Fishermen’s Deck is a first-floor flat converted into a little restaurant. Located above its sibling Kasturi at 13/6B Anil Moitro Road (near Tasty Corner), its menu is interesting because of the mix of unfamiliar “tribal and seafood” dishes. Like Kori Garsi (chicken curry cooked Mangalore-style), Gustaba (minced mutton balls cooked in a yogurt gravy in Jammu & Kashmir), Puzha Meen Kari (river fish curry native to Kerala) and Voksa Meh (mutton cooked with herbs and bamboo shoots in Nagaland). 

Once you settle down with the new food dictionary, take a look around. Decor-wise, one half of the 40-seater den is done up in a tribal look, while the other has a fisherman’s net cast on the ceiling, in sync with the seafood it offers, including octopus and squid which, thankfully, are slowly emerging on Calcutta’s food map (think Santa’s Fantasea, which also has a tribal and seafood menu, Ocean Grill and Ecstasea).  

Some dishes have been weaved in from personal memories. “A friend from Madhya Pradesh used to make this Ande Ka Halwa. When we were shortlisting the dishes, I had to include this particular dessert… also because I haven’t seen it in Calcutta,” said Bishal Saha, owner. Bishal’s father was the man behind Kasturi, which now has three branches in the city, with a fourth slated to open in October on Jessore Road.

Open from 12.30pm to 10pm, the dishes at Fishermen’s Deck are reasonably priced (you get crab and octopus for Rs 250). 

Karo Christine Kumar
Pictures: Pabitra Das