Skewered Perspective

For too long the demography of Calcutta has been a story of two disparate populations—genteel, ‘cultured’ bhadralok, and ‘materialist’ Marwari sethjis. But when you see diners at Barbeque Nation, with their striped shirts and ties, with their pencil skirts and heels, it’s obvious that this neat Maru-Bong divide has got confused around the edges. Working in the Gurgaon-like suburban Sector V, these IT professionals sit noisily around tables, bantering in as many as three languages, and signalling a brave new world order, one built around occupation rather than community. But the only trouble is that fantastic as all of this looks and sounds, the food does not match up. If you are a discerning eater, your first order at this restaurant will probably be your last.

Already a successful chain across the country, Barbeque Nation fashions itself as a concept dining eatery. And what makes their concept novel is the introduction of a charcoal grill bang in the middle of your table, on which you turn skewers, warming unlimited kababs that come almost cooked from the kitchen. But despite the idle minutes that we spent watching our food heat, the mushrooms were too soggy, the Punjabi Mutton Seekh seemed too dry, the Charmoulla Prawn still tasted of freezer-insides and the Hara Bhara Kebab oddly resembled a hawker’s Bhel Puri. The buffet, however, provided some respite, the Mutton Dum Biriyani and the Gosht Nalli Korma offering meat that was easy to chew. But still, Barbeque Nation’s ‘Rs 450—Eat All You Want’ deal remained hard to digest—attractive though it sounded in theory. Some things, alas, are too good to be true.