Kharagpur (IIT KGP) restaurants 2019

Hi! So a lot of first years keep asking me about food and I wonder why they haven't already tried each and every restaurant, because that's what I did when I realised the mess chicken just doesn't cut it.

Note: Restaurant lists are subject to market fluctuations (and pandemic losses), and ratings are subject to individual taste predispositions. Reader discretion is advised. I wrote this in December 2019, and now I am publishing it in the middle of COVID19 because I don’t want it in my drafts. The situation may change, in which case, this article will be a relic of the pre-pandemic KGP.

I. Everyday deliciousness! (Home-cooked style)

Let’s start with restaurants that you can go to everyday, when the mess food is bad, when you miss the mess timing, and want to grab a quick no-frills meal. I am focussing on the ones I think less people know about. Included a google maps link. Light on wallets too.

1. Delicious: The name suggests deliciousness and the food is indeed delicious, in the home-cooked way. And ghee tawa roti for the win! They are open only for lunch and require you to go to the counter to order and pay. The tall, average build counter guy is very friendly and will answer all your questions during non-rush hour, and is present 90% of the times. If you’re confused about what to order, just ask him and tell them your spice level! In my fifth year, I had lunch at Delicious at least 4 days a week. Don’t get it delivered, their tawa rotis are best eaten hot and straight from the Tawa! Dishes I used to eat all the time:
   Veg: Neembu Pani, Chai, Coffee (tastes more like sweet milk than coffee but weirdly pairs well with their lunch plus the tall guy sweet-talks me into ordering it every time), Ghee Tawa Roti, Baigan Bharta, Aloo Jeera, Tomato Paneer, Palak Paneer (looks unusual but tastes good), Dal, Dal fry, Dal Tadka, Tomato Tarka, and whatever is “Aaj kya acha sabzi hai Dada?”
   Nonveg: (I don’t like bengali style, I would say so while ordering and they weren’t offended.) Prawn Masala, Prawn curry, Chicken dopyaza, chicken curry, Pomfret curry, Fish-do-pyaaza (non-pomfret), and whatever is “Aaj kaunsa fish hai Dada? Mei Bangali nahi hu ye sochke batao please.”
2. Sub-dub/Super-Duper/Sup-dup: Quick snack? Quick brunch? Quick dinner? The only reason I didn’t have snacks at SupDup everyday is that I’m not sure of their opening hours. There have been many a days when I reached there only to find their pretty yellow shutters all the way down.
   Dishes I loved: Wada Sambar, Idly, Plain Dosa, Masala Dosa, Upma, Tomato rice, Uttapam, all kinds of Southie stuff (Southies don’t like it though).
   Note: They make good maggi but Bhaski Da’s is just beside SupDup so why bother?
3. Bhaskar Da/Bhaski’s: One stop destination for the tastiest breakfast or snacks if you’re not health conscious. I would go at least once a week, mostly more.
   Dishes I loved: Chai, Onion fried maggi, Egg fried maggi, Egg fried maggi with “Please saath me fry kar dena na egg aur maggi ko” (only non-rush hour), Bread butter cheeni, Omelet, Bread omelet, and recently parathi-sabzi, and whatever the person before you ordered (way to ensure you get it fast!)
4. RK Food City: This was very popular, but somehow the current batches don’t frequent it, so as a reminder. I ate here every time I missed breakfast and definitely ordered Atlu! There are 3 vendors under the same roof, one sells juice/shakes, one sells chai/samosa/momo, other sells other foodstuffs like Atlu, onion paratha, maggi, chowmein, pasta, chicken pasta. I tried almost every dish and I mostly loved everything enough to repeat them a lot of times (not the momo though).
5. Other places good for everyday food which you probably already know:
   HJB Aastha Canteen (chicken cheese paratha babare!)
   PFC Pan loop food center (biryani, dal khichdi, etc. don’t try soup though)
   Amigos (EVERY menu item incl. Bonda. Your first time? Order what you see others eating, but ask them about the spice level, some are very spicy.)
   Amul at new Tikka (dal paratha, sandwiches, lassi?)
   Shop to the right of Amul at new Tikka: Plain Wai Wai chicken flavour, Chai

Random health tip: South Indian breakfast items made with fermented batter, like Idly, Dosa, Atlu are easy on digestion. They’re healthy and better suited for our gut microbiota than sandwiches/american fast food (I see you CCD/McD) etc as they are fermented with Lactobacillus and Bifidobacteria (read in scientific publications).

II. Occasional cravings/Not home-cooked

Covering the ones I think are lesser known, so I’m not going to talk about Food Studio (try their tandoori pomfret though), Dominos, Chai Break, Waldorf, CCD, Peeps Kitchen (rumali roti uff ❤), Vintage Cafe (I don’t like it).

Pomfret at Hot Chilli. Hot Chilli, Delicious and Food Studio always make lipsmacking pomfret.

1. Litti Chokha near SupDup lakeside: Litti Choka obviously and also chaat stuff, it’s a small mobile food cart.
2. Askaan’s Pizza Town: Vintage cafe makes good pizza but NEVER has the toppings I want. Irritated, I go to Askaan’s. Bad for delivery, good for dine-in. Garlic bread is okay as well.
3. Hot Chilli: Tandoori pomfret, fish tikka, chicken tikka, chicken tandoori, momos, veg chinese stuff (noodles, rice, starters), nonveg chinese starters.
4. Chinese Empire: Good for delivery as well as dine-in. I used to go to Chinese Empire/order in so much (because I loved it) that whenever there was a menu update, they would Whatsapp me the new PDF. Pan-fried noodles, crispy honey chicken, crispy honey potato, noodles, rice, Chicken sizzler (have to order ahead and only good in dine-in), and many more, which I am not mentioning because I can’t find it on google maps. I hope this disappearance from google maps doesn’t mean they’re closed forever, it was the first KGP restaurant I liked.
5. Store to the left of Bhaski’s: Samosa Chat and in summer, mango cut into slices.
6. Jalebiwala in TechM: Store opposite to Chowdhury electronics. Eat mirchi pokora and jalebi together. If you find Fafda to phir kya baat hai! If you’re a boiled egg person, can try Anda pokora, and they also have chana which makes for good Monaco toppings for hall day.
7. Aloo chop lady in TechM: If you go inside techM, you’ll find her diagonally opposite to Thacker’s stationery store. Try pakori (means small onion pakora), aloo chop, begooni (brinjal), capsicum. I didn’t like their mirchi, gobi and dal pakoda and jalebi. Evening-only shop but opens in mornings during hall days to take advanced orders.
8. Radhakanta: For sweets, dhokla, samosa, mast h.
9. Chai shop behind Peeps: already pretty famous, but if you don’t know, give it a try. There’s a small path beside Sristhi Jeweler’s/ momo vendor/public washbasin which leads to this shop. Wait patiently until he starts pouring the tea. Also has numbered biscuit tins which I find funny but it’s efficient.
10. Chaat shop behind TechM: difficult to locate if you don’t know the location already, but first locate the path to the aforementioned chai shop, then don’t take the path and take a right while facing it. If it’s before sunset the shop should be visible, and AFAIK it’s an evening-only shop.
11. Others I think are too popular to mention here:
    Amul Iosys (beside basketball court, fried momos and rolls)
    Candy (opposite to Hot Chilli, donuts, cake, pastries)
    Smart Pind (recently messing up food but otherwise they make tandoori roti with wholewheat flour and have great sabzis/chicken items)

I hope I haven’t missed any of my favourites here. Let me know what you think! Also, if Chinese Empire is not closed forever, please let me know, it would make me very glad! ❤