Indian Coffee House
কফি হাউস
Also known as Albert Hall.
The high-ceilinged hall where Bengal’s writers and students argue over coffee.
About Indian Coffee House
The building was Albert Hall, a public meeting hall opened in 1876. It has been a coffee house since the 1940s and is run by a workers’ co-operative. Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen, Amartya Sen, Sunil Gangopadhyay and countless students have sat under its slow fans. Manna Dey’s song "Coffee House-er Sei Adda-ta" made it part of every Bengali’s memory.
Why visit
Adda, the Bengali art of long conversation, in its most famous room.
What to see and do
- The main hall and the balcony above it
- Waiters in turbaned uniform
- The portrait of Tagore over the hall
Plan your visit
- Area
- College Street, North Kolkata
- Nearest landmark
- Presidency University
- Best time
- Afternoon or evening. October to March is the most comfortable time of year.
- Time needed
- About 1 hour
- Cost
- Usually under ₹100 a head
- Entry
- Open to everyone: a street, ghat, market or park you can walk into.
- Metro
- Mahatma Gandhi Road or Central (Blue Line)
- Walking
- Little walking
- Accessibility
- The hall is on the first floor, up a staircase.
- Photography
- Photography is fine with some care.
Tip
Order an "infusion" (black coffee) and something fried. Nobody will hurry you. Expect to wait for a table in the evening.
Nearby and related places
- College Street (Boi Para): A kilometre of book stalls between the city’s oldest colleges.
- Paramount: A sherbet shop from 1918 with marble tables and a famous daab sherbet.
- Favourite Cabin: A 1918 tea cabin where revolutionaries and poets met.
- Thanthania Kalibari: A small, very old Kali temple on Bidhan Sarani.
- College Square: A tank ringed by colleges where the city learns to swim.
- Asutosh Museum of Indian Art: The first university museum in India, devoted to the art of eastern India.
Walks that include it
- College Street Book Trail: Books, coffee and a hundred-year-old sherbet
More guides
- Places in College Street
- Heritage places in Kolkata
- Classic food stops and sweet shops
- Things to do on a rainy day
- Places near a metro station
- All places to visit in Kolkata
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.