Aabar Baithak - Coffee Shop or bor jaatri nibas?
C'mon! Everyone is entitled to a bad day. A day when nothing goes right and try as you might, everything seems to be like it had just come under the impact of a tornado. Saturday probably was one such day for Abar Baithak and that was the day we decided to pay a visit to this place.
Ever seen a marriage hall reserved for the bridegroom's kins to stay? The bridegroom's party is always larger than estimated, making any place reserved by the bride's parents look cramped. Abar Baithak looked, to us, just like such a place.
There were people outside the house, young ones mainly, as if they had gathered outside for a smoke, away from the prying eyes of elders ensconced inside the house. At an arm's length away from the band of these youngsters and sitting on chairs lining the walkway, were a few people, just like the workmen of decorators or lighting contractor who happen to sit down for an unscheduled break from decoration work, their feet stretched out and bodies in 270 degree formation.
Inside the house, the scene was even more like the bridegroom party's shelter, with chairs arranged at almost all nooks and corners and along passageway with people sitting in them and chattering away to glory. In the midst of all this din, an elderly gentleman and a not so young lady sat, hunched over a game of chess, their lips silent but hands doing all the movement and expressing their intents.
A flight of steps lead up to the mezzanine floor where there are chairs and more chairs and a dastarkhwan style seating at the far end of the room, just below a wall to wall painting of the famous villain of Bengali cinema, Maganlal meghraj. Abar Baithak is not about peaceful dining, certainly not about whispered conversations in muted lights. It is bright, it is crowded with chairs, it is about uninhibited conversations without a care for whether someone in the next seat can hear all the conversation.
After having taken your seat and chosen your pick from the menu, you have to go up to the server corner to log in your order and come back to the table to begin your wait! If you happen to reach before 8 pm, you have additional choice of continental food. Post 8 pm, the place simply serves finger food and coffee/tea.
As for rating the food at Abar Baithak, I would only like to sum it up by saying that other than the good old Darjeeling, it's not worth the wait! The salami ham sandwich that we ordered was anorexic and too tangy for my taste. We nearly fell asleep waiting for the baked omlette to come and when it did come, it tasted flat devoid as it was of salt. We asked the server for some salt and pepper to spice up the omlette but to our misfortune, were offered empty salt - pepper shaker.
While at Abar Baithak, it helps to always keep an eye on your ordered food and drinks
because there is a possibility of same being taken away by the server the moment your attention wavers. It happened to us at Abar Baithak. And when we asked the server as to why he had removed our half empty glass of lime juice, he offered neither an explanation nor any remorse but simply went away, only to return a little later with another glass of lime juice! His expression, as he put the juice down was-" here's your drink. Have it and don't make any further fuss! " We followed his unstated advice and quickly gobbled our food, went down to the counter to pay our bill and left.
Footnote-They do not serve water on the table and have done away with the concept of drinking from the glass. If you are thirsty, you need to get up, pick your bottle from the servers corner and drink straight from the bottle!
Ever seen a marriage hall reserved for the bridegroom's kins to stay? The bridegroom's party is always larger than estimated, making any place reserved by the bride's parents look cramped. Abar Baithak looked, to us, just like such a place.
There were people outside the house, young ones mainly, as if they had gathered outside for a smoke, away from the prying eyes of elders ensconced inside the house. At an arm's length away from the band of these youngsters and sitting on chairs lining the walkway, were a few people, just like the workmen of decorators or lighting contractor who happen to sit down for an unscheduled break from decoration work, their feet stretched out and bodies in 270 degree formation.
Inside the house, the scene was even more like the bridegroom party's shelter, with chairs arranged at almost all nooks and corners and along passageway with people sitting in them and chattering away to glory. In the midst of all this din, an elderly gentleman and a not so young lady sat, hunched over a game of chess, their lips silent but hands doing all the movement and expressing their intents.
A flight of steps lead up to the mezzanine floor where there are chairs and more chairs and a dastarkhwan style seating at the far end of the room, just below a wall to wall painting of the famous villain of Bengali cinema, Maganlal meghraj. Abar Baithak is not about peaceful dining, certainly not about whispered conversations in muted lights. It is bright, it is crowded with chairs, it is about uninhibited conversations without a care for whether someone in the next seat can hear all the conversation.
After having taken your seat and chosen your pick from the menu, you have to go up to the server corner to log in your order and come back to the table to begin your wait! If you happen to reach before 8 pm, you have additional choice of continental food. Post 8 pm, the place simply serves finger food and coffee/tea.
As for rating the food at Abar Baithak, I would only like to sum it up by saying that other than the good old Darjeeling, it's not worth the wait! The salami ham sandwich that we ordered was anorexic and too tangy for my taste. We nearly fell asleep waiting for the baked omlette to come and when it did come, it tasted flat devoid as it was of salt. We asked the server for some salt and pepper to spice up the omlette but to our misfortune, were offered empty salt - pepper shaker.
While at Abar Baithak, it helps to always keep an eye on your ordered food and drinks
because there is a possibility of same being taken away by the server the moment your attention wavers. It happened to us at Abar Baithak. And when we asked the server as to why he had removed our half empty glass of lime juice, he offered neither an explanation nor any remorse but simply went away, only to return a little later with another glass of lime juice! His expression, as he put the juice down was-" here's your drink. Have it and don't make any further fuss! " We followed his unstated advice and quickly gobbled our food, went down to the counter to pay our bill and left.
Footnote-They do not serve water on the table and have done away with the concept of drinking from the glass. If you are thirsty, you need to get up, pick your bottle from the servers corner and drink straight from the bottle!
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