Aaheli

Aaheli is the Bengali fine-dining restaurant of The Peerless Inn, at 12 Jawaharlal Nehru Road (Chowringhee Road) in central Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Its position a short walk from New Market and the Esplanade makes it a natural stop for a sit-down lunch after sightseeing in the old commercial heart of the city. The restaurant serves Bengali dishes in a formal hotel dining room, and it has long been used for family celebrations and for visitors who want a composed introduction to the regional cuisine.

The menu centres on the fish and shellfish for which Bengal is known. Shorshe ilish, hilsa cooked in a pungent mustard gravy, is the emblematic order and is best in the monsoon season. Daab chingri, prawns served in tender coconut, and bhapa chingri, steamed prawns, are the other signature dishes, while kosha mangsho, the slow-cooked spiced mutton, represents the meat repertoire. Rice and luchi accompany the curries, and the usual Bengali sweets close the meal.

The dining room is formal and quiet by Kolkata standards, with hotel-style service and tables set for leisurely meals rather than quick turnover. This suits business lunches and family gatherings, and it is less noisy than the city's casual eating houses. The beverage side is that of a hotel restaurant, with soft drinks, juices and a bar available through the hotel, though the food is the main reason to visit.

Prices of roughly 1,800 to 3,500 rupees per person put it at the upper end of the Bengali restaurants in the city. It serves lunch and dinner daily, generally from about 12:30PM to 3PM and 7PM to 11PM, although timings can shift around festivals such as Durga Puja. Reservations are advised, particularly at weekends and during the festival season, and a booking a day or two ahead is usually sufficient. A hotel restaurant booking number is listed as +91 98317 80403 in directories and should be confirmed before use.