Some of the best food and certainly the best chai in this area can be enjoyed from the numerous street vendors . You can get spicy Indian breakfasts and strong sweet chai to kickstart the day at a fraction of restaurant prices. The food is fresh and the wooden benches provided make excellent viewpoints. Behind New Market are several Muslim restaurants , mostly serving meat dishes, but a couple do excellent vegetarian samosas.

 

Aaheli , Peerless Inn , 12 Chowringhee Rd tel 033/243 0222. Excellent Bengali food and good atmosphere.

Abdul Khalique , 32 Marquis St. Cheap Muslim café near the corner of Stuart Lane, serving good kati and egg rolls.

Aminia , 6A SN Banerjee Rd, behind New Market & opposite Elite Cinema. Superb and inexpensive Mughlai cooking; the biryanis are excellent but rich.

Aqua Java , Third Millennium New Empire, New Market. Trendy café serving great coffee and snacky meals including pizzas; there is another one at 79 SN Pandit St, Bhowanipur.

Astor , 15 Shakespeare Sarani tel 033/242 9950. Bar and several restaurants including the multi-cuisine Serai and the Banyan Tree serving Bengali food, but the best is Kebab-e-Que in the garden, which serves excellent tandoori food.

Blue Sky Café , Sudder Street. On a corner, halfway down the strip. Budget travellers' haunt providing all the old favourites. Clean, well run and a popular meeting place.

Curd Corner , Sudder Street. One-table café offering curd, fresh fruit juice, coffee and street scenes.

JoJo's , 6 Sudder St. Upstairs a/c restaurant packed at lunchtime, with a good flexible menu including travellers' fare.

Kathleens , 12 Mirza Ghalib St. Justifiably popular bakery and patisserie with several other branches.

Khalsa , Madge Lane. Simple but enduringly popular dhaba serving basic cheap food.

Lytton , 14 Sudder St. Along with a bar, the hotel has two good restaurants including the Dynasty serving Chinese food and Gaylords serving Indian and Western.

Nahoum & Sons , F20, New Market. Long-standing family confectioners selling delicious fruitcake, cashew macaroons, chola (Jewish braided bread), cheese straws, chicken patties and bagels with cream cheese.

Nizam's , 22-25 Hogg Market. Legendary if somewhat faded place behind New Market to the north, which specializes in the kati roll . These spicy sheesh kebabs , rolled into a paratha of white flour, are now sold throughout the city. Take away or eat in cubicles around the central halls.

Oberoi Grand , 15 Chowringhee Rd tel 033/249 2323. Although expensive, Ban Thai produces by far the best Thai cooking in town.

Oasis , 2 Madge Lane. Small a/c multi-cuisine restaurant between Sudder Street and New Market. Pricey but popular lunchtime restaurant with a/c and a mixed menu. Closed Thurs.

Park , 17 Park St tel 033/249 3121. Zen is an upmarket "Oriental" restaurant serving dishes from Thailand, China, Japan and Indonesia; Saffron specializes in Indian cuisine.

Princess , 12 Mirza Ghalib St. Around the corner from Sudder Street, this smart but affordable place is good for tandoori, ice cream, teas and cold beer. Closed Thurs.

Waldorf , Park Street, opposite the Post Office. Quality Chinese restaurant which has had a chequered history but is now on the up.

Zurich , 3 Sudder St. Near the Blue Sky Café and similarly pitched at travellers; more comfortable and restaurant-like, with good food and a relaxed atmosphere.