Dacres Lane

ডেকার্স লেন

Also known as James Hickey Sarani.

The office district’s lunch alley.

About Dacres Lane

A narrow lane between Esplanade and BBD Bagh, officially James Hickey Sarani after the founder of India’s first newspaper. For decades it has fed the clerks of the office para: stalls and tiny shops sell chicken stew with toast, fish fry, ghugni, luchi-alur dom, chowmein and tea.

Why visit

Cheap, fast, honest office food with a view of how the city eats at work.

What to see and do

Chicken or mutton stew with buttered toast
Fish fry and chops
Tea stalls at the lane’s ends

Plan your visit

Area: Esplanade & New Market, Central Kolkata
Nearest landmark: Esplanade, off Chowringhee
Best time: Afternoon. October to March is the most comfortable time of year.
Time needed: About 40 minutes
Cost: Usually under ₹100 a head
Entry: Open to everyone: a street, ghat, market or park you can walk into.
Metro: Esplanade (Blue and Green Lines)
Walking: Little walking
Photography: Photography is fine with some care.

Tip

Weekday lunchtime, roughly noon to 3 PM, is when everything is cooking. It is quiet on Sundays.

Nearby and related places

BBD Bagh & Lal Dighi: The tank and square at the centre of the colonial capital.
Shaheed Minar: A 48-metre column of 1828 at the edge of the Maidan.
New Market (Hogg Market): A Victorian market hall of 1874 with a clock tower.
Nizam’s: The restaurant credited with inventing the kathi roll.
Aminia: A 1929 Mughlai house for Kolkata biryani and mutton pasinda.
Tipu Sultan Mosque: A many-domed mosque built by Tipu Sultan’s son in the 1840s.

Walks that include it

Food Heritage Trail: Chinese breakfast to biryani, by way of ledikeni and rosogolla

More guides

Last checked on 2026-10-02. Each place was checked to exist and its position confirmed. Timings, closing days and ticket prices are shown only where known and can change: confirm before you travel.