Valentine’s Day resto footfall rivals that of Durga Puja, Christmas-NYE
Times of India | 15 February 2025
Kolkata: Thousands of couples across the city took the gastronomical route to celebrate love on Valentine's Day on Friday. Restaurants saw a sharp surge in footfall, with tables booked in advance for lunch and dinner. The crowd count was similar to that of the Christmas-New Year period, said restaurant owners.
The surge followed two-three days of high footfall, which was unprecedented, according to Hotel & Restaurants' Association of Eastern India (HRAEI) president Sudesh Poddar. It prompted many to deck up their entrances and interiors with heart-shaped balloons and roses, and offer buffets and special dishes at a discount. Some others had live bands belting out romantic numbers to a packed evening crowd of youngsters.
"The build-up was very strong this year, and we had full occupancy in the evenings since Monday. On Friday, the crowd spilled over on to the street, with many enjoying a movie on the giant screen we put up on the rooftop. Others enjoyed a special Valentine's Day evening with live music. We remained packed till close to midnight, and footfall was 25% higher than the last Valentine's Day," said Poddar, also the owner of Songhai, Manthan, and MS Bar & Lounge. The latter also organised a candlelight dinner for couples.
Mughlai chain Oudh 1590 saw serpentine queues at all outlets. Footfall equalled that of any Durga Puja day, said co-founder and owner Shiladitya Chaudhury. "There was a continuous flow since Wednesday, and on Friday, we had an explosion of customers, mostly young couples, at all our outlets," said Chaudhury, also the owner of Chapter 2, where the entrance was decked up with balloons and a special Valentine's Day menu was on offer, including dessert. The restaurant also held a contest for couples — ‘Premparban' — that celebrated the ‘week of love'.
On Park Street, youngsters swarmed restaurants from early afternoon.
"This year, we had young couples streaming in throughout the week. The celebrations seemed to have started early, and it peaked on Friday evening. We remained packed throughout the day," said Nitin Kothari, owner of Mocambo and Peter Cat.
Bar-B-Q also had a predominantly young crowd and a serpentine queue of couples. At One Step Up, tables remained occupied throughout the evening. Its newly inaugurated confectionery offered heart-shaped dark chocolates and nuts coated with strawberries, a rose-shaped ‘Black Forest Entremet', and a ‘Dark Chocolate Baileys and Strawberry Entremet' with a red heart at the centre. "These turned out to be popular among young couples, many of whom reserved tables at our outlets," said Viraj Kothari of Bar-B-Q and One Step Up.
Outlets of Mainland China, Oh! Calcutta, Flame & Grill, and Haka offered Valentine's Day buffets. Café Mezzuna at South City Mall offered an ‘unlimited meal' for two with cocktails.
"Valentine's Day has always been a crowd-puller for our outlets, and this time, too, we had a huge turnout," said Anjan Chatterjee, CMD of Speciality Restaurants that owns the outlets.
Check out the Valentine Day 2025 , along with the Valentine’s Day Wishes and Messages.