Kerala's Paragon, Lucknow's Tunday Kababi in global list of Top 10 iconic hotels
In a listing on top 10 legendary restaurants by TasteAtlas, two Indian restaurants Paragon and Tunday Kebabi figure in the fifth and sixth spot
A biryani made in the traditional Malabar style in a celebrated restaurant in Kerala and the galouti kebab from the rich culinary Lucknowi nawab tradition have propelled two Indian restaurants into a global listing of 10 top most iconic restaurants in the world.
Two Indian restaurants – Paragon from Kozhikode and Tunday Kababi from Lucknow –prominently figure among the top 10 of the 50 most legendary restaurants around the world, in the 2023 rankings of TasteAtlas. Paragon, founded in 1939, bagged the fifth spot, and Tunday Kababi in Lucknow (1905) at the sixth spot.
These two restaurants were in the 11th and 12th ranking last year but moved up the ranks in a span of a year. Other Indian restaurants on the list also include Kolkata's Peter Cat (10th ranked), Haryana's Amrik Sukhdev Dhaba (16), and Mavali Tiffin Room in Bengaluru (32).
What is TasteAtlas?
TasteAtlas, an online project dedicated to cataloguing and promoting local ingredients, traditional recipes, and authentic restaurants around the world, said these eateries are ranked taking into account three criteria: longevity, visitors ratings, and the TasteAtlas ratings of the iconic dishes they offer. They have a list of the 150 most legendary restaurants in the world on their website.
“These are not just places to eat, but also cultural institutions for their cities,” said the website.
Paragon's biryani
Paragon is known for its lip-smacking 'Malabar Biryani' and appam with mutton stew or chicken stew. TasteAtlas describes it as a restaurant "perfectly representing the region's rich gastronomic history". Known for its mastery of traditional Malabar cuisine, the dish that reigns supreme in the restaurant is the biryani. The restaurant also prepares dishes with local produce and traditional cooking methods. If you want to know what makes Paragon Biryani a favourite, read here.
"Frankly, at first I thought it was fake news (laughs). Last year, when we got featured, we were really happy and pulled ourselves up. There is tremendous hard work [by our staff], behind this feat. Fame and recognition apart, it's a huge, huge responsibility when you get featured in such global listings. All I wanted was not to go down the list. To our surprise, we have broken into the Top 5 this time. It's a big honour and as I said, it's a bigger responsibility," Sumesh Govind, the owner, and CEO of Paragon, told The Federal.
Crown of Lucknow's culinary scene
Meanwhile, TasteAtlas raves about Tunday Kababi as “a jewel in the crown of Lucknow's culinary scene in India”.
Widely acclaimed for its Mughlai cuisine, the star offering in this restauarant is the galouti kebab. This “culinary masterpiece,” as they call it, is made with finely minced meat tenderized with raw papaya and has an incredible mix of 160 spices. “Its distinctive taste profile and the legacy behind its creation have garnered Tunday Kababi a devoted following, both domestically and internationally,” says the website.
