Waterside Cafe: Hyatt Regency, Sector 3, Salt Lake, Kolkata

Restaurant Name: Waterside Cafe: Hyatt Regency, Sector 3, Salt Lake City, Kolkata
Phone: ++913368201159
Address: Hyatt Regency, JA 1, Sector 3, Salt Lake, Kolkata 700098 West Bengal India
Time: 12:30 Noon – 08:00 PM
Meals for two: Rs. 2,800
Cuisines: Continental, North Indian, Italian, Asian
Facilities: Home Delivery, Takeaway Available, Wheelchair Accessible, Full Bar Available, Valet Parking Available, Outdoor Seating, Luxury Dining, Live Music, Table booking recommended, Brunch

Is eating locally and seasonally the bywords for a fashionable modem day living? I would think it is more a commitment towards a conscious world, caring for the detrimental effects of carbon dioxide emissions contributing to climate change, and the importance of sustaining local food communities. Yet, we are not narrow minded purists. We enjoy the occasional exotic fruit, vegetable that we simply can’t find or grow in our climate and we only trust a region in seasonal quality produce.

The Waterside Café at The Hyatt Regency, Kolkata has been one of my go to places for a balance of both; their culinary repertoire rests on careful selection of cuisines promoting biodiversity and sustainability with a respect for tradition, terroir and specialist skills, without compromising on the taste.

The sprawling airiness of the convex glass walled all day diner has always sucked me in at first sight. Post pandemic, it makes the spaciousness more blessed for social distancing and pure hygiene factors. Love the lived-in touch with new twill upholstery, the elegance of artsy ceramic crockery, a wild flower at every table and the sprightly, young staff breathing fresh energy.

Waterside Cafe: Hyatt Regency, Sector 3, Salt Lake, Kolkata: Food

A clipboard menu spells flexibility and convenience. Bringing homegrown comfort of the Indian spices, techniques and seasonal sparks; popular drifts from the Asian cultures and signature European splendor of modem minimalist choices. Additionally, a daily buffet and a Sunday brunch plug in all things in between. We choose the a la carte, featuring, Red pimentos and Sunkist oranges, Toasted pumpkin seed and Mascarpone (₹500) soup, Street sharing platter (₹750), Flat bread with Burrata, Cherry tomato and Truffle oil (₹ 650), Chilean sea bass (₹1,500) for main and a Baked Alaska (₹1,200), paying a hefty price for dessert.

Plus & Minus:

First, the old world Bastone with hand-churned house cheesy dip with jalapenos comes free flowing. The soup opens up the heart as well as the palate, with the vibrant colors and aromatic, flavorful sweetness of pimentos tweaked with the power ‘Sunkist’ oranges from a citrus farmers’ cooperative in sunny California; it is a hearty melange of winter happiness, simply perked up with crushed black pepper, no sight of toasted pumpkin seeds or rich mouthfeel of mascarpone. There’s a hidden pleasure in toasting up with a rich repertoire of Indian street food on a sunny spring afternoon — Sharing street platter is a brilliant touch of Indian ethnicity!

With north Indian batter coated lotus stems or nadru pakora, seasonal shallow fried shakarkand or diced sweet potato fries, sweet and tangy velvety yogurt topped soaked lentil vadas or dahi bhalla, Mumbai famed mini Vada Pao, decadent Bikaner Raj Kachori, a snack for the royals and the coconut and dry fruits laced potato Khopra patties, straight out of Indore streets, the potpourri of Indian diversity is served with tamarind and mint chutneys and mildly sweet curd. It blasts the taste buds with a reality check at every bite. Next, the gooey cheesiness of the wood fired flatbread with creamy bursts of burrata, jeweled cherry tomatoes, sharpness of basil and earthy fixation of drizzled truffle oil, gives tough competition in celebration of Italian robustness. Our main dish, the pan seared Chilean sea bass comes with an overwhelming crustiness in skin, but is wee bit overdone marring the subtle natural flavours by a whisker. The side of a generous mash and genteel stir fried veggies complete the story. The baked Alaska makes a whopping impression, a magnificent dome of browned meringue architecture, encasing a strawberry and wild berries cassata, surrounded by a medley of fresh fruits, no doubt a nose dive to childhood nostalgia.