Saptapadi- this Bengali Cuisine restaurant is situated on Bidhan Sarani. The location of this place is important for another reason. It is on the road which is just opposite to the ancestral house of Swami Vivekananda.
We were 4 people in the group( 2 couples) and we decided to have a gala lunch(purely Bengali). We went to purchase some books for my friend in College Street who has come to Kolkata after a long time.So, I planned to go to this restaurant very near to Boi Para, as I have excellent experience to dine in another Saptapadi located in Baghajatin, which is only 10 minutes away from my place.
It was a holiday and the restaurant was relatively empty. The ambiance is nothing fancy, in fact the place is a bit clumsy and only 4 tables are there in the ground floor. I guess, similar arrangement is done on the 1st floor too. So, if you expect something extra ordinary and want to have the comfort of having a lunch in spacious lounge, this restaurant can not meet this expectation.
But, I like this place for its authenticity of food and being a "Bangal"( East Bengal origin), I really like the items they prepare and it makes all of us a bit nostalgic too.
They provide both vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes.
On veg front, they make Phool kopir Dalna, Mochar Ghonto, Dhoka, Daal Bahar, Paneer, Bhaja Alur Dom, Potel er Dolma. All these items are unique in taste and you will bne confused to choose your option. Anyways, we choose Daal Bahar and Mochar Ghonto.
On non veg, they prepare both fish and chicken dishes. They prepare delicious fish preparation like Bhetki Paturi, Mach er Kaliya, Pabda Jhal, Chingri Maach er Malaikari, Mourola Chacchari, Bhapa Ilish. We ordered Pabdha jhaal and Bhapa Ilish.
On the chicken front, they have items like Doi Murgi, Potol Manso( innovative one), Aam Murgi, Kancha Lanka Murgi, Saptapadi special manso. I ordered my all time favourite Kancha Lanka Murgi( Chicken with green chilly bengali style).
You can have either Rice or Misti Polau with the main course, we preferred to have rice.
Apart, on the starters, you can have Posto pyazi, Mocha narkel er bora, Mach bhaja, Chingri mach er cutlet, Mansor chop, Paneer koraisutir cutlet etc. We ordered posto pyazi and chingri mach er cutlet. They give 2 pieces for each item on the starter front. You can have them while they are preparing the main course.
Apart, you can have drinks like Ghol er sarbat, Aam pora sarbat, Jaljeera, Lebur sarbat, Kesar badam sarbat etc.
I liked the way the food was served to us in clay dish, clay pots and water in clay glass. It reminds you about the true culture of rural Bengal.
The waiters are professional, knowledgeable and well behaved.
Now, coming to the taste, all of us ate our heart’s content and the meal was just sumptuous. But, the quantity of rice was really less, so all of us ordered extra bowl of us, as it was the lunch time and we were hungry too!
We ordered another chicken preparation, Kosha manso to complete the meal.
Price was OK, but as we had to make repeated orders, the bill amount was handsome though.I am breaking down the price below:
*Posto pyazi:Rs.40
Chingri mach er cutlet: Rs.40
A bowl of Rice: Rs.40,
Kosha Manso: Rs. 120
Daal Bahar:Rs. 40
Mochar Ghonto: Rs.50
Pabda Jhal: Rs.105
Bhapa Ilish: Rs. 215
Kanchalanka Murgi: Rs. 105.
Misti Doi: Rs.25,
Tomato chatni and Papad Rs. 25 each plate.*
I have no complaint against Saptapadi barring the quantity of food issue. They should increase the quantity for a single dish even with some increase of rates, if required.
Last, we took some desert. I have my common option of Misti Doi as nothing can be compared to it after this heavy weight lunch. Other ordered Papad and Tomato chatni.
They also provide sweets like Rosogolla, sandesh etc but we did not want them.
If you are a biryani lover you can also have chicken or mutton biryani, but as it is a restaurent of Bengali cusisine, why should I try Biryani here? There are lots of Biryani houses in the city.
If you are just keen to taste the authentic Bengali food and celebrate a GALA lunch or dinner for a special occasion, Saptapadi is your safe choice. It is not a simple meal hotel, so celebrate any special day in this restaurant.
Movie buffs in Bangal are familair to the origin of the name "Saptapadi". It is a super hit Bengali movie acted by legendary Uttam Kumar and Suchitra Sen. So, you need to celebrate eating in this restaurant.