Conde Nast Traveller #5 in India in 2023
sienna kitchen
Sienna started as a family-run café in November 2015, tucked away in the charming bylanes of Hindustan Park, Calcutta. It quickly became a local favourite, thanks to Shanta Aunty’s delicious eclectic salad, sandwiches, and telebhajas.
Right before the pandemic we brought Chef Avinandan Kundu and Chef Koyel Roy Nandi on board and built a team, bringing a new level of expertise and creativity to the Sienna kitchen. They transformed Sienna from a quaint café into a buzzing restaurant, offering a casual dining experience that takes you on a journey through the baajars of Bengal.
Incorporating cooking techniques and local ingredients, from both 'epar' and 'opar' Bengal fuels the need to represent the diverse culinary stories from the region that go beyond the stereotypes of 'bhapa' and 'kosha' is at the heart of the Sienna kitchen. Our local markets or 'bajaars' are a showcase in seasonality, and this eventually has become the backbone of our food identity.
The community that is the bajaar, lies in the culture of Bengal. Every visit brings new surprises, sometimes as ingredients, but often as stories from the community itself. Sometimes, these are tales overheard at a bajaar walk. At other instances, it is memories of food cooked by our 'didas' and 'thammas'. The cooking at Sienna is reflective of these stories. Rooted firmly in local ingredients, cooked using techniques from anywhere in the world. There is a degree of whimsy with the cuisine at Sienna, all the while respecting the food heritage of the region.
We also offer a Bengali style degustation tasting menu, which follows the natural progression of a Bengali meal reflective of how we eat at home.
While Sienna started off as a space to further design and craft from the region, food soon became a part of that story. The goal has always been to bring Bengal to the table for others to experience its beauty.