Relish the taste of deep-fried buffalo wings and exotic mushroom balls dipped in mozzarella for starters, gorge on lip-smacking Moroccan lamb tagine alongside duck salad for the main course and round it off by indulging your sweet tooth with the bodega bomba ice cream delight.
For those looking for all these delicacies, plus tantalising cocktails and mocktails under one roof -- Bodega Cantina-Y- Bar is the perfect destination.
Located right at the city's heart, the upscale Park Street, Bodega -- Urvika Kanoi and Akashh Jaiswal's debut venture -- offers an elaborate international gourmet spread to choose from.
Bodega, borrowed from Spanish, means a storehouse for maturing wine. Cantina not only denotes a type of bar popular in Mexico and Spain but is also etymologically similar to the all-too-familiar canteen.
Urvika and Akash's travels all over the globe served as an inspiration for opening this restaurant-cum-bar.
"I stayed in Cardiff for four years and the different restaurants that I visited simply blew my mind. I thought of doing something similar in Kolkata. We are offering something completely different in the dishes which people have never tried and once they do they will definitely get hooked on to," Jaiswal told IANS.
Specialising in mouth-watering Mexican fare like quesadillas, burritos, chipotle chicken and beef barbacoas, Bodega is dedicated to cater unconventional global and local cuisines to the foodies of Kolkata.
"Kolkata has so many cuisines happening. But we are bringing the lesser known ones like Korean, Mexican, Peruvian, Turkish, Vietnamese, Colombian and Parsi, to just name a few" said Kanoi.
Delicious Asian food items like Indonesian nasi goreng fried-rice, Japanese katsu chicken, Lebanese beef and Korean chicken and pork bao, along with a wide range of delectable Italian pizzas and pastas also feature on the menu.
If you are looking for something more hot-n-spicy, try out the lamb keema with Malaysian canai roti.
No need to feel disappointed if you are a veggie. Bodega will serve you a Parsi tiffin box with dhansak, pulao, a spicy curry and a crunchy lady's-finger fry which will leave you licking your fingers.
With its globally inspired interiors, Bodega is a cool place to hang out with amigos and senoritas on weekends and obviously a few pints of beer will simply add to the fun.
Amidst warm yellow lights and walls decorated with antiques, you can also relax with a couple of pegs of whiskey, rum or vodka.
For absolute party animals, tequila shots are also available.
But if you are below 21, you have no option but to stick to seasonal fruit juices, cold drinks and coffee.
So, take some time out of your hectic schedule and hit Bodega to get refreshed by its "chill vibes".
A meal for two (including drinks) would cost around Rs 1,800.
(Saptarshi Mallik's visit was at the invitation of Bodega Cantina-Y-Bar. He can be contacted at mallik94@gmail.com)
--IANS
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