What to Order at a New Queens Restaurant That Looks to Kolkata

Named after a musical comedy famous for its risqué content, Oh! Calcutta is a newly opened restaurant at 10-57 Jackson Avenue, near 50th Avenue, in Long Island City. The owner is Ruhel Amin, who hired a pair of chefs, Sharmeen Rahman and Lisha Khondokar. The menu pays special attention to the food of Kolkata (formerly Calcutta), and approximately a fifth of the menu is devoted to the recipes associated with the city and West Bengal, the state in which Kolkata is located.

Oh! Calcutta is not Amin’s first attempt at a restaurant to feature food of the region; in 2021, he opened Masti in Williamsburg, which listed six or so regional West Bengali dishes, which mostly disappeared from the menu. Chef Hemant Mathur of Veerays once had a Bengali restaurant in Curry Hill called Haldi, specializing in Jewish Indian cuisine, now closed. Typical of street food in Kolkata, kathi rolls are sold on MacDougal Street and several other locations at Kathi Roll Company. Aside from that, Oh! Calcutta offers our most complete view of the cuisine for now.

The dishes on the menu have much in common with Bangladeshi food, including the use of mustard oil, mashed vegetables, freshwater fish, and dishes with chicken, goat, and lamb. Poppy seeds, cumin, cinnamon, and ginger make an appearance while condensed milk, yogurt, and jaggery are common ingredients for sweets.

The Oh! Calcutta space is broad and airy, with red metal chairs and white, glazed-tile walls and dark-gray wainscoting. Framed historic pictures of Kolkata line the walls, making for an altogether sedate space. A window looks into the kitchen at the rear, and a door leads to a lovely backyard, not quite finished yet, though you can sit there if you ask nicely. We tried 14 dishes in all, and here are the five best.

Aamer chutney ($4.50)

This side is a fresh surprise for those used to bottled chutneys. Minced mango and cucumber are dressed with mustard oil, which provides a sunny spice with a bit of heat. Not only does this function as a chutney, but it makes a fine appetizer salad. It’s also seasonal and not always available.

Grilled Murshidabad chicken ($10.50)

This starter is a roadside specialty of Murshidabad, a city on a tributary of the Ganges River. The appetizer on a sizzling platter consists of knots of chicken dusted with cinnamon and cumin, and nearly blackened in the tandoori oven. Rarely has chicken been so flavorsome.

Kosha mangsho ($21.50)

This classic goat curry involves a spice rub, long marination, and even longer simmering, resulting in a thick sauce of ginger, lemon, cinnamon, and other unexpected flavors. It’s utterly delicious: Be sure to scoop out the bone marrow.

Cholar dal ($13.50)

This yellow split pea is flavored with a spice combination known as panch phoron, and contains fenugreek, black mustard, cumin, fennel, and nigella. It also tastes of mustard oil; if the color yellow had a flavor, this would be it.

Sandesh ($5)

This and another choice on the menu, mishti dhoi, are two desserts often associated with West Bengal. Sandesh is made with sweetened condensed milk cooked into a fudge-like consistency and flavored with jaggery for a toasty richness.