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The poetry of Tagore. Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity. The roar of a cricket match at Eden Gardens. Kolkata – once the capital of British India and formerly called Calcutta – pulses with poetry, politics and passion. And now, you can have a taste of the ‘City of Joy’ on Newtown’s vibrant King Street.
After spearheading Colombo Social, Kabul Social and Kyiv Social, man on a (social justice) mission, Shaun Christie-David, founder of Plate It Forward, opened Kolkata Social in March. You might remember Ukrainian eatery Kyiv Social won Time Out Sydney’s Impact Award 2025, so we’re excited to see what’s on offer.
It’s a sunny Sunday when we are seated in a cobalt blue room with a view to the open red-tiled kitchen where the chef Ahana Dutt is in charge. Kolkata-born, Dutt earned her culinary cred at Firedoor and Raja before Christie-David roped her in. With every set menu ordered, Kolkata Social donates meals to those in need – one in Sydney and one in Kolkata via their charity partner, Calcutta Rescue.
This isn’t your typical Indian restaurant
There’s no chicken tikka from North India, or idli sambar from the South. Instead, Kolkata Social is a celebration of Bengali cuisine – and we’re here to savour it.
First up, our entrées. The dry chilli chicken features boneless chicken bits, batter-fried then tossed in a garlicky sauce with green capsicum and onions. One bite and we’re transported straight to Kolkata’s Chinatown, the birthplace of ‘Indian Chinese’ (IYKYK).
Next, moong dal el boram. The menu says ‘think falafels, but Indian’, and most Indians will recognise them as dal vadas (lentil fritters) sold at street corners as an afternoon snack. Made from a mix of ground moong dal with spices and finely sliced green chilli for punch, these moreish morsels are deep fried and sent to our table piping-hot. We dunk them in the tamarind chutney and think how we’d gobble them up on a rainy day with a cup of chai.
Speaking of which, our drinks are served: a lebu cha which is refreshing lemon iced tea with a zing of marmalade; a lassi slushie made with crushed ice; and a glass of Majama Zibibbo – a floral Hunter Valley white with notes of Turkish delight. The drinks menu itself is a nod to nostalgia. Printed on a replica of an old-school Indian inland letter, it’s got a variety of whites and reds, beers like Mountain Culture x Kolkata Social lager and the ever-popular Indian beer Kingfisher, as well as some interesting offerings like mini mustard Martinis and vodka-spiked lassi.
Our mains arrive – and this is where chef Dutt’s homage to her Bengali roots shines
The barramundi is served in a smoked yoghurt sauce with a generous slick of mustard oil, the mainstay of any Bengali kitchen. The result? Subtle, smoky, sublime. While Aussies claim barra as their own, you also get Indian barramundi in the mangrove estuaries of West Bengal where it is called ‘bhetki’. How’s this for a fish curry that connects countries?
Our waitress tells us that the goat kosha has been slow cooked for more than six hours – evident from the way the meat falls off the bone into a thick, aromatic curry. We sprinkle the jhoori aloo bhaja – crisp matchsticks of fried potato – over the goat and this combo reminds us of Salli boti, a beloved Parsi dish.
Paired with our mains is the birista pulao, taken from Bengali Muslim households, where onions are fried until caramelised and stirred through fragrant, cardamom-scented rice.
And then, as a surprise from the kitchen, began and bori is brought to us. Instead of the smokiness of a baigan bharta, this eggplant is cooked down to a luscious sweet-sour pulp in panch phoron (Bengali five-spice) that’s perfectly mopped up with some flat bread.
Kolkata Social is an ode to chef Dutt’s mum Sharmila Basu Thaur and her home-style cooking – apparent from her mural by artist Marlon Dalton in the inner mustard-yellow room that’s kissed by the afternoon sun. The menu is novel; the dishes are nuanced. There are no flourishes of this and foams of that, but the food is cooked with finesse. It is food that you can eat with your hands and comes from the heart. Food that makes us want to go in for just one more bite despite the waistband of our protesting jeans.
So we oblige, ordering a dessert to share. Not the familiar Bengali sweets of rasgollas or mishti doi, but patishapta, a jaggery and coconut-stuffed crêpe, flambéed in rum and nestled in custard. It’s doused with a peg of rum and flambéed in front of us. Devoured in seconds, it’s a fitting finale to an exceptionally fine meal.