A collection of our favourite bars, bakeries and restaurants – bpb’s old loves + new pursuits.
Sipping Partner: Maya Pistola Agavepura; Sunning Partner: Verandah
7 Short 1 Long
This is Moira’s most beloved tavern, where star-shaped lanterns shine their light on garden and porch seating at a lovely old mustard coloured home. Their tongue chilly and serradura topped with Baileys are top notch! Call ahead and try to make it for karaoke night on Saturdays.
Raint Vaddo, near Moira Main Church, Moira, 08779335890, Instagram.
Amber Cocktail Bar
It’s easy to mistake this beach bar’s cocktail menu for a garden harvest one, where pastel coloured flowers bloom in fragrant cocktails and Ashwem’s hippest hippies gather for post swim aperitivo.
Ashwem Beach, near Change Your Mind, Ashwem, Instagram.
Andron
You’ll learn to ignore the plastic chairs at this Goan restaurant once you get started on their seriously stunning pork sorpotel and ribs.
Mapusa Aldona Road, Nachinola, 9421194482.
Antonio@31
Chef Pablo Miranda brings bimblis from his “tree at home” to make the Bimbli Gin Sours, which is just one of the many reasons we heart this tapas and cocktail bar in Panjim. Stop by for cold Urak cocktails on hot days.
Rua 31 de Janeiro, Altinho, Panaji, 08380057888, Instagram.
Artjuna Cafe
It’s no easy feat to maintain the kind of consistency that Moshe has with his little Anjuna cafe that offers the best egg salad sandwiches and yoga classes (hi Ian!) in Goa.
940, Market Road, Monteiro Vaddo, Anjuna, 07722080190, Instagram.
Baba Au Rhum
There’s a brand new Baba Au Rhum in Anjuna, and they have a killer hot dog baguette on the menu + all the classics you know and love, including a super English breakfast.
House No. 1054, Sim Vaddo, Anjuna, 09822866366, Instagram.
Bombil and Satpurush
Committed Goa thali hunter and bpb Goa contributor Insia Lacewalla loves Bombil; get the amazing vegetarian thali, she says, with a ton of seafood-of-the-day offerings on the side. For a more local vibe, hit Satpurush and follow it up with a nap at Morjim beach, which is a seashell’s throw away.
Bombil, opp Military Hospital, Campal Brg, Panaji; Satpurush, New Wada, Morjim.
Bomras
It’s easy to skip over the tomato salad on the menu here, but don’t. Bomra’s kitchen is a lesson in quiet consistency (khao suey, black scotch eggs, crispy pork salad, egg fried rice) and a reminder that reliability can be sexy too.
1152, opp. Our Lady Of Health Chapel, Mazal Waddo, Anjuna, 09767591056, Instagram.
Cream Choc
The only Goa scoop you’ll ever need! While they home deliver limited flavours, it’s best to visit this church-view dessert parlour for rotating new ones – we once tried a candied ginger-yogurt ice cream that we can’t stop thinking about.
Near Our Lady Of Health Chapel Complex, Mazal Waddo, Anjuna, 08766735358, Instagram.
Edible Archives
This Anjuna restaurant ticks all our boxes: ingredient driven; sustainable vision; zero waste; nerdy about food. Get a batch of Blue Moon cocktails (made from butterfly pea flowers) to support aromatic rice and fish dishes.
1301, Anjuna Mapusa Road, Kumbhar Vaddo, Anjuna, 08308830750, Instagram.
Elaa
An all-day cafe with a focus on fresh ingredients and wholesome, well-thought out dishes. Our favourites: Clams and Greens, smoked mackerel poie, scrambled eggs laid out on a bed of avo mousse.
House no 1069, Gawaddi, Anjuna, Instagram.
Elephant & Co
Sip deliciously potent cocktails on a paddy field, while you play spot the peacocks during the monsoon, which promises to be this show’s best season yet.
House no. 1049/2, Survey no. 16/1 Grand Pedder Field, Peddem, Anjuna 07666361130, Instagram.
Felix Beach
New from Felix and friends, whose plan for 2022 is to sit on sky blue deck chairs at Morjim, and wait for you, a batch of margs on the ready.
Heritage, near Felix Beach, Temb Vaddo, Morjim, 09209317543, Instagram
For The Record
A bar that’s dedicated to everything your hipster heart desires – vinyls and well-made cocktails using their very own distilled feni and decoctions.
Jukebox, house no 49, next to Audiophile Goa, Fontainhas, Mala, Panaji, 07507472587, Instagram
Grind Bar
Home of the Anjuna hipsters, Grind Bar is the coffee place where you and your beanie need to be scene-y. Order their Coffee Lemonade + PB&J on sourdough,while you ask after their weekend bar takeovers and new listening room.
1 & 2, 1269 / 3 Casa Esmeralda Gaum Wadi, Anjuna Mapusa Road, Bardez, 08799920954, Instagram.
Gunpowder
Your mecca for coastal curries and Malabari parathas in Goa. Of late, they’ve been concentrating on their bar program too, and it shows (off).
No. 6, Anjuna Mapusa Road, Saunto Vaddo, Assagao, 08322268091, Instagram.
Handmade by Namrata Pai
Brioche chilli cheese toast and raspberry almond tarts on speed dial? Yes please! You can stop by this Assagao bakery or order in; their dark chocolate-sea salt cookies are a guaranteed cure to the Monday blues.
510/4 Bounta Vaddo, Assagao, 08322959952, Instagram.
Hideaway
A garden bar for outdoor drinking and live music gigs, this is a great option for your Anjuna bar hopping night. Get a big bowl of nachos with pork choriz and butter garlic calamari, with repeat rounds of whiskey sours and Botanique cocktails.
Cross Anjuna, house no. 622, near Julie Jolie Rest, Chapora, Vagator, 09049097014, Instagram.
Ida
A garden whose bounty knows no bounds. Come to reap the benefits – dreamy drinks, disco nights on Saturday, old Monk pork chops, cute owners Sean and Anisha.
No. 562/1, Vagator, 09326746848, Instagram.
Izumi
Freshly bloomed in Botanique’s backyard is Bombay’s Izumi, a place where you can eat your unagi and sip your sake, swimming poolside. A circular bar, an under-the-stars dining section and cute manager Kartik, await.
45, Mapusa-Anjuna – Chapora Road, Assagao, 09923645569, Instagram.
Jamun
Best post swim black dal and chilli naans. Bookend this meal with fried Jaipuri bhindi for side crunch and signature jamun ice cream for purple tongues.
190, Mazal Vado, Assagao, 07823899945, Instagram.
Joseph Bakery
On your Mapusa market run, stop by this old school Goan bakery for the best Batica cake, made with coconut and semolina.
Khorlim, Mapusa, Goa, 08322262651
Kokni Canteen
Several bigwig chefs have given Kokni Canteen their stamp of approval. Here, thalis and their contents look as good as they taste, and the serradura at the end makes everything better.
Dr Dada Vaidya Road, near Mahalaxmi Temple, Altinho, Panaji, Instagram.
Larder + Folk
CIA graduates bring us weekly rotating menus featuring an insanely good fried chicken, carrot cake donut and chocolate chip cookies that are bigger than your face. Don’t forget to leave with a bottle of their new pineapple hot sauce.
Shop no. 17, ground floor, Gera Imperium Green, Neugi Nagar, Mala, Panaji, 09359815109, Instagram
Luna’s Ristorante
Starling and his Italian wife Luna make the best Neapolitan pizza (they deliver too, via Zomato) and homemade lasagna. They also have a gelato cart serving scoops from everyone’s favourite, Cream Choc.
Straco Junction, Dmello Vaddo, Anjuna, 8459486239, Instagram
Mahe
A mainstay on everyone’s Goa dine-and-drink-out list and for good reason. Order a constellation of small plates – blushing pink cured mahi mahi, pickled kohlrabi, squid recheado, fish cutlets – and make what you will of swirling rumours that hint at an upcoming interior design metamorphosis.
1111 Mazal Waddo, near Orchard Stores, Anjuna, 09765874858, Instagram
Makutsu
Japanese for ‘Den Of Thieves’, chef Miranda’s Makutsu has stolen many hearts since it opened late last year. Weekdays are for all things yakitori, and weekends are for oysters.
Sao Tome, Rua 31 de Janeiro, Altinho, Panaji, 08767102401, Instagram
Mezmiz
This Middle Eastern restaurant is the perfect pit stop during your determined Sangolda shopping day (Saudades, Paper Boat Collective, Freedom Tree), offering cold mezze platters and chilled cocktails.
House no 134, Mae de Deus Vaddo, Chogm Road, Sangolda, Instagram.
Miguel’s
In many ways, Miguel’s kickstarted Panjim’s culinary scene, paving the way for experimental new restaurants and getting North Goa groups to pencil a Panjim day into their schedules. Old fashioneds with coconut sugar beckon.
H No 111 Bento Miguel, Old Patto Bridge, Panaji, 09112222584, Instagram.
Mojigao
From the stable of Artjuna Cafe, this jungalow is a great place for solitary and group hangs, and brings the best of Artjuna Cafe’s kitchen to the Assagao yard.
Near Swan Yoga, off Assagaon Road, Assagaon, 9975666792, Instagram.
Oppas
Oppas presents itself in a food truck avatar at Anjuna, as well as a Chapora restaurant across from Holy Cross Chapel. Both dole out the best beef roast poies. Can I get an amen?
Anjuna, outside Oxford Supermarket; Chappora, Instagram
Padaria Prazeres
A year old and already on everyone’s best bakery list. You’ll go for the Portuguese pastel de natas, you’ll stay for the Viennese Whirls. Also order their punchy stout beer cheese toast and incredible roast chicken sandwich.
Celeste Plaza, ground floor, opposite Models Celebrity, Caranzalem, Panaji, 09322806130, Instagram
Ping’s Bia Hoi
The star here is a whole fish slow cooked ina massive, soupy herb garden + pork gyozas with thin skins perfectly crisped to a divine, buttery crust. And when you’re home and Netflix-ing, page them for Pad Thai.
House 78, Mae De Deus Vaddo, Chogm Road, Sangolda, 07823888360, Instagram
Raki
A Panjim rooftop restaurant for spectacular baba ganoush and beach views. We recommend Tokyo to Beirut, a wasabi and cucumber-infused Pistola cocktail as well as their cold mezze including the yogurt hummus and muhammara.
Crescent Hotel, near Goa Science Center, Tonca, Kamat Kinara, Miramar, Panaji, 07770015361, Instagram
Ramesh
Lunch and lounge on the porch of an old village home in Anjuna where the freshest mackerel (order a day in advance) is hay-smoked in front of you to present what could well be the most elegantly flavoured fish you’ll eat in Goa. The set up is basic, the food, brilliant.
House no 954/7, Pequem, Peddem, Monteiro Vaddo, Anjuna.
Roboto
For ramen that will blow your mind; order the rich Tonkatsu topped with chase pork belly. Subscribe to our new bpb Goa newsletter for the scoop on their newest Goa outfit, complete with fun fish and facts.
5/2, Naikawaddo, near Dolphin Circle, Calangute, 08010831200, Instagram.
Rudy’s
The Rudy’s you knew and loved in Chaporra has moved bag and baggage to a lovely new Little Vagator spot, whose garden hopes to host a bakery and a members-only honesty bar soon. Meanwhile, get the Banging Bhindi, palak leaf chaat and margaritas.
House no. 639, Little Vagator, Vagator, 08433711717, Instagram
Saz on the Beach
Miami meets Morjim at this super fun beachside club whose view is postcard perfect. Run into the surf for a dip and come back out to sip on cold, crisp cocktails.
182/1, Gawdewada Rd, Morjim, 07030077170, Instagram
Suzie’s
Perhaps it’s a Bombay thing, but we prefer to skip the slow many-courses meal and go instead for Suzie’s stellar cocktails (St. Lawrence) + quick orders from the starters menu (Pork Chao Shou). Its pretty, twinkling space populated with plants and peace is great for date night.
House no. 531, near Chari Garage, Bouta Waddo, Assagao, 07498856389, Instagram
Tamil Table
Sacha of Sacha’s shop, and her husband run this dosa diner where you can get an excellent Prawns 65, as well Cazulo-jambul coolers spiked with whatever makes you happy. PS: always ask for extra helpings of their roasted peanut chutney.
House no 261, Socolvaddo, Assagao, 07499922517, Instagram
Tesouro by Firefly
Rated #65 on The World’s Best Bars list, Tesouro puts firefly monogrammed ice cubes and sprigs of baby’s breath in astonishingly good cocktails – get the Midnight Brekkie and Salcette Salsa. Worth a tipple trip to South Goa if you’re staying in the North.
Colva-Benaulim Road, near Florida Gardens Vanelim, Colva, 09834875596, Instagram
Verandah
All Ashwem swim days should end at Verandah, where an enchanted Eden houses all the gin you can drink and grassy paths lead to a coveted top table with front row seats to the sweetest gigs.
Calist House, Ashwem-Mandrem Road, Mandrem, 09503105092, Instagram
Villa Nova
Swing by Villa Nova for woodfired pizza & prosecco cocktails, served under an ancient almond tree. Whether you’re up for an unhurried feast amid swaying palm trees or a quick drink at their Rooster Bar, make sure to add this Arpora spot to your Goa food map. Besides pizza, you can also crust them to cook you the best Pancetta, the freshest seafood, their brand new hoisin duck pancakes + other world specials.
House No. 286, Dias Waddo, Arpora-Nagoa, 9168862111, Instagram.
Goa contributor: Insia Lacewalla