Since it was a weekday, we decided it was the perfect day to finally try out a place we had been wanting to visit forever. Both the name and the location had intrigued us. Raj’s Spanish Café—the name itself might make one a little suspicious about the authenticity of the Continental cuisine on the menu, but its location on Sudder Street made us curious.
Sudder Street is, after all, Kolkata’s famous foreign backpacker and tourist hub. So if a Spanish café had been sitting here for years, catering largely to an international crowd, surely there had to be a reason for its longevity!
Getting to the centre of the city is not exactly one of my favourite things, particularly when parking is involved. Somehow, though, we managed to park in front of Jamuna Banquets. From there, it was a short walk through a narrow lane that brought us onto Sudder Street, with Raj’s Spanish Café just around the corner.
Our first impression was… interesting.
The café had an outdoor seating area, and while we were a little taken aback, we were certainly not deterred. The murals on the walls immediately caught my attention. Then I took a peek inside—and suddenly everything made sense.
The place was packed!
There was a wonderful humdrum of conversations in a dozen unintelligible dialects. Foreigners everywhere! The restaurant was bustling and absolutely packed to the rafters. Clearly, Raj’s Spanish Café had found its audience.
One of the staff members came to the door and explained that we would have to sit outside because there were no tables available inside.
There were two tables outside—one completely empty and another half occupied, but with enough seating for two. We opted for the latter. At least it had a fan!
So, we settled down and started checking out the menu. Orders had to be placed through an app, which I have to admit was quite techy for a place that otherwise looked like it had accumulated decades of character!
And what a menu it was. There was some seriously tempting food to choose from.
While we were deliberating, more and more people kept arriving. Then, just when we had resigned ourselves to sitting outside, the server came over and told us that a table had become available inside.
Would we like to move?
Most definitely. Yes, please!
We stepped inside into this wonderfully electric atmosphere—tables packed on either side, conversations flowing, food arriving and people from all over the world enjoying themselves.
Our table was right at the very end of the restaurant, which meant we had to walk through the entire length of the café to get there. And that walk was fascinating.
Every inch of the walls seemed to have a story.
Marker-pen signatures, names, messages and random scribblings covered practically every available surface. Patrons had written on the walls, the windows and, unbelievably, even the ceiling. It felt less like graffiti and more like a living guestbook created over the years by travellers from around the world.
Once seated, we couldn't help looking at what everyone around us was eating. Judging by the plates passing our table, we knew we were in for a good lunch.
I ordered an Oreo Shake, while my wife opted for a bottle of Coca-Cola.
For the main meal, we went with a Lasagna de Pollo, Spicy Chicken Pizza, and Espinacas Salteadas—fried spinach with garlic and fried seafood.
The food arrived in what seemed like record time.
And then we dug in.
Boy, was it worth the effort it had taken to get here!
The food was delicious, the atmosphere was infectious, and there was something wonderfully unpretentious about the whole place. It wasn't trying to be fancy. It was simply doing what it had clearly been doing for years—serving good food to a constantly changing crowd of locals and travellers.
And then came another little episode that perfectly summed up Raj’s Spanish Café.
While we were eating, a young Spanish girl sitting nearby suddenly got hold of a marker. She wanted to add her own message to the ceiling. Unfortunately, with the café completely packed, there was no easy way to reach it.
Her solution?
She climbed onto the window sill right next to us and proceeded to leave her mark!
Only in a place like this.
Somewhere around halfway through our meal, one of the older members of the staff found an empty spot next to us and sat down. We got chatting.
And what followed was one of those wonderfully unexpected conversations that Kolkata is so good at producing.
We talked about Kolkata, food, the city's culture, the changing times, the past and all sorts of things in between.
Basically, adda.
It was delightful.
By the time we had finished our meal, we had become so comfortable that when we ordered dessert to be packed, he actually took us into the kitchen because I had mentioned that I wanted to see the pizza oven.
That little gesture made the experience even more memorable.
Raj’s Spanish Café was an absolute delight.
But our afternoon wasn't over yet.
Having come all the way into the heart of the city, my wife was adamant that going back home without visiting New Market would simply be wrong.
And, well… she did have a point.
We were only a street away.
So off we went.
New Market is one of those places that remains indispensable no matter how many shiny new malls Kolkata acquires. If you want something unusual, something specific, something you simply cannot find in a mall, chances are you'll find it somewhere inside this glorious maze.
And, of course, being in New Market meant there was one more thing we couldn't possibly leave without doing.
Nahoum’s.
A little shopping, a little wandering around, and naturally, some goodies from Nahoum’s had to come home with us.
And then, on our way back, we decided to make one more stop—Westside on Free School Street.
And wouldn't you know it…
There was a SALE on!
Now, let me ask you…
After everything we had already eaten and shopped for that afternoon, do you really think we simply walked past?
Did we shop some more???
Well…
Of course we did!
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