Several restaurants in Kolkata are restricting alcohol orders to four 60ml pegs, or three large pegs, during the puja season after the Hotel and Restaurants’ Association of Eastern India asked its member establishments to follow the practice to curb drunken behaviour and discourage drink-driving.
The measure is being implemented through staff screening, manager intervention and warnings to customers who appear intoxicated. Restaurants are also encouraging patrons not to drive after drinking and, in some cases, arranging drivers and cars through apps.
HRAEI president Sudesh Poddar, who owns Songhai-Manthan and MS Bar & Lounge, said some restaurants had already adopted the limit and reported a reduction in unruly behaviour. Staff at participating establishments have been instructed to screen drinkers and refer requests for a fifth peg to the manager.
According to Poddar, a manager may allow an additional half peg at their discretion, but staff have been told not to serve another large drink. The approach leaves the final decision with individual restaurants rather than creating a uniform enforcement mechanism across the city’s hospitality sector.
Specialty Restaurants, which operates outlets including Mainland China, Oh! Calcutta, Cafe Mezzuna and Hoppipola, said it would follow the practice by limiting orders to three large pegs or four small ones. Anjan Chatterjee, the company’s chairman and managing director, said the policy was intended to promote responsible drinking and help patrons return home safely.
Restaurants are also using public-awareness campaigns alongside the service restriction. Shiladitya Chaudhury, owner and co-founder of Chapter 2 on Southern Avenue, said his family restaurant had run a poster and WhatsApp campaign against drink-driving for three years. The restaurant screens customers and stops service when someone is found to be inebriated, he said.
The response has not been uniform across all establishments. Several restaurants in the Park Street area said they had been following the four-peg practice unofficially, although they had not received a formal request to do so. Siddharth Kothari of Peter Hu said alcohol orders at the family-oriented restaurant generally remained at two or three pegs per person, but staff had previously stopped inebriated customers from entering.
The policy also raises a practical difficulty for restaurants attempting to monitor consumption. A customer could drink three pegs at one establishment and then move to another, making it difficult for individual restaurants to know how much alcohol has already been consumed. Anirban Sengupta, co-chapter head of the National Restaurants Association of India and owner of WhatsUp Café on Southern Avenue, said screening customers was more important than relying only on a peg limit.
The restaurants’ measures are being introduced during Kolkata’s puja season, when footfall at eateries and bars rises and establishments receive larger groups of family and community visitors. The association’s request places responsibility for implementation on individual restaurants, their service staff and managers, with driver arrangements and refusal of service forming part of the safety response.
