The Youngest Pice Hotel of Kolkata

 Yes, you read it right! If we are talking about the Pice Hotels of Kolkata, we always think them to be old, at least 80 to 100 years. Mohol is an exception.

If you are on Mahatma Gandhi Road or on Amherst Street, ask someone for Dasgupta Sports. Just opposite to this legendary sports shop, you will see a lane. Just 15 seconds into the lane, you will find Mohol – a Pice Hotel of the city which is in business for about 35 years.

It was one fine Saturday afternoon that me and my friend decided to visit this place. I think we visited a Pice Hotel together for the first time but for me, it is after long. This Pice Hotel is also known as “ব্যোমকেশ বক্সী’র বাড়ি”, because of the fact that Sharadindu Bandhopadhyay was staying at this same house/mess when he curated the fictional detective character.

Since it was a Saturday, we were expecting some crowd for lunch. We reached the place, waited for around ten minutes, before we shared our table with two other guys.

This place is managed by two brothers in their 50’s and I suppose, not much changes are done in terms of interiors. Like any other Pice Hotels of the city, you will find wooden dining tables with Sun Mica tops and simple wooden chairs. Here also, the menu keeps on changing everyday and there will be a variety of fish items and of course, chicken and mutton delicacies along with a wide range of options for those who are strictly vegetarian. As soon as one item goes out of stock, it is marked with a cross sign on the board.

Check out the menu board below :

As soon as we occupied our seats, the banana leaves along with a lime and some salt were put in front of us. A bowl of green chilies was already placed on each table. I forgot to ask the name of the waiter but he has the whole menu board in his mind. You ask for for options, he will tell you everything at one go. My friend is someone who can gorge on fish on any given day while I have few reservations. I do not eat fish of every kind. We ordered the basics first : ভাত – শুক্তো – মুগের ডাল – ঝুড়ি আলু ভাজা ( Steamed Rice – Shukto – Moong Daal – Jhuri Aloo Bhaja ) and these were served in no time.

 While we were gorging on these, my friend was quick enough to decide on the fish items. Hence came, চিতল মাছের কোর্মা (Indian Knifefish Curry) and ফুলকপি দিয়ে চিংড়ি (Prawns Curry with Cauliflower). I became a bit sad to learn that Chicken Curry went out of the stock but managed with some brilliant ফুলকপি দিয়ে চিংড়ি. Lastly, came a brilliant খেজুর – আমসত্ত্ব দিয়ে চাটনি (Chutney with Dates and Mango Leather) and পাঁপড় (Papad).

          Steamed Rice – Shukto – Moong Daal – Jhuri Aloo Bhaja

Indian Knifefish Curry

Prawns Curry with Cauliflower

Each and every item that we tried were brilliantly prepared and tasted just like home-made food. Every dish can be shared by two. The waiter was suggesting us to try few more varieties of fish but we had no space left in our stomach. Places like these should not be visited just for once and there should be few items left to be tried during next time, just like the Chicken Curry.

It is better to visit this place between 1 PM to 2 PM so that you get all the items available. They remain open till 4 PM everyday but it is better to not expect a variety if you go late. They do not accept Credit/Debit cards, but you can pay via cash or UPI. Assuming that you will be trying varieties of vegetarian & non-vegetarian dishes, the cost for two will be around 700 to 800 INR for two.

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