I have travelled past KOJ a million times and almost always found this place packed. That explains something and this is what got me to visit them today.
The kitchen of joy is a tribute to the 'City of Joy' and dishes out Kolkata and Bengali delicacies. The management was friendly and explained some of their speciality dishes. Very clearly they were proud of their Kolkata routes (appreciate that!) and this tiny outlet and its offerings is indicative of the same.
As a Chennai kid, I was happy to see a small picture of Illayaraja - the music legend - on their walls.
Ambience (3.5/5)
Space is never the limitation if one knows how to use it. This restaurant is a perfect example on how a small tiny outlet could be made to look attractive and vibrant.
There was a guitar tucked in one corner, a small yet packed display counter, tiny backless cane chairs with cushions, wall posters and picture collages, etc
The restaurant operates on a self ordering but service on the tables concept. The food is served pretty quick however, except for the plastic water bottles kept on the tables there was no water glasses offered for the same. This fits the fast food culture - but personally I felt the place needs to do better than that.
Also, since both my orders were served in paper plates- having a small waste bin could help dispose the same; specially considering they were flying away when seated below the fan.
Pricing (4/5)
Very economical. A samosa, roll and a jamun cost me INR. 145.
Food (3.5/5)
1. Chicken egg roll: the roll tasted good and had adequate stuffing of chicken.
2. Shingara (Bengali samosa): looked rounder than the regular samosas and was stuffed with potato masala. The filling was slightly sweet (not spicy for sure). Would have tasted better if served hot.
3. Langcha (gulab jamun's bengali brother): sized much bigger than gulab jamuns this sweet had a thicker outer layer and was less sweeter than gulab jamun. However, what impressed me was the sugar syrup that oozed out when I tried to cut it - that makes it a hybrid of jamuns and rasgullas.
Would definitely recommend this place and would like to revisit them for the Kolkata styled biryanis.