O Coqueiro, Porvorim, Goa

O Coqueiro achieved national recognition when Charles Sobhraj just could not resist the Chicken Cafreal served up by its award winning chef and laid himself open to being arrested. What the papers forgot to mention was that the rest of the food was as good and it was just Mr. Sobhraj's partiality towards the Chicken Cafres. O Coquiero is definitely one of the most famous restaurants in Goa and also one of the very best.

O Coqueiro is a must do in Goa. Not only for the food but also for the decor and the ambience. O Coqueiro is a restaurant housed in a large stately Portuguese bungalow, tall ceilings, tastefully done up interiors give quite a grand, yet homely setting while the delicious dishes just keep piling up on the table.

We ordered Cheese Mushrooms and Beef Chilli Fry for starters when we were there. The Beef Chilli Fry was very tasty but what really caught my attention was the Cheese Mushrooms. The Cheese Mushrooms I think was as close as the vegetarians will ever get to Chicken-a-la-Kiev. The mix of cheese and butter burst once the fork is pierced through the fried crust around the mushroom, the aroma and the taste were all outstanding.

For mains we ordered a serving of Goan Prawn Curry rice and Pork Vindaloo. The Pork Vindaloo was slightly disappointing but the Goan Prawn Curry rice was very nice and easily one of the best that I have ever tasted. It was light and not very tasty, incredibly good to the palate.
A meal for two of O Coqueiro without drinks will cost you approximately Rs 900/-

How to get there: O Coqueiro is also in North Goa on the way to Panjim or the Airport from Mapusa. It is in a place called Porvorim just off the main highway.

Souza Lobo, Calangute, Goa

Souza Lobo is a Goan institution. It is possibly the most famous and revered restaurant in North Goa if not in all of Goa. Established in the early 1900's Souza Lobo has been serving up Goan delights for years and has recently opened a branch in Delhi - according to a poster in the Goan outlet.

We went to Souza Lobo for dinner on a Saturday and were lucky enough to not have to wait for seats. The approach is not the greatest and you do not feel that you are entering a top notch restaurant but once you get in, its a different story. Souza Lobo is on the beach and one side of the restaurant is completely open to the sea. There was a live band playing when we went, decently good and belting out a variety of numbers like Black Velvet and Goan local tunes. There was also a dance floor set up in the middle of the restaurant and we could see some of the more adventurous customers entertaining themselves before resuming dinner. The set up however succeeds in its objective - setting up a typically Goan, merry ambience while serving some delicious food.

We ordered quite a spread -Fried Squids, fried batter prawns, Goan pork sausage - chilli fry, Pork Vindaloo and Veg Xacutti. The fried squids were standard and not very spectacular to taste. The fried batter prawns were very good, not as deeply fried as the ones you get at Brittos but even better to taste. The Pork sausages were not as good as the serving at Brittos as they made the error of serving the potatoes as fries and not cooked along with the Goan Pork preparation. My vegetarian friends swore on the Xacutti but what made me agree with the institution status that Souza Lobo enjoys was the Pork Vindaloo which was the best preparation of the dish that I have had so far. The gravy was just right, not too spicy and not too sweet. The remarkable aspect of the meat however was its quality and the absolutely right combination of fat and meat on the pieces. The pieces absolutely melted in the mouth.

A meal for two at Souza Lobo would cost you approximately Rs 1500/-. Slightly expensive but the Vindaloo makes it completely worth the cost.

How to get there: Souza Lobo is slightly off the main Baga - Calangute Road. It is towards the beach from the Calanugute Chowk very near the Calangute residency. You wont have a problem to get there however as it is easily one of the most famous Goan landmarks.

Chalston, Calangute, Goa

The last time I was in Goa, we had an opportunity of sampling the food at the shack of Chalston Hotel. The decor is very basic but what really works is the view of the sea which is totally uninterrupted.

The food itself was decent without being spectacular. The menu contained a fair variety of Continental and Goan preparations. I tried out the Goan Pork Sausages which were ok but not a patch on what you get at Brittos. I also tasted a bit of Basil Prawns on a bed of butter rice which was quite nice. We had also gone with some Vegetarian friends who vouched for the quality of the Vegetable Stroganoff. Overall I would not recommend the food given the choice that Infantaria, Brittos and Souza Lobo offers - all 3 are in close proximity. If however you feel that you have enough of the spice and vinegar that Goan food offers, you can definitely go ahead and sample its more than decent and very reasonable Continental cuisine.
A meal for two at Chalston without drinks would cost you approximately Rs 500/-

How to get there: Slightly difficult to get there. The hotel is very near Cafe Infantaria at Calaungute. The locals would know the place as it has been there for a decently long time.

Britto's, Baga, Goa

If you want a slice of heaven on Earth, go to Goa, go to Baga, go to Brittos!

The recipe for heaven:-

1. Great company, family and friends.

2. The Arabian Sea making its presence felt on the sands of Baga.

3. One large pitcher of beer. Half Empty. The other half in your semi inebriated body.

4. One Plate of Goan Pork Sausages - Chilli Fry.

5. One Plate of Fried Prawns.

6. Delicious desserts (mostly chocolate based) numbering greater or equal to the number of people on your table reminding you of what follows the meal.

The Vegetarians can replace the Goan Pork Sausages and Fried Prawns; the beer haters can choose other drinks. But you get the drift - the six dimensional picture painted in my mind is my slice of heaven in Goa. Britto's, Baga, the beach, the beer, the prawn, the pork sausages and of course the good company - in this moment I fell in love with Goa!

Britto's on Baga beach is one of Goa's institutions and one of its undoubted hot spots. Its a must do to complete your Goan experience. Just enter the shack. Order whatever you want in the menu. Stare out into the sea. Chill out. The decor is nicely done up and gives a very Goan feel, innovative lighting made of bamboo baskets, pieces of rock and other similar unusual bits. The place is completely casual. The waiters take their own time in serving you. You take your own time in eating. The waiters take their own time to serve you. You take your own time to pay and leave. Strictly Goan protocol and beautiful!

The food is very good but one dish that deserves special mention are the Goan Pork sausages. The pork sausages at Brittos are the best that you get in Goa and are the best that I have ever had. The potatoes are diced and are served in the meat and is cooked with it. Just perfect and unbelievably tasty! The other part of Britto's which people swear by are the desserts. There are people who come to Britto's just for the desserts and nothing else. Each to his own I guess, the desserts are really good but I could never come to Britto's and have just the dessert. That would be sacrilege!

The last time I was there at Britto's we also ordered a Chicken Cafreal - a slightly dry Chicken dish with a strong coriander base and a greenish taste. I did not like it but that was probably due to the fact that I had just finished with the sauasages and prawns. The sausages and prawns as usual were a slice of heaven!

A meal for two at Britto's without drinks would cost you approximately Rs 800/-. Baga does not have any alcohol offer like Infantaria's so you end up shelling out a bit more on drink but Britto's has the beach!

How to get there: Brittos is also on the Baga/ Calangute road. Unmissable and every cab driver in Goa knows where it is located.

Cafe Goa, Bandra

I love pork. I love spicy food. I therefore totally love Goan food. Goans and I have heard the North East people know and cook pork the best and the Goan Pork sausage is I think one of the all time greatest preparations mankind has ever conceived of.
When I heard of Cafe Goa, I though my prayers of having a decent Goan food restaurant closer than Goa Portuguesa had been answered but I came back, happy because Goan food can never be bad but disappointed as the search for a really good quality Value for Money restaurant had still to be answered.
Cafe Goa is located where Trafalgar Chowk used to be. It is really out of the way, so much so that the claim to be Bandra's best kept secret. I hope the place does well in the evening because we went on a Saturday afternoon, peak lunch hour and there were hardly any people in the restaurant. Throughout the time we were there we only saw one couple enter and sit down for food and that is a clear signal that something was amiss. That something is Value for money, the food is not bad but it is too expensively priced and just not worth it.
We sampled the Goan Pork Sausages and some Pork Vindaloo with rice. The Goan Pork sausages were good. There were nice cubes of potato and the pork was cooked well - potato is a key component of Pork sausages according to me and thankfully the potatoes were present in the Cafe Goa version. The Vindaloo was also nice without being outstanding. It was a bit too sweet for my liking. Overall decent food but not a secret than Bandra is dying to reveal.
A meal for two at Cafe Goa will cost you Rs 650/-
How to get there: You have to go up the lane past the ICICI Bank at the Mehboob Studio circle and ask people as to where the restaurant is. The address says it is off St. John Baptist road but you really have to do a lot of asking.

City Kitchen, Colaba, Mumbai

I had first heard of City kitchen in an episode of the foodie (on Times Now) and the episode had focused on Mumbai food. City Kitchen was one of the first outlets highlighted and was said to be the place for the most authentic Goan cuisine in Mumbai.
Unfortunately closed on Sundays, and the fact that it is located in Ballard Estate makes a visit to City Kitchen require some planning but as I found out the planning is worth its while especially for lovers of Goan food.

The decor is very sparse, at the entrance is the counter where the owner sits and there are approximately 8 small tables each seating 4 people. The place is decently clean but has the feel of a low end restaurant and is not the place you would want to have a romantic dinner, fortunately however, they pass a bit of the save to the customer :P.

Now about the food. Undoubtedly the highlight has to be the Goan Pork suasages which are always good anyway. At City Kitchen they cook it exactly the way I like it, with the sweet, the spice and the vinegar combining well and most importantly, with a decent quantity of potatoes which i feel adds a lot to Goan sausages. The pork pieces are chunky and quite substantial. The dishes are served with Pao which is kept at the centre of the table. They did not seem to have or offer rice portions although to be fair we did not really ask.

We also had Pork Chilli fry which was great and the Prawns Chill Fry which was a big disappointment and smelled slightly. We rounded off the meal with the obvious order in a Goan restaurant, the Pork Vindaloo which did not disappoint and made up for the Prawns Chilll Fry. There has to be something to do with pigs and Goans, I really think the Goans, atleast within India understand how to best cook pork (atleast whatever little I have tasted)... Overall an excellent meal and I would rate this above Goa Portuguesa as THE place in Mumbai to sample some Vindaloo and Pork sausages and bring back memories of Baga beach and Brittos... Sigh!

A meal for two at City Kitchen will cost you around Rs 300/-, that is if you hog. If you eat right you can get a great meal for 2 for Rs 200/-

How to get there: City Kitchen is just before entering Ballard Estate. Take the left past CST and drive towards Ballard Estate. Take the right just after crossing the post office. City kitchen will be to your left quite a bit down the road after around 4 lanes. A tip - Chances are you will find it difficult to reach and need to ask people. Do not ask passersby, you will find it easier to ask a regular shopkeeper or a generous restaurant owner.