Culinary Culture has launched the inaugural ‘Ultimate Restaurant Ratings’ in six major cities, with Kolkata joining the ranks alongside Mumbai, Delhi NCR, Bengaluru, Chennai and Goa.
This unique star-rating system, the first of its kind in the country, distinguishes restaurants with 3, 4, or 5 stars. The platform notably claims that no fees, advertising, or payments are involved in the evaluation process.
The unveiling took place at The Leela in Mumbai on February 1, drawing a crowd of restaurateurs, chefs, hoteliers, and food enthusiasts. Half the room had flown in from across India, while the other half had navigated its way through south Mumbai traffic, which like Raaj Sanghvi, CEO of Culinary Culture, humorously acknowledged, was probably more difficult!
The Kolkata 4 stars — Nikhil Nagnal, brand custodian of Avartana (centre), and Sushanta Sengupta of 6 Ballygunge Place (right) Karo Christine Kumar
From the food-loving city of Kolkata, modern south Indian restaurant Avartana in ITC Royal Bengal and Bengali restaurant 6 Ballygunge Place emerged as standouts, each clinching four stars. Royal Indian Hotel, Sienna Store & Cafe, Sonar Tori and The Blue Poppy secured three stars each.
Nationally, only three restaurants were awarded the coveted five stars: Avartana in Chennai, Farmlore in Bangalore, and Indian Accent in Delhi NCR. Below is the complete list of winners:
“We wanted this to be a very Indian list that picked up the sensibilities, judgement and understanding of Indians,” said Sameer Sain, the visionary behind Culinary Culture.
The restaurants on the Ultimate Restaurant Ratings were assessed based on a five-point criteria – taste, technique, presentation, service and consistency. “We make sure that every restaurant that gets a star – deserves a star,” said Vir Sanghvi.
Culinary Culture has been a game-changer of sorts in the F&B industry. It launched India’s first street food awards, first chef-ranking platform called Food Superstars and it hosts culinary exchanges where some of the world’s best chefs are brought to India.
All the winners of Culinary Culture’s inaugural ‘Ultimate Restaurant Ratings’ pose for a group photo. “In the global scene, we’re still known for Chicken Tikka Masala, Biryani and Naan Bread. It’s shameful. We wanted to find a way to put our food on the map,” said Sameer Sain, the visionary behind Culinary Culture Karo Christine Kumar
There was also a list of ‘Local Favourites’ from each city. From Kolkata, the list had Aminia, Arsalan, Eau Chew, Islamia Hotel, Kasturi, Mocambo and Nizam’s, and these are the favourites from the other five cities.
With each annual edition of Ultimate Restaurant Ratings going forward, additional cities will be added to cover the length and breadth of India.
Vir Sanghvi, chairman, Culinary Culture, and Raaj Sanghvi, CEO
There’s plenty more to look forward to from the house of Culinary Culture. “This year we have a very exciting schedule. We will have the living legend Massimo Bottura back in India for the third time in a row with us. We will also have the current world number one restaurant, Central Restaurante from Lima, Peru, cooking in India for the first time,” revealed Raaj Sanghvi.