Coming Soon: Mischa Tropp's Sports Bar and Restaurant Kolkata Cricket Club Takes Punters Back to A Bygone-Era in India
This playful venue inspired by Bengali cricket clubs and members' bars represents the start of a new era for Crown, as the complex seeks to keep itself relevant.
Melbourne's Crown complex is working hard to reinvent itself right now. It's removed some of its old drinking and dining hotspots, and is replacing them with more contemporary venues intended to attract a younger and more diverse crowd. Basically, Crown is trying to be cool.
And one damn good way to achieve this is by enlisting the help of the hugely popular Mischa Tropp (Toddy Shop) to create a huge new venue. And it looks like Tropp is delivering that much-needed cool factor — in spades — with his new venue Kolkata Cricket Club, which is slated to open on Saturday, December 7.
The new 150-seat venue is inspired by Bengali cricket clubs and members' bars, which the Indian community reclaimed following independence. You can either drop by The Sports Bar — pairing beers with snacks and thalis while watching a cricket match — or settle in for a long feed at the adjoining KCC Dining Room.
Food throughout the Kolkata Cricket Club has strong pan-Indian and Bengali influences but is executed with Tropp's signature contemporary twists. Highlights have got to be Tropp's famed butter chicken, anything from the tandoor oven, and the long list of bar snacks — look no further than the samosas, beer-battered fries with curry sauce and kulchas (bread stuffed with either saffron-braised duck, or peas and stracciatella).
Tropp shared, "This year has been a fantastic year for Indian cuisine and cooking and I'm thrilled to be sharing my take on these flavours to a larger audience into 2025.
"Some might think you need to be an expert at Indian cuisine to really enjoy it but with Kolkata Cricket Club, I've created a variety of dishes and flavours that will cater to every tastebud".
Crown's Kolkata Cricket Club is set to open on Saturday, December 7, and will operate from 5pm–late, Wednesday–Sunday. For more details, you can check out the venue's website.
Images: Chege Mbuthi.
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