Saptapadi - The New Go-to Place for Tasty, Homely Bangla Food in Salt Lake, Kolkata

Eating out had come to a pause during the lockdown, and also due to the pandemic induced apprehension. Slowly, with things moving towards normal, eating out is regaining its lost popularity.

One afternoon, we discovered Saptapadi, a cozy, tastefully decorated, Bengali restaurant in Salt Lake (near City Centre-1). The restaurant's theme is the iconic Bangla film after which the place is named. 

The decor has black and white pictures of Uttam-Suchitra, and stills of the movie. The interiors, including walls, furniture and lighting, evoke a sense of Bengali nostalgia. We were suitably impressed, and listened to the eternal golden old melodies (of Uttam Kumar films) being played as background music.

The menu card too brought us some cheer, with its firm focus on value for money Bangla cuisine items.

 

We had Mocha Narkel Bora, Sona Mug Dal, Fish Fry, and Kochi Panthar Jhol with plain rice, and packed Mochar Torkari for dinner. We had ordered Shukto and Chingri Malai Curry on an earlier day.

The Mocha Narkel Bora was total value for money, with 4 medium sized tasty, crispy fritters for a little over a hundred rupees. The filling had a generous amount of coconut paste.

The star of the meal was the incredibly delicious Bhetki Fish Fry. It was so lip-smackingly good, I haven't tasted better fish fry at any restaurant or caterer's event earlier! Reminded me of my mother's homemade fish fry.

Chingri Malai Curry has three fair sized tiger prawns in a sweet, creamy gravy. The taste is quite smooth and palette pleasing. Best part is none of the dishes were too hot, or spicy. The simplicity and genuine taste of Bengali specialities come through.

The dish that could do with some improvement though, was Kochi Panthar Jhol.

Though priced very reasonably, and with the mandatory alu piece, the gravy needs some more body and onions. It tasted like standard kalia or chicken curry with only the heat of chillies coming through.

Mochar torkari was weirdly made with ginger garlic paste, and not the standard grated coconut and gorom moshla, as bengali cuisine dictates. Maybe some innovative recipe? But it tasted good.

Have to visit again to taste the fish items. They have everything from koi to bhetki to hilsa in the menu.

All in all, a pleasant experience, with excellent service, evocative ambiance, and a satiating meal without burning a hole in the pocket.