Dumpukht- ITC Sonar, Kolkata

“Excuse me…. can we have some water please ? ” and that’s the phrase we kept on uttering hopelessly in our gastronomic adventure in Kolkata’s one of the most celebrated Awadhi Restaurant- Dumpukht, ITC Sonar. The journey is of ups and downs, happiness and sorrow, much like one can expect from Indian cuisine (not from a 5* super luxury hotel though….. ). Let’s start. 

How to go and When to go:

This is at THE ITC sonar hotel- its landmark venture for awadhi cuisine. For the lesser-known mortals, the hotel is situated at the crossing of E M Bypass and Park Circus- bypass connector. Open for Lunch and Dinner on all days- closed in between. 

Experience:

We entered ITC, took a left and the third restaurant is Dum Pukht (Considering the board for Peshawar as one). The sitting is excellent- table is so full with crockery and cutlery that lesser mortals (my son for example) got really confused for which one to use when and started poking me…. Water was served to us. The steward took the order and all went well for the time being. Shortly, we were served the chutney bowl (the sweet papaya chutney and garlic chutney was brilliant and soon disappeared) and those cone shaped tandoori papad platter- complementary of course. 

The mocktails came and we got the first shock of the evening. We ordered for Ginger Ale and Shirley Temple. In the Shirley Temple, the cherry was missing as well as the slight amount of ginger ale…. And in the Ginger Ale, the ginger flavor was missing. Probably a bad day for the bartender- its okay we thought and the first kebab was served. 

It was the famous Kakori Kebab and it simply blew us off. Its brilliance on a dish. Once we put it inside our mouth, it just melted, yet didn’t break when held by the fork. The sheermal (complementary) which came with it was little sweetish bread – complementing the kebab nicely. 

“Waiter, can we have water please ? …… “

 The second item was Murg Chandi Tikka. Large chicken breast cubes marinated in subtle spices , a creamish texture on top and had the smooth silky texture. Pretty good. 

Next came the Fish Tikka. Kolkata Bekti chunks marinated in standard masala and tandoored- ok-ish, nothing special. And, the next item was Jhinga Dum Nisha. We touched the prawn with fork and it came off- not because of its tenderness, but staleness. Probably, the prawn was marinated a week back and its good days were over. Stale prawns in a restaurant of such a stature, is it real ? Sadly, it was. We called the steward. He listened to us patiently, called the head chef, he listened to us patiently and we asked to cancel the prawn dish. We were given a reply that it can’t be cancelled as its served but can be redone and replenished on a chargable basis. We had no other option and went for it. A good 30 minuted went by. The next set that came was probably marinated 2-3 days back and didn’t fall of the fork. Not the freshest prawns but ok ok-type. 

“Waiter, can we have water please ? …… “

Next, was Mutton Biryani. It was just heavenly. The rice, the meat, the aroma- every damn thing was perfect and heavenly. Agony regarding the prawn was gone by it. The quantity per portion was little less, but ok- who goes to ITC to gorge on food ? Others are there- na ? 

“Waiter, can we have water please ? …… “

Final dish was Shahi Tukra. And it frankly was a disaster and how we wished we didn’t order anything after that heavenly Biryani. Smallest portion I’ve ever seen for Rs. 450/- . Probably, they’ve run out of it and sold us the leftovers. 

As the experience was not so good and it was apparent from our faces, AND it was my sister’s marriage anniversary, they gave us a slice of a cake as complementary.It was good. A biiiig slice- but a slice ? Probably they could’ve given a small full cake or chose not to give it at all- but a slice ?

“Waiter, can we have water please ? …..”

Overall verdict:

A definitely must-visit-place if you can afford it (21K for 7 adults and one 4 year kid), but but but order only Biryani (1 portion per head) and that’s it. If you crave for Kebabs, probably you should not venture beyond Kakori Kebab (they make it really nice). And DO NOT order for dessert (especially if its past 1030 PM- else the portion size may decrease)….. And do not expect water to be filled up when its over, the water tumbler is nice though. 

Bon Apetite !!!

Please feel free to comment and share. 

I can be reached at 9903528225/ indrajit.lahiri@ymail.com