At last a restaurant in the city with a neat little space on the regular menu for some Goan food.

A glimpse of Tea Cafe on Lake Road. Pictures by Rashbehari Das

Not just a teaser like a food fest which is temporary and has your tastebuds turning somersaults and then suddenly it’s time to say goodbye. There are just a few items, but they are Goan classics and they are here to stay. We can walk into Tea Cafe at P-557 Lake Road, Vivekananda Park any time of the year and dig into Chicken or Mutton Xacuti, Galingha Cafreal, Recheado (Goan masala chicken) or Peixe-a-Portuguesa, which is a fish preparation.

It is a first-of-its-kind destination in the city. Side by side with these Goan selections are some dozen or so dishes from Kerala and then suddenly the rest of the menu is international, or more specifically continental, with starters, soups, pastas, salads, sandwiches, main courses including Calcutta classics like Chicken-a-la-Kiev and a whole range of beverages including smoothies and slushes.

Calcutta’s Tea Cafe is the second in the country. The first one opened in the Latin Quarter of Panjim, Goa, last year and made a mark in a very short time. That one is more of a bakery-cum-patisserie though there are soups, salads and a similar range of drinks as well. The personality at any place in Goa must depend to some extent on the always moving international tourist traffic and that’s exactly why Panjim’s Latin Quarter gets a delicatessen kind of place while in Calcutta, we can heartily dig into full-fledged meals if we want, side by side with quick bites on the move.

Mango Chicken

Tea Cafe is the brainchild of Vivek Dempo who hails from one of Goa’s oldest and best-known business families which started out with shipping in the 18th century. The Dempo family also started the Dempo Football Club, which is one of the best in the country, and it was the shared passion for the game which made them look towards Calcutta. Of course, the passion for good food was just as much of a clincher.

Before I describe the food, let me first promise that it was a tasting session — very small quantities of each item is all we sampled. Because when I say that I tried about seven dishes, there should be no misunderstanding.

Prawn Cocktail

The Prawn Cocktail (which I always try if it’s there just to see if anyone can ever get close to Sky Room) was excellent; actually the best, in my opinion, in Calcutta right now though I felt that more mayo sauce would be good.

Then there was Potato and Leek Soup — also super — Chicken-a-la-Kiev, a sandwich (I can’t remember exactly which one), Poliachathu (a seriously spicy Kerala fish dish that I had with appam), Chicken Xacuti, two small pastries for dessert and a Strawberry Slush to chill out with.

I have to say that the quality across the board involving such diverse items was surprisingly good. In the continental items, the use of herbs was to a nicety, especially in the A-la-Kiev where they were used unsparingly and got embedded with the seasonings used in the chicken escalope and also in the soup. The Indian items were also quite delicious.

I hope Tea Cafe is here to stay and I hope they don’t compromise because as word gets around, it will become a place to reckon with.