When you walk into Liberty Drink House, or just Liberty Falooda as the locals lovingly call it, you’ll enter a small, vintage-style shop frozen in time. The old-fashioned logo, the retro tiles, and the classic seating arrangements make you feel as if the 20th century never really left. It’s the kind of place where people don’t just stop by for a treat; they come to relive nostalgia.
As you can guess from the name locals have given it, the first thing most people order is the legendary falooda. And when you order one, you’re served two glasses: a tall glass filled with the dessert itself, and another simple glass of water. It’s just their way of doing it, and that hasn’t changed in decades.
The shop is located on the first floor of Chattogram New Market (Biponi Bitan), a space crowded with shoppers every day. For many people, a visit to New Market is incomplete without a stop at Liberty for a chilled glass of falooda.
The history of this shop is just as fascinating as its taste. Liberty Drink House first started its journey in 1964, during the Pakistan period. Its original owner was a Pakistani businessman who introduced a unique style of falooda to the city, long before it became a mainstream dessert. After the Liberation War, in 1989, it was bought and revived by Hosne Ara Begum. She reopened the shop with the same menu and slowly rebuilt its reputation. Today, she remains the proud owner, watching over a business that has served generations.
One of the most remarkable things about the shop is that Abdul Malek, one of its very first chefs, still works there. Now an elderly man, he prepares each item with the same quiet dedication he had back in the 1960s.
Speaking of the menu, Liberty Drink House has kept its original list of items from 1964. Almost nothing has changed, not the recipes, not the ingredients, not even the serving style. The shop believes that the secret of their popularity lies in maintaining authenticity. According to the manager, Saber Ahmed, nearly everything served here is made in-house, except the noodles. “From the curdled milk to the jelly, everything is prepared fresh every day,” he shared.
The falooda itself is built in four simple layers. At the bottom sits their homemade ice cream. Above it is a layer of noodles, followed by curdled milk — a unique touch that no other falooda offers, giving it that unique richness. And finally, on top, a layer of bright green and red jelly. It might look simple, but the balance of textures makes it unforgettable.
For those who aren’t fans of noodles, there’s an alternative: the fruit salad. It follows the same layered concept, but the noodles are replaced with freshly cut seasonal fruits. Refreshing, colourful, and surprisingly filling, it’s offered at the same price as the falooda — Tk 130.
Back in 1964, a glass of falooda cost only Tk 3. Today, it’s Tk 130, a small increase considering how many years have passed, and how the shop has stayed true to its original recipe.
And that is what makes Liberty Drink House truly special. It’s not just a shop, it’s a small piece of Chattograms’s food heritage, still alive, still cherished, and still serving memories in tall glasses.
