Calling All Night Owls: Things You Didn’t Know You Could Do Past Midnight In Kolkata

The first thing that comes to your mind when you hear the word ‘nightlife’ is nightclubs. Kolkata has some of the grooviest clubs for party animals. Head over to the British-styled pub, Someplace Else, for amazing live music, mostly western rock. If you wish to let your hair down and dance the night away, then hit up Tantra or Roxy for extensive cocktails and the best DJ music in the city. Marriot’s Gold, Club Boudoir, Myx, and M Bar & Kitchen are popular nightclubs with frequent offers on drinks. 

There are plenty of options for the lounge lovers too. Make Shisha Reincarnated your go-to place for the love of hookahs. If you wish to chill by an open-air pool, savouring delicious finger food while the in-house DJ spins some great music then Aqua is where you should be. Hit up Nocturne, Shimmers and Phoenix to be amongst the young and hip of the city.

Fancy digging into some tandoori chicken at 1am? No worries. Drive over to either Jai Hind Dhabha or Balwant Singh’s or Azad Hind to satisfy your midnight hunger pangs after all that partying. These eateries are buzzing with people till the wee hours of morning. Make sure you try the doodh cola while at Balwant and thick lassi at Azad Hind. If you are craving for Chinese or Italian then you can always make a quick dash to Don Giovanni’s on Park Street, which is open 24 hours. 

Take your date on a romantic night out at the Floatel, a 24-hour restaurant, situated on the Howrah jetty. With a star-lit sky above and the mesmerising view of the river below, the setting is so magical that it will make your heart sing. It is also an ideal location for a night photo shoot.

Whether you are a singing sensation or a bathroom singer, a karaoke night with the squad is all you need to up the fun quotient. Xrong Place has karaoke every Thursday night where all you need to do is sing to your heart’s content to get free drinks. Go solo or take part in friendly competitions at The Dugout every Tuesday night. Choose from jazz, blues or rock n roll to hip hop at The Poolside in Novotel. Head over to Blink (MYX) for their 1:1 deal (free drink with each song you sing!) Karaoke Wednesdays at the Wall Street Bar will bring out the hidden singer in you.

Horse carriage rides around Victoria Memorial are oh-so-Calcutta! What makes it even more fun is when you have an empty Red Road in front of you to go galloping about. There’s a special grand horse chariot that operates at midnight that looks a lot like Cinderella’s pumpkin coach. Adorned with lights and flowers, with some soulful music playing inside, the carriage promises to offer you your very own fairy tale. Hop on with a loved one and gallop away in the quite of the night.

Love staring at a star-lit sky? Now you can explore deeper by joining the Sky Watcher’s Association or enrolling in an Under The Sky Programme hosted by Kolkata Astronomy Center. Identify different celestial bodies and galaxies through a telescope under expert guidance. Learn basics of astronomy as you bust various misconceptions and superstitions about the night sky. An awesome way to kick off the night, don’t you think?

Empty roads, glittering street lights, peace and quiet – the city at night is almost as endearing as a sleeping child. Plug in a list of your favourite songs and drive around some major attractions such as the beautifully-lit Victoria Memorial, Shaheed Minar, Vidyasagar Setu and Howrah Bridge. Punctuate it with food stops at some of the late night eateries mentioned above.

Or ride down to Throttle Shrottle, a Goa-style open-air bikers’ cafe that stays open through the night. And they let you bring your pets along!

Kolkata now has several all-night turf where you can play football, cricket and more. Turf Street in Salt Lake is an 8th floor rooftop turf where you can test your football and cricket skills – and they’re open from from 6am till midnight! Since it’s paved with artificial turf {which is basically injury-free}, it doesn’t matter if you’re 6 or 60 – you can all play! What’s even more awesome? There’s a dugout for the players and a 20-seater gallery so your buddies can come and cheer you on. 

Also check out Skyturf, a rooftop sports arena located on AJC Bose Road which has floodlit, FIFA-certified AstroTurf and state-of-the-art facilities where you can play 5-a-side-football, badminton and box-cricket, or bat it out on the cricket nets with a professional bowling machine.