Bengal, of which Calcutta is the undisputed political and socio-cultural capital, is one of the most fertile lands in the world. The soil of the estuarine delta of the Ganges is ideal for the cultivation of rice and a vast variety of vegetables (some of which make their way to grocery stores in Europe and Japan these days). The myriad distributaries of the Ganges is home to perhaps an equal number of species of fish and shellfish, including the famous hilsa (a close cousin of the European herring or the American shad) and the bhetki ("beckti" to the India-returned English). The district of Maldah, about 250 kilometers (150 miles) north of Calcutta, is famous for its mangoes (far overshadowing the other tropical fruits that grow abundantly in the rest of Bengal, for example, lychees, jackfruit and coconuts), while the foothills of the Himalayas, besides yielding oranges, cardamom, cinnamon and other spices, is famous for its tea. After all, Darjeeling, which is synonymous with the finest tea in the world, is the most popular hill resort for Calcuttans and the northernmost district of Bengal.

The abundance and variety of fresh ingredients at Calcutta's markets, together with the historical ease with which exotic food products (foie gras and beluga caviar both were well-known at the tables of Calcutta) have shown up at the dockyards of Calcutta, have made the Bengali cuisine arguably the most sophisticated in the world (the only ones which rival are the French or Chinese, per the late French president, Francois Mitterand himself). The immigrants to Calcutta have also brought their native cuisines that have further thrived on all that was available here, to levels sometimes unknown in their native lands. Thus, one of the most ubiquitous item at Chinese restaurants around the world, Hot and Sour Soup, emerged neither from the imperial kitchens of the forbidden city, nor from the pleasure houses of Shanghai, but from a Chinese restaurant on Park Street, Calcutta.

Calcutta has traditionally been regarded as the cradle of fine dining "East of the Suez" and although many of the restaurants that were responsible for this reputation, like Peleti's, Firpo's Louis XIV and Maxim's (of Paris fame) have disappeared, others have taken their place so that the legend lives on. The best classic restaurants are still to be found on Park Street and its offshoots, serving everything from American, European, Middle Eastern, Latino, East Asian, and Northern Indian with a distinctly Calcutta flavor and Continental flourish, although the newer ones are appearing in the south and in the shopping malls all over. This is not to say that Calcutta has haute cuisine only. Calcutta's dining scene has everything from palaces to pavements. Someone started selling food on the go (and still does), in the form of kathi kebabs (a lesser known but arguably tastier cousin of the Greek gyro), a couple of decades before the first MacDonald's or Kentucky Fried Chicken. It used to be until recently that a Bengali meal, the king of cuisines, could only be had at a Bengali home, but that has changed now so that upscale Bengali restaurants now serve elaborate meals in an atmosphere that exudes traditional hospitality. Of the expatriate cuisines in Calcutta, the most obvious is Chinese, found in the Chinatown area as well in most neighborhoods around the city. And by the way, if there are people who would judge a city's culinary worth by the presence of international fast food chains, Calcutta has the largest Pizza Hut outlet in Asia and Dominos Pizza is available in most places.

The following is a list of restaurants categorized by cuisine, price and location.

Bengali Cuisine

Moghlai Cuisine

European Immigrant Cuisine

Anglo-Indian Cuisine

Hakka Chinese Cuisine

Indian Immigrant Cuisine

Global Village Cuisine