Paramount — Indian Hospitality Magazine
Cafe Edition

Paramount

College Street's 106-year cold drink institution — the sherbet that has outlasted empires

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Family-run establishment (original: Paramount Cold Drinks & Snacks)

Founder · Est. 1918 · College Street, Kolkata

Paramount has been serving cold drinks and sherbets from its College Street premises since 1918 — predating Independence by nearly three decades. The shop began as a cold drink counter in a city where summer temperatures and colonial-era thirst created a commercial category that was as essential as it was specific. Sherbet, nimbu pani, and the cold preparations that Paramount pioneered became part of College Street's daily rhythm.

The establishment's survival through 106 years — through two World Wars, Independence, the Naxalite period, and Kolkata's economic transformation — is itself the story. The preparations have not changed. The glass in which the sherbet is served has not changed. The counter behind which the drinks are prepared has accumulated a century of use without being replaced.

Paramount sits on College Street adjacent to the Indian Coffee House, creating a pairing of heritage establishments that is unmatched anywhere in Kolkata: a 1942 coffee house and a 1918 cold drink counter, two doors apart, both serving a neighbourhood that has been buying and selling books for over a century.

Paramount — additional image

“The sherbet recipe is from 1918. The lemon is from this morning. Between these two facts, our business operates.”

What Defines Paramount

Daab Sherbet— Green coconut water mixed with the house sherbet concentrate. The summer survival drink for College Street's bookshop browsers.
Mango Sherbet— Seasonal (April–July) mango preparation that draws additional crowds during the summer months.
Mixed Fruit Sherbet— The combination preparation — multiple fruit concentrates, ice, and the house technique — that is the most popular single item year-round.
Fish Fry— The batter-fried fish cutlet that represents the snack menu. Ordered alongside the sherbet by the afternoon crowd.

The Experience

Paramount is counter service: you approach, you order, and you receive a glass of sherbet within ninety seconds. You can consume it standing at the counter or take it to the narrow bench seating. The experience is the drink — cold, sweet, specific — and the knowledge that the glass in your hand holds a preparation that has been served from this address since before the world's current geopolitical order existed.

Rated & Reviewed By

Condé Nast Traveller India · Zomato 4.2★ · Times Food Heritage · Lonely Planet

Editorial Notes

  • Paramount and Indian Coffee House (College Street) are separated by a few doors — together they constitute Kolkata's most significant heritage food cluster.
  • The summer season (March–June) transforms Paramount's crowd — the sherbet demand increases significantly and queues extend onto the pavement.
  • The establishment's 106-year continuous operation makes it one of the oldest food businesses in Kolkata.
  • Recommended for hospitality students studying heritage cold-drink operations and pre-Independence food businesses.

Getting There

Nearest Metro: Mahatma Gandhi Road (Blue Line, 8-minute walk north through College Street). The shop is on College Street, near the Indian Coffee House.