Dwellers of the techie alleys of Kolkata always look out for fancy dining spots in their vicinity apart from bugs in their code! And when there is demand, there has to be supply to strike a balance. As a result, Saltlake Sector-V and its surrounding areas house some of the best brands in the F&B industry in Kolkata, apart from numerous small rising and promising eateries. This area is studded with gastropubs, swanky hotels, bars, buffet places, cafés, dessert parlors, bakeries, thali joints, biriyani houses, lounges and even micro-breweries! But, the maximum rush is during the lunch hours and the best bet during that time is surely the thali and the buffet joints for many. When it comes to buffet places there are only few trusted names in this area. Jaisalmer is surely one of them. It is one of the busiest casual dining restaurants in the city of joy. Apart from buffet lunch, this is the ideal place for that very special night out and one of the best spots in Salt Lake to watch the sunset – right from your dining table! This place surely has got a subtle royal touch to it that makes you feel special from the moment you walk in. An afternoon or night at Jaisalmer will have you basking in the peaceful and relaxing atmosphere in that pleasant royal setting.
Few days back I was invited at this place along with few other bloggers for a soul satisfying food tasting session. Thanks to the management and First Idea PR group for such lovely memories. Jaisalmer is surely the prettiest looking restaurant in this area, the place exudes class and warmth and makes you feel comfortable from the moment you step in. The eye catcher at this place is surely the lighting and lively decor. Located at the Globsyn Building near Webel crossing at Saltlake Sector V, this restaurant is one of the most reliable eateries located in this area. The restaurant can accommodate around 200 people and serves lip smacking Awadhi & Mughlai dishes. It is one of those restaurants which can be termed correctly as a great picturesque casual dining spot. This is also an ideal place to visit with your family and loved ones. The wall that leads up to the staircase is huge and artsy! The restaurant is designed with big royal entrance which prima facie rightfully justifies the name, which oozes with Rajasthani royalty. The interior designers have joyfully played with the colours and its vibrancy. Colourful lights, colour of the walls, bubbly cushions, welcoming tables and chairs will surely lift your mood & brighten up your day. The dining area is huge, and it is basically divided into two floors. I personally loved the upstairs dining area. Loved those huge paintings on the walls or rather the wall art! The intricately curved white wooden chairs looked fabulous! I could have spent my entire day sitting there gazing through that glass window!
Now let’s come straight to the food which we had tasted at this place. Firstly, we were served awesome kebabs for the starters. The Kasturi Kebab came in first, these chicken kebabs looked absolutely stunning with a yellowish hue and were smeared with spices and chopped coriander, and these were served in chunky pieces. The Fish Tikka was an absolute winner with that flaky, fresh fish pieces served along with a lovely pudina chutney and onion salad. The best one was probably Adrak E Panje which were huge mutton kebabs, basically were the juicy chunks of mutton attached to the ribs, the meat was so soft I could savor it just by scrapping it from the bone with my spoon. The Lasuni Kebab was again a hit, with that lollypop sized chicken kebabs attached to the bone. It was super soft, tad garlicky and amazingly flavorful. Then we had the Nilgiri Seekh Kebab which was best vegetarian seekh kebab I had till date, it was dark green in color and was prepared out of a smooth mixture of grounded saags and spices! It was absolutely melting in the mouth and is surely a must-have if you are at this place. The Mutton Seekh Kebab was well prepared and frankly speaking was better than many renowned joints serving this item. The Paneer Tikka was pretty ordinary taste-wise though the chunky paneer pieces were well diced and were fresh and bouncy.
Next after we were done with these amazing kebabs we moved on towards the buffet counter, though we were already pretty full after savoring these kebabs. The buffet had a mix of oriental and North Indian options and I preferred sticking to their North Indian options only because that’s what Jaisalmer is known for. The items which were there in this buffet menu were – Broccoli noodles, Tsing Hoi corn in ginger onion sauce, Mirchi makai pulao, Chicken biriyani, Chicken Rara Punjabi, Mutton capsicum, Fish in bellpepper sauce, Dal Makhani, Paneer lababdar, Nilimili Sabji, etc. And apart from these I loved the gulab jamuns in the desserts besides the caramel custard, brownie and the ice cream. In the mains, I liked the flavorful Mirchi makai pulao which had loads of sweet corn, bell peppers, etc. Along with it I preferred the Mutton Capsicum which had the right tang to it. The Kolkata style chicken biriyani with sweet potato was extremely appetizing though the flavors could have had more highlights in it. The Chicken Rara Punjabi went well along with it. The Dal Makhani and Paneer lalabdar were flavorful as well and it can well be consumed with Indian breads.
The service was prompt and warm, and didn’t really notice anything to be very concerned about in this front. Though I believe more staff training would be done since I didn’t appreciate servers shouting out names of the items at the buffet counter when I was there to try the items out. The items have got their name cards along with them, so calling each item by their name can well be avoided. Coming to the overall rating, I would rate this place close to 7.8 out of 10 which covers food, ambiance, location and service. Overall this place is pretty reasonably priced and deserved a second visit from your side for all those awesome kebabs and that royal, laid back ambiance! Meal for two would be around INR 800 including taxes.
So, to make your dull Mondays look brighter, you have two options –
a) You can change your job, or maybe your profession so that Monday never makes you feel low!
b) You can go to Jaisalmer for a relaxed lunch and get back to work all relaxed and refreshed! It really works 🙂
Visit Jaisalmer before long to try out the second option (option b) I have mentioned above, and that’s the easier one! First one will take loads of interview preparation and associated disappointment if you are not getting selected for that new job! But hey, in that case also you can still be there as Jaisalmer since this place is a great mood lifter! And in case your interview goes well and you are getting selected for your new job, then surely you’ll be throwing a party, and there is no classier place in the vicinity other than Jaisalmer, so any way you have to be here for a meal! 🙂 So guys, logically I have proved that you have to be here, no matter whatever path you choose!! Enough of crap! Oh God! You are still reading this? You are the truest ‘Foodie dada’ fan, see you at Jaisalmer! I’ll be waiting 🙂
Cheers!
foodiedada 