New Market has sold imported food since it opened in 1874, and some of what it carries is found nowhere else in India. Bandel cheese — smoked, hard, Portuguese in origin, made by a handful of families in Bandel and Tarakeswar — is sold from a few counters here and almost nowhere outside Bengal.
In December the market turns over to the Christmas trade: fruit cake, marzipan, cold cuts, plum preparations and the queue outside Nahoum’s.
Central Kolkata
BBD Bagh · Esplanade · New Market · Park Street · College Street · Bowbazar · Burrabazar| Name | Where | What they carry |
|---|---|---|
| New Market1874 | Lindsay Street, Esplanade | Officially Sir Stuart Hogg Market. Imported food, cheese, cold cuts, bakery and the Christmas trade. |
| Nahoum & Sons1902 | New Market | The Jewish bakery; the December queue is a city event. |
| Johnson’s and the cheese counters | New Market | Bandel cheese, imported cheese and cold cuts. |
| Free School Street provision shops | Free School Street | Imported groceries and dry goods. |
| Spencer’s and Nature’s Basket | Park Street, Camac Street | The organised gourmet retail. |
South Kolkata
Bhowanipore · Kalighat · Gariahat · Ballygunge · Lake Market · Jadavpur · Tollygunge| Name | Where | What they carry |
|---|---|---|
| Gariahat provision shops | Gariahat | Imported groceries alongside the saree trade. |
| Dakshinapan1980s | Dhakuria | A state emporia complex; crafts, food and Biswa Bangla. |
East Kolkata
Salt Lake · Sector V · New Town · Rajarhat · Tangra| Name | Where | What they carry |
|---|---|---|
| Salt Lake and New Town gourmet stores | City Centre Salt Lake, New Town | Serving the IT population. |
Worth knowing
- Bandel cheese, smoked and plain, from the New Market cheese counters
- Christmas cake in December, which means Nahoum’s and a queue
- Cold cuts and sausage from the New Market meat hall
- Darjeeling tea, first and second flush, from a specialist rather than a supermarket
- Kasundi — Bengali fermented mustard — which travels well
Other shopping
Read the city by area
A note on this page. Restaurants, shops and markets open, move and close far more often than industries do. Everything here is a snapshot of Kolkata as of 2026, offered as a starting point rather than a live listing. Check the address and the hours before you travel.
Restaurant, shop and company names and trademarks belong to their respective owners. Inclusion is for independent discovery only, not endorsement, ranking or affiliation.
Our other websites
These open our other sites in a new tab. They are part of the same network and are marked in blue throughout this site.