Indian Coffee House – Background

The Albert Hall, built in 1876 and then repurposed by the Coffee Board as a ‘Coffee House’ in 1946. The Indian Coffee House has centuries of legacy packed in every inch of the magnificent hall.

The coffee house where poetry, films and revolutions were brewed
The Hindu

It is no secret that great historical personalities such as Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, Satyajit Ray, Nobel Laureate economist Amartya Sen, film directors Mrinal Sen, Ritwik Ghatak, poets Subhash Mukherjee, Shakti Chattopadhyay, author Sunil Gangopadhyay used to frequent this place and called it their ‘Adda’.

The place is inconspicuously hidden in plain sight behind the myriad gullies or lanes of College Street, and it is quite easy to miss the entrance.

Rain’s experience of the Indian Coffee House

Knowing my immense love for historical places and cafes, a friend of mine was quick to recommend this place which is at a confluence of History and Coffee, and I can’t thank him enough for that.

The décor and interior of the place is a reflection of the old times. On reaching the place, I found the run down exteriors of the place rather charming.

As I passed through the stairway, I was smitten with every step I took.

After getting the table, we ensconced ourselves with the food we ordered, and we ordered a lot of items! Mutton Kabiraji, Mutton cutlet, regular coffee and cold coffee, and few other items like Pakodas and egg chicken fried rice.

While the prices for the dishes were fairly economical, I didn’t particularly like the food.

For a coffee house, I didn’t enjoy the cold coffee, but Girish really liked his Americano! On the upside, I actually ended up liking the egg fried rice.

Personally though, I would suggest everyone to order the must haves at least once and be your own judge.
I would definitely visit the place for its heritage and culture and recommend it to anyone who has an affinity for it.

My Experience of the Indian Coffee House

High ceiling, bare walls, simplicity and the charm of an old city coffee shop. That was Indian Coffee House for me.

I could feel the excitement rise in me knowing that I’m probably sitting on the same chair where Netaji or Amartya Sen sat!

The fact that the interiors haven’t changed in the last 100 years or so, makes it even more interesting and adds a nice conventional touch to the ambience.

Given the number of visitors served at any given point of time, I was impressed by their quality of service. And the cherry on the top were the prices! Just 28 rupees for a Black coffee, it just blew my mind!

The waiting staff wore traditional white uniforms and a turban like head gear that added a couple of extra starts to the service. Even though I totally agree with Rain on the matter that their offerings food wise should have been better, but I was too soaked in the ambience and the historical significance of the place to notice!

Closing remarks

It is a must visit for everyone who is visiting Kolkata, even the locals couldn’t get enough of the place! What it lacks in quality, it more than makes up for it in ambience and historical significance.