LF says: ★★.5
The lockdown, the pandemic – all of it has affected our ways of living. The pleasure to meet, dine and travel has heightened, which has now been adapted to include a new norm of utmost safety. Thanks to the revamped distanced seating in restaurants, rigorous sanitisation and immersive indulgence, we could be back to having a good time and a good meal in this new year.
La Cucina, Hyatt Regency Kolkata
From a world cuisine to authentic Italian to a true taste of Indian delicacies, Hyatt Regency Kolkata, serving the different plethora of moods, is a delightful escape for luxury dining in Kolkata. The hotel has three fine restaurants, but only two of them are operational for the moment – La Cucina and The Waterside Cafe. Nevertheless, the culinary experience in both of these leaves much to be desired.
Classic Brunch Dates
La Cucina boasts an authentic Italian cuisine offered with sophistication and warmth. The decor is more than just eclectic – the muted lighting adds sophistication to its walls, whereas the bright upholstery adds a sense of warmth and aspiration. Although the restaurant is designed to be spacious, the new seating arrangement respects the social-distancing decorum. A first glance into the restaurant features its elaborate wine cellar that hosts wines from different regions. The live-in-action kitchen adds to a fun experience and emphasizes the elements of cooking done in style and safety. The special Sunday brunch is a highlight, offering appetisers and main-course served directly from the pan to the plate in a very homely style.
I started off the culinary journey with multiple appetisers like braised lamb, crushed potatoes, stuffed mushrooms, and a variety of soup and salads – however, most of them weren’t appetising enough. They blended well with the wintertime – bland and cold in taste. The quality of appetizers matters, as it’s a trailer to the main course. Thankfully, in a good twist, the main course proved itself worthy of being called ‘fine food’. The main course started with ravioli filled with shrimps cooked in a pink creamy sauce. The ravioli hit a different flavour while the rosa sauce added a nice compliment to the shrimp. Their pizza cucina mia is a play of flavours and there’s really a lot happening there. The exciting combination of spices with the creamy mix of the goodness of cheese adds a significant punch of flavour. Desserts are mood-lifting as always – chocolate pudding cake being the most recommended.
La Cucina, Hyatt Regency Kolkata
I started off the culinary journey with multiple appetisers like braised lamb, crushed potatoes, stuffed mushrooms, and a variety of soup and salads – however, most of them weren’t appetising enough.
Indian Flavours
Imaginative food and beverages, sophisticated touches and personalised service are what makes anyone hooked to luxury dining. However, the excitement, the roller coaster ride of intrigue, comfort and astonishment was missing from the Waterside Cafe. The décor is spacious and stylish with a high ceiling, ad floor to ceiling windows overlooking the fountain and poolside. My dining table was set with fine-looking spoons and napkin, which to my utter disappointment, was stained and dirty. Restaurants, be it uber-luxury or just high-end, need to understand now is that they cannot take such minute and important hygiene details for granted, especially in times of Covid. Restaurants labelled as luxurious and five-star should live up to people’s expectations, and at least serve clean cutlery.
Even though killing my appetite for dinner, I decided to give it a go and prepare myself for the fine culinary experience, that Hyatt, in general, is known for. Waterside Café is considered one of the best buffet restaurants in Kolkata – a sentiment which I questioned again when one of the servers dropped curry onto my white sneakers (if you’re a sneakerhead, you treat sneakers as your life and dropping Indian masala curry on white ones is equivalent to having a minor heart attack). All of the incidents killed my desire for having dinner that day. There was no attention paid towards luxury service and even the mere touch of fine dining was missing. ‘Five-star’ is the highest rate of standard in the hospitality industry, and many players just fit the rules and requirements, without paying further heed to the true essence of luxury dining.
Waterside Cafe, Hyatt Regency Kolkata
However, to my surprise, the next day, Waterside Cafe arranged itself into a less chaotic, good-service place. To see how they fared across cuisines, I ordered a bit of each – top marks to the aloo paratha and the mashed potato wedges – while the grilled chicken, stir-fried veggies were all fine. The Danish croissant and walnut-caramel maple syrup cake were lip-smackingly good. I was quite relieved to see the restaurant uplift themselves to the food service they are known for!
Sake Make, a salmon sushi roll, was quite precise. The thumb-length pillows of rice with fish on top were shimmering with brilliance.
In-Room Dining
After a not-so-pleasing experience at their restaurants, I decided to go forward and experience their in-room dining. To my happy surprise, the experience was exactly how your vision of fine dining would be. The in-room dining menu boasts of flavourful choices from around the world, tapping into various cultures via delightful offerings with zesty ingredients.
Sticking to familiar Indian dishes, I was amazed by the excruciatingly vibrant and fresh dishes. I started with a safe option for starters. Paneer tikka and Jodhpuri dum aloo, to my surprise, were cooked with sheer perfection. You can find the seamless blend of spices in both dishes. Starting with the main course, the main highlight would be steam bhetki with Thai chillies, a Thai-style steamed fish recipe with a broth of chilli, garlic, and lemongrass. The dish was warm, juicy and the taste of the fish was an epiphany of delectable flavours. It looked beautiful and the fish itself really was marvellous. Sake Make, a salmon sushi roll, was quite precise. The thumb-length pillows of rice with fish on top were shimmering with brilliance. The lunch was concluded with the scrumptious almond cake. Being flourless, the sweet slices lifted the flavour without declaring itself.
In-room dining at Hyatt Regency Kolkata | ©Tejashee Kashyap
For me, the dining experience in the restaurants of Hyatt Regency, Kolkata did not spark much joy and interest in my palate, however, the in-room dining experience was filled with culinary innovations, superseding the standards of luxury dining!
LF says: ★★.5
Coordinates: JA-1, JA Block, Sector III, Bidhannagar, Kolkata, West Bengal 700098, India
