Aptly named, in keeping with the current “holler” lingo among young and old foodies in the city, What&’s Up is situated on the sixth floor of a tall building (at 122A, Southern Avenue) bang opposite Nazrul Mancha. The narrow lift, fit to carry only three people at a time, might seem a hassle to begin with but once you reach the place you will be charmed by the brick-layered walls and their hangings, a bar in one corner and the restaurant that opens out to a Retro Lounge and then on to a terrace with a jacuzzi thrown in, offering you a great view of the Kolkata skyline and several hookahs to pull on. You can revel in the brightly lit skyline in the distance, lighting up skyscrapers, and when you look down, you are captivated by streets lined with tiny lights. If you step on to the terrace before sundown and stay on till much after, you can actually witness the sky change its colour from golden to orange to red, till it darkens the horizon of your vision.

We’ve all heard about the hookah but really don’t know its cultural and historical significance. A hookah is a water pipe, also called the narghile, the arghila, the galyan or the shisha. It is comprised of a single or multi-stemmed instrument for vaporising and smoking flavoured tobacco called shisha in which the vapour or the smoke is passed through a water-basin, often glass-based — before inhaling. The widespread use of the Indian word hookah in the English language came about during British rule in India sometime between 1858 and 1947 and is traced back to Irfan Sheikh, a physician who invented it during the reign of the emperor Akbar.

It is a great fashion statement among the young. One might point out, however, that smoking a hookah is as much a threat to respiratory diseases as other tobacco-related products. But “change” is the only thing that remains constant and at What&’s Up the shisha comes in different flavours added to the water one pulls from.  One can choose from several flavours, such as Marakkesh, Al Siqandari and Heaven.

What&’s Up sells you a whole new “experience”. The interiors are graced with two huge television screens blaring loud music and dance numbers. It has three sections — the first is the beautifully lit Retro Lounge, second is the contemporary section and third is the open air terrace where people can enjoy an envious view of the South Kolkata skyline and pull on a hookah while dipping their feet in the cool waters of the jacuzzi.

What&’s Up opened its beautifully decorated door on 4 October this year and Anamika Sengupta, the very young and smartly attired partner of the restaurant says, “We are very excited to launch What&’s Up as the newest hangout zone. We have created an ambience that would neatly fit into the expectations of all mood types of men and women, preferably above 18, because the hookah, we know, can be addictive. The retro unit is filled with old switches, used AC units, a grand piano bar table and rickshaw chain bar stools.  The contemporary lounge is relatively private and decorated with colour-changing laser lights and hand-painted caricatures of iconic musicians while the terrace lounge is for sky-gazing.” She has done the interior design of the entire restaurant. The other two partners are Anirban Sengupta, her husband, and a close friend, Debray Dey.

Anirban Sengupta says, “We want to give our clients an environment where they can chill, fall in love, vent out, gossip, click Selfies, lose themselves in endless banter and soak in the ambience. A jacuzzi on the terrace and a foot massager in the private lounge are just some of the ways we intend to pamper our guests.”

“The logo of What&’s Up is a collage of emoticons — the language of today&’s youth and we is poised to become the starting point of endless relationships and conversations in the coming days”, says Debray Dey. 

As you look up from the street below, you see a huge, brightly lit guitar hanging in front of the building with What&’s Up in fluorescent letters written across it. You know you’ve arrived. And you must never ever miss out on the washroom. It&’s decorated with two oddly shaped mirrors above the wash basin and as you take a closer look, you find that they are the two huge lenses of massive sized glares. The sink is framed with a car tyre.

The spread laid out from a listed menu with help from any of the three partners is nothing less than lip-licking. You just must throw your hypocrisy off the terrace to dig into the goodies. We were bowled over by the mocktails and the American Roulade with chicken stuffing that virtually melts in the mouth. You are spoilt rotten for choice. The non-vegetarian section includes burgers, non-veg Tom Yum Soup, Greek salad, Cajun spiced chicken, Scampi Gamberi with Tartar Sauce and Hawaiian pizza.

The vegetarian section includes Mushroom parsley cappuccino soup, Primavera rissotto, Falafel wraps, the classic Cheese Fondue with crunchy garlic croutons, a vegetarian casserole with hot barbecue sauce and Quattro Formaggio pizza. Sinful pleasures otherwise called desserts that can break your heart but add dangerously to that spare tyre around your tummy are Tiramisu, Blueberry cheese cake, Chocolate fondant with vanilla bean ice-cream and Trifle pudding. They have not left out an age-old favourite called paan. Take a guess – there is the Shahi paan in ice base, Pan Rasila, Pan Rasna in soda base and What&’s Up Special Fruit Base with Fruit Chillum. Whew! And all this at a pocket pinch of Rs 1,000 for two! What&’s Up opens its doors at 12 noon and goes on till midnight. 

Here&’s to some happy dreaming and soaking in the ambience and wonderful eating! Take care! You might fall asleep on the jacuzzi table after a heavy meal and that smoke from the hookah!