Rare restaurant on wheels in Bengal's Burdwan

A Dubai-based chef, who had returned after the recession in the hospitality industry due to global COVID-19 restrictions, has now turned a truck into a mobile two-tier restaurant. With a sitting capacity of 50, the restaurant can also be rented for gatherings, keeping in mind the restriction on congregation due to the pandemic.

Burdwan (West Bengal): A Dubai-based chef, who had returned after the recession in the hospitality industry due to global COVID-19 restrictions, has now turned a full truck into a mobile two-tier restaurant. With a sitting capacity of 50, the restaurant can also be rented for gatherings, keeping in mind the restriction on congregation due to the pandemic. This unique mobile restaurant is based out of the Paharhati area in Memari of Burdwan (East) district of West Bengal.

The truck has been converted into a two-tier bus. On the first floor of the bus, which can be reached through staircases, is the kitchen of the restaurant. Adjacent to the kitchen is an open-air rooftop dining facility, surrounded by a railing and decorated with dining tables and stools. The food ordered is cooked in the kitchen and then the food is served on the respective tables. In simple terms, it is a great place to hangout with friends over some tasty food.

The founder of this unique restaurant is Partha Mondal. After securing his degree in hotel management in 2013, he went to Dubai and took up the job of a chef at a hotel there. However, he lost his job in 2020 due to an acute recession in the hospitality industry. Somehow he managed to come back home. His financial situation worsened. There came this unique idea of a mobile restaurant.

"I always had the desire to open a restaurant, but in a different way. Then I thought of the mobile restaurant and accordingly, converted a truck into a two-tier bus. There I started my mobile restaurant. In Dubai, I have seen cooked food being brought by vehicles and then marketed at different places. I converted the first floor of the bus into an open-air restaurant with sitting arrangements for 50 persons."

He also said that his mobile restaurant can also be hired for small gatherings of limited people. "The restaurant also has food delivery facilities," he said. Tarak Karmakar had done the hydraulic work for the restaurant. "While on move, the hydraulic roof will be lowered and the roof will have a flat shape. However, while the vehicle is static, the same hydraulic system will raise the roof and it will have the shape of a two-tier bus," Karmakar said.

According to local resident, Mohammad Mostafa such a restaurant is unique. "People can enjoy a hangout here over tasty food," he said.

"For the first time, I have come across such a restaurant. I enjoyed a chat session with my friends there over food," said Simron Bishwakarma, another local resident.