New words up from me about Calicut Paragon, South Indian restaurant in Karama with a steady, loyal following.

“Where were you in 1939? When Calicut Paragon first opened its doors in Kozhikode, the UAE did not exist, Europe was limbering up for World War II and Gandhi was still telling the British where to stick their empire.

While the outside world convulsed in bombs, politics and bluster, Govindan Panhikeyil and his son established Calicut Paragon, a casual dining restaurant plating up Malabari dishes, the moreish by-product of its Portuguese influences and Kerala’s centuries-old maritime trade with the Middle East. His grandson owns the business today.”

There’s a lot to love about Calicut Paragon and it’s very clear that they serve a small country’s population every day, but there were moments when I sense it plays to the masses with mixed results.

“No matter what else you read, Calicut Paragon needs no endorsement beyond its constant churn of hundreds of Dubai’s South Indian diaspora every hour of every day. Yet, the braggadocious trumpet-blasting that it is one of the “Most Legendary Restaurants in the World” rings hollow as popularity is quite a different thing to greatness, and this lunch is a tale of two meals that speaks to a wider feeling that Calicut Paragon’s dishes play a straight bat and never swing for the boundaries.”

Read more via the link in my profile: https://open.substack.com/pub/liamcollens/p/calicut-paragon-dubai-restaurant?r=12rjc7&utm_medium=ios" target="_blank">https://open.substack.com/pub/liamcollens/p/calicut-paragon-dubai-restaurant?r=12rjc7&utm_medium=ios

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You can read more here via my Substack: https://open.substack.com/pub/liamcollens/p/calicut-paragon-dubai-restaurant?r=12rjc7&utm_medium=ios" target="_blank">https://open.substack.com/pub/liamcollens/p/calicut-paragon-dubai-restaurant?r=12rjc7&utm_medium=ios Less