pubs bars and restaurants in kolkata are raising a toast to better times what with the state excise department giving them a green signal to serve liquor in designated areas from tuesday after a wait of almost five months this unlock 40 announcement has brought cheer to the fb industry and the tipplers alike ct took a tour of some popular pubs and restaurants to hear the glasses clink againmissed going out for a drinkprivate bank employees anapi mitra and chiranjib roy visited park street on tuesday afternoon for work when they decided to make the most of day 1 of the return of liquor at restaurants the duo settled for lunch at peter cat where they washed down plates of chelo kebab with some scotch in the lockdown i was organising house parties with limited people on weekends id go out for drives with my friends sometimes wed organise carobar too but drinking in a car and drinking at a restaurant are not the same at restaurants you can take your time and enjoy the drink i was waiting to enjoy this ambience for months said anapi a selfproclaimed party animal small gatherings with friends on his terrace helped chiranjib survive the lockdown but hes delighted that restaurants are now serving both food and liquor ordering in food and alcohol is alright but this experience of having your favourite food with a drink of your choice at a restaurant you love is something i really missed he said after a hearty lunch with drinks its a whole new worldcolleaguesturnedfriends priyanka tiwari and sona mishra who love to bond over vodka found the perfect excuse to bunk office yesterday and meet up at their favourite haunt oasis where they even have a fixed table todays weather is just ideal for a drink and we couldnt wait any longer drinking at home is not an option for us so we were really looking forward to this day when we could finally relish our favourite drink with some delicious chinese starters said sona adding that she was done with sweet lime soda and needed something stronger to quench her thirst however priyanka feels that despite the phased resumption of services the world will not be the same again every small thing looks different in the new normal for example the waiters are not allowed to serve the ice bucket anymore so we need to specify how many ice cubes we want in our drink it just feels like a whole new world she said iconic watering holes catch upout of olypubs 60 workers just seven are available right now which is why the pub remained shut on tuesday a few more staff will reach kolkata by tomorrow we will decide on the food menu depending on the availability of staff but rest assured we will be open from wednesday said nc das from the popular park street joint like several other regulars collegegoers anushka halder and sourav ghosh were disappointed to find