Summer 2025 footfall at Kol restos and bars beats pre-pandemic high
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Kolkata: Footfall across Kolkata restaurants is the highest this summer since the pandemic, with most eateries across south and central Kolkata seeing a full house during lunch and dinner.
Online orders saw a major spike over the last fortnight. The rise in footfall was around 20% compared to last summer, according to Hotel and Restaurants' Association of Eastern India (HRAEI) president Sudesh Poddar.
While the summer vacation is on, the weather, though warm, was better than last summer when the city was gripped by a heatwave. These factors may have contributed to a footfall spurt, felt Poddar. "While footfall rise every summer, this year it was around 20% more compared to last May-June.
Unlike 2024, it rained more often this time, making it a comfortable to dine out. It also helped that the IPL playoffs were played till this week.
It always attracts the young who love to couple cricket with eating out," said Poddar.
Oudh 1590 and Chapter 2 have seen steady growth in footfall since the beginning of May. "It has been rising steadily, and it helped that we had our biryani festival on throughout last month. Summers are usually good for sales, but this year it was even better, possibly due to the improved weather.
Despite the occasional scorching period, people have been gorging on biryani and other north Indian fare. At Chapter 2, sales have been moderately higher than last summer's as well," said Shiladitya Chaudhury, co-founder and owner of Oudh and Chapter 2.
Park Street has seen a larger crowd during both lunch and dining hours since mid-May, said restaurateurs. Peter Hu has seen a waiting crowd every evening over the last month.
"This has been the best summer since the pandemic, and the footfall was 15% higher. We've had people waiting to get in even on weekdays. One reason could be the weather, which has been more bearable than the last two summers. Secondly, along with the younger generation, the elders, too, are now more into eating out.
Online orders, too, have increased," said Siddharth Kothari of Peter Hu.
At Mocambo and Peter Cat, waiting crowds have gotten progressively bigger over the last fortnight.
"We had full attendance throughout the day since the beginning of May. It has really been a good summer so far, easily the most crowded since the pandemic across all our outlets, including Peter Cat," said Mocambo and Peter Cat owner Nitin Kothari.
"We had a near-full attendance even during weekdays since last Sunday. Food sales have jumped appreciably. Liquor sales have dipped since we have more families coming in now. But that has been more than made up by the higher footfall and larger food orders," said Pratap Daryanani, owner of Oasis on Park Street. Footfall has been driven by a bigger family crowd, said Poddar, who owns Songhai, MS Bar & Lounge, and Manthan.
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