Festive offerings drive a 25% rise in restaurant footfall
Kolkata’s most popular restaurants are attracting massive Pujo crowds.
It may be the month-end for everyone, but that hasn’t stopped people from indulging in festive flavours at their peak. Kolkata’s most popular restaurants are witnessing massive Pujo crowds, resulting in long waitlists and packed dining rooms.
Iconic restaurant Peter Cat has nearly doubled its seating capacity, while Sonar Tori of the Ambuja Neotia Group—famous for its Bengali cuisine—has introduced a private dining room to manage the unprecedented surge in visitors during this year’s Durga Puja celebrations.
Hospitality sector
According to Sudesh Poddar, president of the Hotel & Restaurant Association of Eastern India (HRAEI), eateries across Kolkata are recording an average 25% rise in footfall compared to last year.
On Saptami, the second day of the five-day festival, people queued for hours outside legendary restaurants like Peter Cat and Mocambo to enjoy their signature dishes.
“Four days ago, we opened the extended section of Peter Cat to accommodate the crowd waiting outside. We added another 150 seats, taking the total to over 300. Even today (Monday), every seat is occupied, and the waiting list is still huge. Mocambo is seeing a similar spike—footfall is significantly higher than last year,” said Nitin Kothari, founder of Peter Cat and Mocambo, in a conversation with businessline.
General prosperity
“There is overall prosperity in the market. Although the recent GST revisions don’t impact us directly, people seem to have more disposable income as prices of several items have dropped. After their Durga Puja shopping, customers have extra money left to spend in restaurants,” Kothari added.
Sonar Tori has also increased its capacity. “We have added a private dining room to significantly scale up our seating this festive season,” said Sourav Chatterjee, Vertical Head – F&B, Neotia Hospitality.
A cheerful Shiladitya Chaudhury, founder director of Oudh 1590, which specialises in Awadhi cuisine, shared, “We’ve been seeing a strong rise in footfalls. Even at our newly launched Bengali restaurant, Chaudhury & Co, the waiting list has been overwhelming.”
Favourable weather—free of rain—has further lifted the festive mood. The city appears to have moved on from last Tuesday’s heavy downpour that temporarily disrupted life. The prevailing spirit now is clear: eat, celebrate, and enjoy.
