Steak to scandal: Bengal serves humble pie to influencer who tried to stir controversy | Food-wine News
6 min readNew DelhiFeb 3, 2026 12:00 PM IST
This week, I finally paid attention to why everyone was suddenly talking about Olypub, a restaurant on Kolkata’s Park Street, opened in 1947 and feeding the hungry and the evolved with grills and steaks at dirt-cheap prices. Post-Independence, Olypub had a far greater pedigree; its original name was Olympia Bar and Restaurant. Moving with the times, the name was changed to Olypub in 1981.
I’ve been to Olypub exactly twice in my very late teens, because I was told that it was a rite of passage. A slightly dingy-looking restaurant greeted me, full of mostly young and middle-aged men at the time, drinking beer, laughing, and tucking into Rs 40 quarter-pounder beef steaks, which, to be fair, were not bad. But neither was it anything to write home about. It came with fries and, as far as I remember, a grilled tomato, some carrots and beans.
The beef steak (beef is legal in Bengal) was served to you by Hindu and Muslim waiters alike, not that any of us noticed or cared, and it was a time when no one cared either about what the other person ate, and vegetarians came along for the beer and fries. My Marwari friends used to accompany us to Nizam’s and eat alu rolls while we ate Nizam’s famous beef rolls. Live and let live, and eat paneer or beef and let others eat what they want – is how we grew up.
I don’t want to romanticise or eulogise Olypub, because there is nothing to romanticise about the food. But it symbolised the essence of Kolkata, much like many other restaurants and eateries did. It was a safe, friendly place where you got a hearty meal at dirt-cheap prices. If you weren’t a member of a country club or didn’t have extra money to spend, this was the perfect option for you – as were the roll shops, or the biryani joints or Tangra or the phuchka and alu kaabli vendors. Most importantly, no one cared who you were, how you were dressed, how much money you made, or which god you prayed to.
Kolkata is known to cater to all tastes. We went to Jyoti Vihar, a small hole-in-the-wall south Indian restaurant for the most fabulous dosas, or to Suruchi for Bengali food, or to the Gujarati thali joint opposite Punjab Club which used to pack up the 24 items in the thali in little cellophane bags to take home and eat, or pork (or vegetable) momos and thupka at Orchid Hotel, chili pork in Tangra served to you by Muslim waiters, and many varieties of beef steaks across the length and breadth of Kolkata – served and eaten by many Hindus and Brahmins, many of whom I know personally, some of whom are in the ruling party of India.
I don’t want to romanticise or eulogise Olypub, because there is nothing to romanticise about the food. But it symbolised the essence of Kolkata, much like many other restaurants and eateries did.
Do I ever go back to Olypub when I visit Kolkata? No, because it is not something I crave, unlike the food at Mocambo, Peter Cat, and Tangra. Olypub was meant for college-going kids and people on a slightly shoestring budget who wanted to drink and eat without the fear of bankruptcy.
Which is why I decided to pay attention to why Olypub was suddenly all over the news in the last few days. It seemed an influencer, YouTuber Sayak Chakraborty – a self-avowed Brahmin – went to Olypub and then posted a video of himself rudely reprimanding a waiter for serving him a beef steak when he had allegedly asked for a mutton steak. The influencer, who supposedly had never eaten beef in his life, finished the entire steak before creating a scene in the restaurant, making a video, and posting it online.
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In the video, he speaks obnoxiously to the waiter, who is a Muslim, constantly referring to his own high caste and the waiter’s religion. The upset influencer then hotfooted it to the police station and filed a First Information Report (FIR) against the restaurant, leading to the waiter’s arrest and detention.
Thankfully, Bengal did what Bengal, and even those who have left the city, do; it refused to stand for such communal nonsense and ill-informed behaviour. The online backlash against the influencer, which called him out for finishing the entire steak and enjoying it while claiming to have lost his religion, and for his absurd response and atrocious behaviour, has led him to post a public apology and withdraw his FIR. Which, by law, only a court can do. At the time of writing, the waiter remains in custody. And to Olypub’s credit, they have publicly stated that while their waiter may have made an honest mistake, the restaurant will not take any action against him.
. Post-Independence, Olypub had a far greater pedigree; its original name was Olympia Bar and Restaurant. (Photo: Instagram/@olypubofficial)
The scourge of influencers is a reality I abhor. My social media is full of influencer reels of people who cannot pronounce or understand the foods they are reviewing, yet wax eloquent about various cuisines. These people do not pay for their own meals, and very often do not even pay for their transport to the restaurant they are reviewing or badmouthing, wielding social media like a weapon.
This specific “influencer” should influence those who have watched his reel to never ever behave like him. It is terrible form to talk about your high caste and call out a minority person’s religion, especially if they are of a lower economic strata and social class than you. That one needs to state this in this day and age is a pity. I would urge people to go to Kolkata and see how different communities live and eat together.
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And I am happy to see that the influencer has now had his steak replaced by a very healthy helping of humble pie.
