro (poi leaves curry with fish head). The curry was intense, robust, rustic. It had pungency of mustard oil & had burnt feel that added flavour. Fish flavour permeated the curry. The dish was excellent. Rate it 4.5/5

Dal was super simple with 'barely there' spices. It was thin and yumm. Soul food for many Bengalis. Rate it 4.25/5

Aloo bhaja (fried potato) was perfect match stick size and shape. It was crispy and perfectly salted. No more value additions. Just like home. It was not freshly made and served but was made sometime bk / I guess 30 mins bk. had it been freshly made, wud hv rated it 4.5/5. As it is, Rate it 4.25/5

Dhokhar dalna (curry of lentil cakes) had strong asafoetida flavour that was enjoyable. It was not hard and was not crumbling away either. Perfect texture. A hint of sweet, salt and hot were very well balanced. Loved the gravy as well. Rate it 4.25/5.

Fish Paturi (fish wrapped in banana leaf) was excellent. It was not made in shorshey bata (mustard paste) but with onion, ginger , garlic paste. The marinade was brown in color, had a sweetish tinge, was somewhat hot and marvellous to eat. Juices of the fish amalgamated with the marination. The fish was flaky, juicy and yumm. Excellent overall. Rate it 4.75/5

Parshey shorshey was very good as well. The fish itself was fresh and very good. It was soft and yumm, inspite of the fact that it was deep fried a bit over optimally. The gravy was not extremely pungent but was pretty well balanced. Rate this dish 4.25/5.

Chingri malay curry was not a true blue Malay curry but a very nice prawn curry. It didn't have the thick coconut milk base. However the gravy was flavourful and very tasty. Flavours of both prawns and spices made their presence felt. The prawn was tasty but a bit rubbery. Rate the dish 4.25/5

Mutton kosha was not a mutton kosha the way we r used to eating at commercial joints. It was a great home style mutton jhol. Rate it 4.25/5

We also tried pulao – mild sweet, soft independent grains of rice, with cashew in it. Nice, flavorful & tasty on its own. Rate it 4/5

Tomato chutney (pronounced by server as tomatom) was very good. Tinge of sweet, sour & salt. Rate it 4.25/5.

Mango chutney was sweet & sour, with a tinge of salt. Loved it & ordered an extra bowl. Rate it 4.25/5

The overall rating of food at Young Bengal averages out to

However the joy of eating here is way beyond rating.

The Young Bengal Hotel in Khidderpore is an 87 year old restaurant that still caters to more than 200 people every day.
The simple meals of rice, a variety of fish curries and vegetables are delicious and fresh. If you want to taste heritage in very bite, this is the place to be.
Negatives are the bare interiors, cramped during lunch hours, but people go by the quality of their food. If you are a fish lover, try the local fishes like pabda, rui and others. The food is light on the palate, just like home-cooked Bengali food.The lunch hours start around 11 and end by 3 and dinner from 8 to 10.Dont't forget to give a call before coming here because the food finishes really quick and they make limited quantities and not as per order.

I don't know why foreigners and international bloggers go to places like 6 Ballygunge Place, Bhojohori Manna, Oh Calcutta to explore Bengali cuisine. They're just overhyped, overpriced and no where near to the authentic taste of Bengal. Where the true Bengali cuisine is present in a Pice hotel like Young Bengal. Bengali food is meant to be not very spicy, healthy and flavorful at the same time. Young Bengal is serving just that from last 93 years. I took a thali with Rice, Sukto, Chicken, Aamer Chatni and the taste was just as expected. Fresh and truly home made food. Prices are very affordable. If you like to explore then ambiance here represents the nostalgia of old Calcutta that you'll fall in love with. Till the time Kolkata food vloggers are busy at Nandini's hotel, if you really love Bengali food then you should give them a try.

It is a bit difficult to locate. Road is under a flyover. However it is very old and continuing since British era. Historically the price was charged for all items by Paisa or pice. So the name is pice hotel. Food is served on a banana leaf. Items are not costly. We took rice, dal, pabda machher jhal, chanchra, alu bhaja, chicken curry and amer chatney. All these dishes are authentic Bengali dishes and tasty also. The hotel serves only authentic Bengali cuisine. Mutton was over . Also no sweet was available. Every item was very tasty and price is affordable. Quality of rice was very good. We thoroughly enjoyed our food. Really enjoyable experience.

Very old and good hotel . Testy and hygienic food available here. Food quality is completely homely. Varities of fish available here.

It serves an authentic and simple Bengali food.

Very old pice hotel, 93 year old. They still cook the food in wood fired chulas and the spices are ground in old style " shil Nora" which gives a very unique taste to the food. Little shaby inside as maintenance is not easy from the sales coming in .

This place had always been favourite haunt of mine while frowning up in Kidderpore. Went back after 12 years and was very happy to find the place still there. The quality of the food is great and very well made. Absolutely authentic Bengali fare is served. However, the place has become very expensive. It wasn't this expensive before. But the food quality is, again, still very good.s

Very popular choice for the authentic Bengali foods for reasonable prices service is good