I wanted my first proper meal back in Bangladesh to be a good one and Christ Kamrul Restaurant in Khulna certainly did the trick! This place is a meat and curry lovers dream with the hordes of Begali patrons proving the point you can never go wrong at a busy restaurant.
Getting to this point though was quite the pic journey.
Me and Bangladesh
I will keep this vaguely brief as I am writing about the best restaurant in Khulna, not my fecking life story! But I first went to Bangladesh back in 1996 and even had my 16th birthday here. One might even say that it was this place that set the wheels in motion for my slightly abnormal life and indeed YPT!
Yet while I have played the fool in Sylhet and Sunamngonj this was to be my first time in Khulna, the third biggest city in the country.
Getting to Khulna
Getting to Khulna involved a very quick internal flight to Jashore from where we were greeted by our bus. After this involved a lot of driving, car ferries and a bust tire. All part of a regular YPT trip!
We did though also get to see traditional otter fishing, which is pretty much exactly how it sounds, in that guys use otters who are trained to scare fish into the net. It is though a dying art, as well, you know it is not that productive. This is also the last place in Bangladesh where it happens as the woke brigade have even managed to get to this part of the world. This meant a late lunch.
There is no democracy!
I dont mean in Bangladesh, although that could also be argued, I mean on a tour. So this trip was part of the YPT Bangladesh Tour which I was guiding. On the way to lunch the guide asked if we wanted to go to an “authentic” restaurant or something more foreign friendly. I stopped him right away for two reasons, firstly ask8 people a question and get 8 answers. And secondly? I wanted the authentic restaurant.
And it turns out that this was Kamrul Restaurant, supposedly the best in the whole town! Or at least the most famous.
Kamrul Restaurant Vibe
Looking at Kamrul Restaurant you would not think much of it and to be honest I thought that maybe I had made a mistake. Located located at Zero Point on the Khulna–Satkhira Road there are other restaurants here galore. All of them look like simple cafes, which what makes Kumrul stand out being just how busy it is.
This made it hard to seat 8 people, but we managed it in the end. Water was brought out, rice was quickly delivered – with a bowl of lemons, onions and peppers and then it was time for the real deal.
Food at Kamrul Restaurant
Apparently there is a fish dish they are famous for, but all we saw was a shrimp type paste, which was OK. What I wanted though was the beef and the mutton, both of which get brought out in HUGE bowls and then dumped on your rice. And christ it looked fantastic.
You then get to eating it, except they ran out of forks meaning I had to go Gareth Circa 1996 and 2004 and eat it with my hands. No fecking problem! The meat was fabulous and not overdone in any way shape or form. And in all honesty it was far from too spicy, although I fixed this by adding some chilies.
Oh and then there was the yogurt! Our guide asked if we wanted one and holy crap I did not regret it. Apparently it is made just from milk and sugar which is heated in clay cup (which is then thrown away), but it was frankly amazing. The whole group loved the meal and it barely touched $5 a head, with drinks.
And while I have far from tried every restaurant in town, the rumour that Kamrul restaurant is the best in Khulna definitely has some legs.
Kamrul Restaurant Address
Address: Ground Floor, Khulna–Satkhira Road, By Pass Road, Zero Point, Dumuria Upazila, Khulna 9208, Bangladesh
Phone: +880 1735-472487
Email: kamrulhotel87@gmail.com
Facebook: Kamrul Hotel Facebook Pagewanderlog.com+5
Note – Will erroneously and interchangeably see Kamrul Restaurant called Kamrul Hotel – my Bengali friends tell me this is because “hotel” and “restaurant” have the same meaning in Bengali.