City bars, restaurants get ready with food festivals, new menus & offers to lure crowd
Times of India | 28 December 2025
Kolkata: Restaurants and bars across Kolkata are getting ready to attract visitors on New Year's Eve with special dishes, food festivals, and offers on alcohol to ensure that their patrons venture out on the night despite crowds on the road, heavy traffic, and high footfalls that could lead to extended waiting times. Footfalls could be 15%-20% higher than last New Year's Eve, going by the surge since Christmas, said restaurant owners.
Siciliana at Forum Mall and Café Mezzuna at South City are ready with a new menu consisting of roast turkey, pot roast chicken, and more for this New Year's Eve, along with special offers on beverages. Hoppipola at Acropolis Mall has lined up a DJ music session on Dec 31 with ‘electrifying cocktails and lip-smacking food'. "During the festive season, all our restaurants are introducing an all-new menu with an exciting buffet spread and a wide variety of delicious dishes. We are here to make every guest feel truly special and ensure a delightful New Year celebration. To add to the joy, every table will be set with whistles, caps, and festive props so everyone can welcome the New Year in high spirits at our outlets," said Anjan Chatterjee, founder and chairman of Specialty Restaurants.
At several Park Street restaurants, waiting times have been stretching to an hour or more. "Since we have additional capacity of 150 seats at Peter Cat, waiting time has come down. There's still a waiting time of around 30 minutes to an hour at Mocambo and Peter Cat, but that hasn't affected footfalls. In fact, people are spending more time at the table and splurging more on food," said Nitin Kothari, owner of Mocambo and Peter Cat. The decision to allow traffic on Park Street on Dec 31 will make restaurants more accessible, said Siddharth Kothari of Peter Hu. "Footfalls have been very high, so this should help," he said.
MS Bar & Lounge on Waterloo Street has a series of live music sessions till New Year's eve. It is selling ‘couple tickets' for booking tables on a food delivery app. "Most of our tables are booked for Dec 31 evening, and we will have a DJ until 1 am. We have a 2:1 offer on two premium liquor brands and a specially curated New Year menu," said Sudesh Poddar, owner of Songhai, MS Bar, and Manthan.
At Chapter 2 and outlets of Oudh 1590, waiting times have been 45 minutes to an hour since Dec 24. "We have a special festive menu on offer at Chapter 2 which has live music, an added attraction every evening and on New Year's Eve," said owner and co-founder Shiladitya Chaudhury.