The last Saturday was the best in the year, said many restaurateurs in the city.
The last Saturday was also the worst in recent times, said many commuters who faced crawling traffic because of the surge of revellers on the roads from afternoon.
Customers kept walking into eateries throughout the day, which meant brisk business for restaurants.
Unlike other Saturdays, there was no break between lunch and dinner.
“This has been the best Saturday in the whole year. By noon, we were full. On other days, people start walking into the restaurant around noon,” said Nitin Kothari, who owns Mocambo, Peter Cat and Peter Hu on Park Street.
All three places open at 11am.
Kothari said those who came around 12.15-12.30pm had to wait for one round of guests to finish their meal.
Flurys opened at 6am instead of the usual 7am.
“We were really busy during breakfast today. Those outside had to wait for at least 25 minutes. Waiting started 7.30am onwards,” said Chiranjib Maity, manager, operations, Flurys.
The crowd in the Park Street-Camac Street area start increasing as darkness descended and the fairy lights came on.
Police said the number of cars and pedestrians kept swelling from Saturday afternoon.
“Traffic was slow today. We are expecting a far greater crowd on Sunday,” said an officer of the traffic department.
The officer said the Science City complex was filled with visitors since early afternoon. That meant traffic was affected even in the eastern parts of the city.
“Science City and the trade fair on the Science City grounds together pushed up the headcount by many times. At one point, we had to send cars to a road near Milan Mela because parking space at Science City was exhausted by then,” said the officer.
A teacher walking down Middleton Street around 7.30pm said there was a rush of both pedestrians and vehicles. She was headed to St Xavier’s College on Park Street for a reunion dinner.
“Two cabs refused to take me citing heavy traffic. I got down at Maidan Metro station and walked. The road had people sporting festive headgear and wristbands,” said Joeeta Basu, the teacher.
There was live music at Allen Park.
Saturday was the last day of the Calcutta Christmas festival on Park Street, which started on December 21.
There was a cultural programme every evening during this period.
“The atmosphere is festive. People come to Park Street for an experience and then stop by for a meal or some light snacks. During Durga Puja, we do good business but there is a break between 5pm and 7pm. But at this time, customers keep walking in throughout the day,” said Pratap Daryanani, partner, Oasis Restaurant.