F&B business thrives on Poila Boishakh despite scorching heat, weekday grind

Kolkata’s food and beverage industry once again thrived on Poila Boishakh, showcasing the city’s strong appetite for celebration and good food. While the morning saw a slow start, the day blossomed into a busy period for eateries. We spoke to city F&B stakeholder to get more insights.

Indian food hot pick for Poila Boishakh
Though the day started slow owing to the intense heat, business picked up towards the evening. Offering insights into the day’s trade, Debaditya Chaudhury, director of Chowman, Oudh 1590 and Chapter 2, said, “Interestingly, out of our three establishments, Oudh 1590 registered the highest sales, underscoring the enduring preference for Indian cuisine on Poila Boishakh.”

Kolkata goes big on buffet, bhorta & thalis
“This Poila Boishakh proved to be a successful affair, with our four outlets collectively registering a healthy turnover,” said Chef Ranjan, owner of the Saptapadi restaurant, adding, “Interestingly, while both our buffet and thali options performed well, thali sales were slightly higher.” Pointing out the craze for Bangladeshi cuisine, Sutapa Barua, owner of Himur Heshel said, “There is a growing demand for Bangladeshi cuisine. Besides the Kolkata-style Basanti pulao, there were a lot of takers for different types of bhorta, Morog pulao and the fish prepared in Bangladeshi style. Despite being a weekday, business saw a 25% uptick compared to last year.”
Buffet and takeaways did good business
Ankur Mandal, general manager (operations) at Oh! Calcutta, shared, “Our buffet attracted a lot of customers. From a business perspective, we saw a 5-10% increase in sales than last year.”

Restos witness a 15% hike in sales
Poila Boishakh is all about celebration, feasting, and spending quality time with loved ones. Rajib Paul, owner of Bhooter Raja Dilo Bor, said, “On Poila Boishakh, most people indulged in non-veg thalis, as it was preceded veg days such as Hanuman Jayanti, Neel Sasthi, Chaitra Sankranti etc. Business was 15% more than last year.”
According S Ramani, founder-director of 6 Ballygunge Place, their outlets too witnessed a 15% increase in business compared to last year. “People in Kolkata continue to prefer elaborate lunches over dinner. At our outlets, lunch services had high footfall while dinners remained relatively relaxed on Naboborsho.”
Best sellers
Bengali thalis
Morog pulao
Fish fry
Daab chingri
Iilish Bhapa
Basanti- pulao