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Calcutta
Rating Details »
- Nearest Transit:
-
Astor Place (6)
2nd Ave-Houston St (F, V)
8th St-Broadway (R, W)
- Parking:
- Street
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- No
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Good for:
- Dinner
15 reviews for Calcutta
For me, this is my favorite Indian restaurant in the US.
My old gourmet buddy who once lived in NYC took me here, and that's when I fell in love w/this place. Several years has passed since and I by a fluke found this place! This probably was fate, so I had to go in and eat!
The inside is cozy and chill. Atomosphere of the restaurant is like a secret hide out for royal families of India. What about the food? Still great like I remembered. The Indian crowd pleaser aka Chicken Tikka Masala was still as good as I remembered. For sure the best Chicken Tikka Masala in town!
With the quality of taste, service, and experience you get here, you might think that the price is expensive. Nope you can have a quality Indian meal for under $20 (under $10 if u come for lunch). I am soo happy I found this place, and will definetly be coming back!
Calcutta ftmfw!!
Mother Teresa would be rolling in her grave had her soul not have gone to heaven. Even her patience would have been tested.
Granted, the price was cheap, the waiter apologetic (too apologetic, actually, which was annoying) about the slow service, and the food tasty. The wait was an hour, although it was a Saturday, but still. It was a spot that looked good on the outside, which is what pulled us in. My saag paneer was too thin, it felt like I was eating collard greens.
Baluchi's was better.
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There was a roach on the wall and hair in my food. Very salty and boring. The prix fixe menu advertised outside was not what was offered inside. The prix fixe menu was not printed out. Service was slow. The restaurant was hot. The live music was loud.
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My friend and I were meandering doing Curry Row looking for a place to grub when the manager/owner came out and began to sell us on the $10 "Recession Buster" special prix fixe dinner they were offering that night. It sounded decent enough so we decided to give it a shot.
The first thing I noticed in, for some weird reason, was the silverware on the tables. They had these really cool looking copper plates that caught my (but seriously, anything would have considering my penchant for shiny things). Turns out that they were just there for decoration, and the waiter replaced them with real plates (which kind of disheartened me). They also had a Sitar player located in the main dining room window who was just going to town on it (from the looks of it, they were paying him with all the wine he could drink), which was pretty cool.
The waiter was a bit clumsy when he brought the food out (dropping our nan's on the rice!), but he was probably new - so no worries. For the appetizer, I ordered samosas which were delectable as always, especially with the chutney they served you with the Chapati bread. And for the entrée, I ordered the Lamb Vindaloo, which I think was just alright. It wasn't as spicy as I though it would be, and the meat was a little too stringy. Also the Basmati rice that came along with it was a tad bit on the cold and dry side (but no real points taken off there). They served us a complimentary rice pudding dessert (second time I've gotten free dessert in a week!), which was a little runny yet not quite enough.
I would say that overall, the experience was pleasant - but the food was just alright (and no I didn't end up getting the Recession Buster $10 special, whatever that consisted of). Still, moderately priced, and not a bad place to go with a friend (but I wouldn't really recommend it for a date).
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Difficult review. I'm tiptoeing on a 2.5 tight rope. My first time here, the food was good, the service was attentive, the sitarist set up for a wonderful ambiance. My second time here - the place was crowded, people on top of each other, naan to the left, pakoras to the right, samosas on your head, bhigan borta almost on your lap. The waiter was still extremely polite and apologetic, but the wait was arduous, our appetizers came quickly - our entrees, however, (three of us) took over an hour. The atmosphere was thick and uncomfortable. Tough call. I really root for a place like this, with such a lovely staff. I guess the moral of the story is to avoid such locations when they are packed like...pubescent boys around a peephole.
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I thought I would try a new restaurant on the block with my boyfriend since they also offered the $9.95 dinner special as well as a sitar player. Boy, did I regret this. I should've been a little skeptical when there was nobody inside and it was packed with people in other restaurants. The prix-fixe menu they advertised outside was not the same one when I went inside! They don't have a printed prixe-fixe menu and the waiter just told you the items. You either have the $9.95 meal or the $11.95 meal. I thought I would get mango ice cream for my desert according to the outside sign, instead I got a watery gooey rice pudding. To get the chicken tikka masala, you have to pay the $11.95 meal. The portions are sooo tiny. For my Chicken Malai, all I had were 3 blocks of chicken and 3 pineapples. I was expecting a bit more of chicken. The rice was a bit hard too. Plus, I saw a huge spider in the bathroom! So scary!!! I'd rather go to Spice Cove next door!!!!! They don't hound you to go inside and they offer pistachio ice cream as part of their prix-fixe menu! Also, the chicken tikka masala is also in the $9.95 prixe-fixe menu and it does not cost extra! The portions are so much bigger and you can take leftovers home for another meal! Their tomato lentil soup is the best! Spice Cove offers a better deal in terms of the $9.95 dinner special!!!!!! I recommend people to go there!!!!!! I wouldn't have known about Spice Cove if my friend didn't tell me about it. She loved the place too!
The live musician helped to set a romantic/comforting tone...
This was my second time going to an Indian restaurant and I had no idea what to order. My friend ordered a mixture of a lot of random things that tasted good, even though I have no clue what it was.
The venue wasn't packed, yet the waiter was slow and it took forever to get our food. This place was A-ok!
Go here or Taj Mahal. Though they look different, the food is the same and I swear I see waitstaff and managers go from one to the other. I think that this is the one with the tray and anise and confections to settle your tummy.
It's cozy in summer, but with all the coats and layers in winter, its crowded.
Portions are eh, ok, for the price. Flavor seems rushed. Nah I won't be back.
They got an extra star because there was a couch outside their restaurant, with 'infested' scrawled on a looseleaf paper, and they left it there. That's a ballsy move.
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"Cozy Indian Joint on Curry Row"
Ah, East 6th Street. The New York equivalent of London's famed Brick Lane. The air here is imbued with the scent of curry as dozens of Indian restaurants vie for your attention.
While on a stroll the other night, I chose Calcutta for one reason - live music. Walking into this place is like stepping into a dark cave and the attentive waitstaff goes right to work with prompt and extensive service.
I went for the Goa Prawns and Bhindi Masala. Both were passable, but did not represent the best that this district has to offer.
A great touch was the free glass of Indian Absinthe after my meal. It's nice to get started on the evenings buzz as part of dessert.
Go here for the atmosphere, not so much for the food.
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The food is wonderful. Great and attentive staff. Definately my favorite Indian restaurant.
Definitely one of my favorite Indian spots. Although I always deliver and only ate there twice, I still love their food. The samosas, bhujia and pakoras are awesome, they are never too solid or oily. But their sauces/dips are what really set them apart from other places. The green sauce and the Cinnamon brown sauce is flavored perfectly, and the onion stuff is amazing. Their soup and mango ice cream is also really good. Their dinner special is a good deal, for $10 you get an appetizer, soup, main, and a dessert, but you only have two options for the main; curry or something sweet and grey looking. I tried both, and I like the curry better. I think I'll just continue to order delivery from them, because the atmosphere in that place is a little depressing. It's always empty and it can be hard to get the servers attention at times. I still believe it's one of my favorite Indian spots in that hood though.
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Best restaurant on the block.. and the only one that doesn't have some one outside to lure you in - something to take notice of. I have been hitting the 6th street strip since 90' and to save you the trouble Calcutta is the joint. I rave about Calcutta because they have the finest "quality" of food. I am very particular when it comes to the quality of the ingredients - like quality meats and fresh vegetables and Calcutta has never failed to deliver. Its nice and cosy inside - some people might call it cramped when it get's packed. Nice staff, they do not rush - in fact I second the asking a few times for the check. Best time to hit calcutta is when you are jumping around the city on a snowy winter night, walk down into Calcutta for some warmth, great food and live music. Calcutta is one of our favorites.. oh and it's cheapish to moderately priced to boot!
Of all the Indian restaurants on 6th Street, this one is my favorite because of the paneer tika masala. However, don't expect to receive your bill until you've requested it (twice). I do enjoy the live music and low ceiling...makes it very cozy.
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I've been there a couple of times and the food has always been great. I'd recommend the chicken masala. I always get seated pretty quick and the service aways freindly. There are lots of other Indian restaurants on this block but this is my new favorite. They are also running a recession dinner at $9.99. The King Fisher beer is pretty big too I think 22 oz for like $5-you can't beat that.
What makes this restaurant particularly special on a Saturday night is the quality of the live music. The food is also very good.
