Kolkata Social

Ditch butter chicken and naan for treasured Bengali family recipes at Kolkata Social—a vibrant Indian restaurant in Newtown by former Firedoor and Raja chef Ahana Dutt (opening Wednesday 26 March, 2025).

Part of the Plate It Forward Hospitality Group, the restaurant goes beyond delivering incredible food by employing refugees and asylum seekers and fostering an all-women kitchen, much like its sibling venue, Kabul Social in Sydney’s CBD.

The menu draws from Ahana’s upbringing in Kolkata and her catalogue of cherished family recipes, expanding Sydney’s sense of Indian cuisine while utilising local and seasonal produce.

Standout dishes include paturi, spiced ricotta caramelised in a banana leaf parcel; chicken in kata moshla’r jhol, a chilli, garlic, and coconut broth; smoked barramundi with yoghurt and mustard oil; and plenty of plant-based plates like moong dal er bora, a Bengali take on falafels; and aloo kabli, tamarind and chilli-spiked potato salad.

And for dessert, there’s a must-try vanilla pound cake with saffron cream and seasonal fruit—a treasured family recipe from Ahana’s mother, Sharmila Basu Thaur. 

The drinks list is equally amazing with cocktails like a vodka-spiked lassi slushie, a mini gin-based mustard martini, and a refreshing ginger and elderflower spritz, alongside wines from Australia to Morocco, an exclusive Kolkata Social x Mountain Culture lager, Matsos’ mango ginger beer and other non-alc options. 

The restaurant’s interiors are also a love letter to Kolkata’s vibrant architecture, with colour-blocked rooms, art-covered walls, coasters painted by Ahana’s uncle Somnath Basu Thakur, and a mural of Ahana’s mother by artist Marlon Dalton.

Plus, every $75 set menu (or $65 vegan banquet) gives back—donating two meals to those in need: one in Sydney and one in India through a partnership with Calcutta Rescue.

Kolkata Social isn’t just a restaurant—it’s a celebration of culture, family and community impact.

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Image credit: Kolkata Social | Serhat Karakas

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