Being a Calcuttan by Birth I consider it a privilege to be able to be the first one to write a review about one of the most successful Shopping malls in Kolkata or if I may say the Eastern part of India.
Firstly don’t be Mistaken the location of the mall is not the Centre of Calcutta. Its located in Salt Lake DC Block Sector 1. Its a property developed by the Bengal Ambuja Group. It is designed by the very well known Architect Charles Correa and is spread over 6 acres of land.
You would understand why I call this mall an Oasis once you visit the Salt Lake area in Kolkata. With more and more IT companies coming up with their offices in Sector V (thanks to Buddhadev) there is a huge population of youngsters who are not originally the residents of Calcutta who need a Cool place to spend their weekends. City Centre is the answer of their prayers. Be it summer or winter, weekday or weekend you will find constant activity in this mall.
The fountains and the open spaces are quite well designed provide the young crowd with ample fresh air and relief from the closed air conditioned office premises. It has a Food court called Hangout on the terrace which is a good place but I am not particularly fond of the food there. You could however buy some very nice junk jewellery from the vendors outside Hangout.
City Centre has a Shopper’s stop and all the regular brands of clothes, shoes, music stores, Restaurant Chains which you would know.
So I would like to mention a few unique stops that are not to be missed when one visits the City Centre Mall.
1. The Tea Junction: The Chai and the Samosa at the Tea Junction are a must for one and all. The decor of the small corner shop brings out the true spirit of The City of Joy and the small Cane stools remind you of the Yesteryears.
2. Kookie Jar: For all those who have a sweet tooth this is the best chocolate pastry shop in Kolkata. The entire range of their pastries is so yummy that I find it hard to decide which one I wanna eat !
3. Saakshi: This shop has a unique range of artificial Jewellery at an affordable price.
4. Orko’s: Amongst my favorite Restaurant for north Indian Food. The paneer pasanda, naan and pineapple raita are especially very good.
5. TimeZone: A gaming zone for all ages. Very nice collection of games! Try the Dome game in the centre.
6. A N John: For the perfect Haircut
7. BhagyaLakshmi Vs C3: C3 claim to be the answer For all your Grocery needs, but more often than not I have found that the products I was looking for were out of stock. Instead try the shop called BhagyaLakshmi. He keeps all the things you can think of and very fresh stock.
8. Dare to Wear: A small shop but has a very good collection of T-Shirts and Jeans for Guys if you are looking for something trendy and unusual.
9. M3: This shop has an amazing collection of Movies.
10. Inox: For the latest movies that you wanna catch
Apart from all these attraction if you happen to be there on a weekend evening you are sure to find some event going on in the open space near the fountain organized by some FM company. This could be your lucky day to perform something or win exiting prizes. I have won Gift vouchers worth Rs.300 in one such event.
Also forgot to tell you regarding the Horse Carriage Relic running on a tram rail which is actually a handicraft shop for buying small nothings!
City Centre is truly an oasis for the sheer level of crowd it attracts every day. Parents watching their little ones enjoying the open space, Groups of girls on the lookout for Cute Guys and guys trying to impress some pretty girls, Couples sitting on the stairs sharing a romantic moment and the elderly complaining that why didn’t they have a place like this in their times !!