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South Goa

Restaurants in South Goa

  1. Café Coffee Day

    A pleasant enough place to escape the heat, this wannabe sleek joint offers a half-decent cappuccino (Rs44) along with a range of cakes, including the suitably ’70s Black Forest Gateau (Rs44), reminiscent of the era when Colva was still cool.

    reviewed

  2. A

    Tato

    Down a small street east of the Municipal Gardens is this excellent, and highly fragrant, vegetarian restaurant popular with lunching locals. If you’re indecisive, order a thali (traditional South Indian all-you-can-eat meal), though the paneer chilli (spicy Indian cheese) is the manager’s personal favourite. It costs slightly more to eat upstairs in the icy AC, but the fan-cooled ground floor is perfectly fine too.

    reviewed

  3. B

    Vernekar Restaurant

    Vernekar Restaurant offers a mean tandoori chicken and the world’s finest aloo gobi (potato and cauliflower in a spicy masala sauce) for less than the price of a Coke at the hotel itself. Eat along with locals at one of only four plastic tables. It might be simple, but it serves up some of the very best, super-spicy grub in South Goa.

    reviewed

  4. Longuinho’s

    Every day since 1950, quaint old Longhuino’s has been serving up tasty Indian and Chinese dishes, popular with locals and tourists alike. To thoroughly hark back to the ’50s, order the tongue roast for Rs80 (and that doesn’t mean a very spicy masala) and follow it up with a rum ball (Rs15).

    reviewed

  5. C

    Longhuino’s

    Since 1950, quaint old Longhuino’s has been serving up tasty Indian and Chinese dishes, popular with locals and tourists alike. To thoroughly hark back to the ’50s, order the tongue roast for Rs80 (and that doesn’t mean a very spicy masala) and follow it up with a rum ball (Rs15).

    reviewed

  6. Mallika

    Mallika ‘Northern frontier’ fine-dining courtesy of the swish Kenilworth resort. Mallika’s the place to come for succulent kebabs, thick, fluffy tandoori-oven breads and other Punjabi- and Kashmiri-inspired delights.

    reviewed

  7. D

    Gaylin

    Hidden behind opaque glass doors decorated with dragon motifs, you’ll find generous, garlicky renditions of Chinese favourites dispense by friendly Darjeeling-derived owners, with recipes suitably spiced up to cater to resilient Indian palates.

    reviewed

  8. E

    Casa Vaz Tea Shop

    Run by a lovely local, this teensy tea joint on the edge of the Largo de Igreja district serves up the best caramelised-oniony bhaji-pau (bread roll with a small curry for dipping) in South Goa for an equally teensy Rs12.

    reviewed

  9. Smugglers’ Inn

    If you’re craving full English breakfasts or Sunday dinner with all the trimmings, the Smugglers’ Inn, with its football on TV and weekly quiz nights, provides that little bit of Britain in the midst of beachside India.

    reviewed

  10. F

    Café Coffee Day

    This snack bar/coffee shop chain is ideal for homesick Westerners, with lots of healthy (and some decidedly less healthy) goodies they'll have struggled to find out in the sticks. Popular with local students.

    reviewed

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  12. G

    Raissa'a Herbs & Spices

    One of Margao's most highly regarded restaurants with an excellent selection of Chinese and Indian staples as well as some less common items such as delicious Afghani kebabs.

    reviewed

  13. H

    Casa Penguim de Gelados

    Tea and ice creams are really the thing here, but this clean, fan-cooled place also does a decent vegetarian thali and an array of dosas and idlis.

    reviewed

  14. Blue Whale Beach Shack

    One of the most picture-perfect spots in the whole of Goa is at the simple Blue Whale beach shack, run by friendly local Roque Coutinho.

    reviewed

  15. I

    Banjara

    This dark and cool place with polar AC is Margao's best North Indian restaurant.

    reviewed

  16. Zeebop by the Sea

    Renowned for its excellent seafood – or ‘underwater treasures’, as the restaurant itself describes its cuisine – simple Zeebop, just back from Utorda’s main beach and opposite Kenilworth, is a firm favourite with locals in the know. Closed Good Friday.

    reviewed