01From the coals
Shorshe Ilish Paturi
Padma hilsa in stone-ground mustard and green chilli, steamed inside banana leaf over charcoal. Opened at your table.
This morning it was at the haat.Tonight it's on your plate.
A Bengal fire kitchen in Gulshan 2, Dhaka. Scroll through one day of one dish.
01The haat, 5 am
Bought at dawn, not on a delivery truck.
Every morning our cooks walk Karwan Bazar before the city wakes. River hilsa, green chillies, mustard seed: if it isn't good today, it isn't on the menu tonight.
Karwan Bazar05:12
- Ilish, Padma, 1.2 kg×4
- Shorshe, black + yellow2 kg
- Kancha morich1 kg
- Kola pata, banana leaf40
Cooked today. Nothing kept overnight.
02Ground by hand
Mustard on the sil-pata, the way it bites.
A stone slab, a stone roller, a little salt and green chilli. A blender burns mustard bitter. Stone keeps it sharp and bright.
Mustard seed, Sirajganj
Ground at 08:00
No blender, no paste jar
03Only fire
Wrapped in leaf. Left to the coals.
No gas burner touches a paturi. Each parcel sits over charcoal until the leaf chars and the fish steams in its own mustard.
Charcoal grill
- On the coals
- 14 min
- Turned
- twice
- Leaf
- charred
04Tonight, your table
Opened at the table, still smoking.
Shorshe Ilish Paturi with steamed rice, dal and two bhortas, by lantern light. Bought at five, served at eight.
HAAT
Bengal fire kitchen. Market at dawn, fire by night.
Scroll · watch the day
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Why we cook like this
A haat is where Bengal decides what dinner is. We kept that rule. No freezer, no fixed list, no shortcut paste. What came off the river this morning, ground on stone and finished over fire, is what we serve tonight.
— Rumana & Tanvir, the cooks at HAAT
02From the wood fire
Kosha Mangsho
Mutton on the bone, browned in mustard oil and onion, then left for six hours beside the wood fire until it turns almost black.
03From the river
Chingri Malai Curry
Golda prawns from Khulna in coconut milk, a little ghee and garam masala, served in the coconut it was cooked with.
Tonight's menu
Six plates. All of them were at the market this morning.
A day at HAAT
Four hours that decide every plate.
05:00
The market run
Two cooks, one van, Karwan Bazar. We buy from the same three fish sellers every day and walk away when the hilsa isn't right. The menu is written on the way back.
08:00
Stone, salt, hands
Mustard and poppy seed go on the sil-pata. Fish is cut into steaks, rubbed with turmeric and salt. Vegetables from our six growers arrive and are sorted by noon.
12:00
The fires are lit
The clay chula for curries, the charcoal grill for paturi and kebabs, the wood oven for mutton. Three fires, no gas line to the line kitchen.
19:00
First table
Forty-two seats, lanterns on, the chula in view. When a dish sells out it comes off the board, and tomorrow the market decides again.
The house rules
Small on purpose.
- Seats, one sitting at a time
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- Fires: chula, charcoal, wood
- 0
- Partner growers outside Dhaka
- 0
- Freezers in the kitchen
- 0
Step inside
Brick, brass and one long fire.
Forty-two seats.
Every one can see the chula.
House 27, Road 104, Gulshan 2. Lantern-lit, unhurried, no music louder than the kitchen.
Tasting menu
এক দিন Ek Din, one day
Seven courses that follow the day you just scrolled through: from the dawn market to the last lantern. Written fresh every week.
৳4,800 per guest · 7 courses · about 2 hours · Thursday to Saturday
Book Ek Din- 05:00
Bhor
Puffed rice, mustard oil, green chilli, a sliver of raw mango
- 07:00
Haat
Five bhortas from this morning's market, warm rice ball
- 10:00
Nodi
Fried river fish, kasundi, lime
- 13:00
Chula
Chingri malai from the clay stove, a spoon of coconut rice
- 16:00
Kola pata
Shorshe ilish paturi, opened at the table
- 19:00
Agun
Kosha mangsho, luchi, wood-fire onion
- 22:00
Raat
Bhapa doi, nolen gur in season, paan ice
What guests say
"The paturi arrived still smoking and the mustard actually bit back. Like my nani's, only she never managed the char."
"We asked for the kosha mangsho at nine and it was gone. They told us to come earlier tomorrow. We did."
"Ek Din is the best introduction to Bengali food I could give a visiting colleague. Seven courses and not one curry tasted the same."
"Quiet room, lantern light, the chula in view. Our kids watched the fire for the whole dinner."
Visit
Come hungry, come before nine.
- House 27, Road 104Gulshan 2, Dhaka 1212
- Tue to SunLunch 12:30–15:30 · Dinner 19:00–23:00 · Mon closed
- +880 1700-000427Calls 11:00–22:00, or reserve below
Is everything halal?
Yes. All meat comes from one halal butcher in Mohammadpur, and we do not serve alcohol.
Why do dishes sell out?
We buy only what we can cook that day and keep nothing overnight. Popular plates like the paturi and kosha mangsho often go by nine. Book early or ask us to hold one with your reservation.
Can I bring children?
Of course. We have high chairs, a milder dal and rice plate for small eaters, and the fire is behind glass.
Is there parking?
Valet parking is free in front of the building from 19:00. At lunch there is street parking on Road 104.
Do you host private dinners?
The back room seats up to 14 around one table, with a set menu written for your group. Call us at least five days ahead.
Is there a dress code?
No. Come as you are. Do bring an appetite.
Reserve