Where to eat this November... in Goa

They say throw a stone in Goa and it will hit a bar—and they are right. There’s either a new neighbourhood bar promising good food and entertainment (games, pool, music) or a renovated taverna always looking to attract new patrons.

As the state gears up for the season, there are many new options to indulge, on the beach and outside of it. There are old tavernas being given a modern upgrade, and older homes getting a new purpose. Among my favourite new discoveries last month was Zac’s Taverna, a feni taverna located inside a 350-year-old Goan home in the south, and Casa de Raia, a 119-year-old home that has turned into a cafe that is run by a team of visually impaired people, and is putting the focus on some lesser-known Goan dishes through its menu.

Below, other openings that will draw locals and tourists alike.

Odds ’n Ends, Assagao

A small 280-year-old house in Assagao is home to grub spot and drinkery Odds ’n Ends. Muskaan Arora and Krishna K Menon’s neighbourhood hangout space also has an old-school game room, vinyl records, a pool room, beers on tap, and enough cosy corners for introverts to take over.

The cocktail programme has crisp, breezy, and sippable drinks like Gigglemug (whisky and port wine), Brouhaha (rum, cold brew, dark chocolate), and Sticky Beak (whisky, chikoo, filter coffee). Food is fun, unfussy, and Asian-inspired—expect everything from ceviche, smoked beef singju, and char siu lamb tostada to Sichuan mala dumplings. Their mascot is Pocket, an adorable lemur, but those in charge here are their two friendly canines, Molly and Holly.

Otters, Mayem

What happens when a group of like-minded friends get together in Goa? Of course, they open a bar. The folks behind Otters chose an obscure location for it, safe in the knowledge that people will travel for good food, good drinks, and a good vibe. The new-age tavern is a throwback to watering holes of yore, with warm lighting and no-frills decor. The drinks, by Scully Andrade (ex-Grumps), include three signatures and some classics; a highlight for us was Otterly Strange with bourbon and triphal. There’s also feni and a lineup of Great State beers available on tap. The food is simple with a distinct Indian touch: Tangra-style pork chilli, prawn pepper fry, and mutton curry.

Star Bar, Anjuna

Quick, what’s a place to take a friend who is in Goa just to party till 3 am? Until last month, there was only one answer to this question (Juna, duh), but Anjuna’s newest opening, Star Bar, changes that. Launched by DJ and party boy Starling D’Souza, this after-dark spot is already luring people looking for a late-night hang. Starling’s party pedigree itself—his father Steve D’Souza founded the iconic Hilltop in Anjuna in the ’70s—has enough credentials to pull in Goa’s party crowd. While the bar, which specialises in tequila cocktails and boasts a very varied lineup of DJs, is located in the Hilltop precinct, the founder is clear that this one will be nothing like the buzzy Friday flea market or the psytrance parties that take place here on Sundays. “It’s a completely different concept. We wanted to offer something more intimate and cosy, with a wider range of sounds and music styles,” he adds of the 40-seater venue, which has an indoor and outdoor section, the former being open till the wee hours of sunrise. —Megha Mahindru

Ninety7 Cafe, Parra

Ninety7, a new beautifully designed coffee shop by friends Anurag Andrade and Ravi Sonar, occupies the storeroom instead of the main area of a Portuguese house. The space has a garden-facing sit-out area, an AC section, as well as a separate listening room with a record store called Kiss My Wax.

On their menu, matcha remains the star here, paired with carrot milk or coconut water to create fun drinks; the dessert-style NYC Matcha adds the cherry to this matcha cake. The food, curated by chef Jay Spernad, spans sandwiches, burgers, and pasta worth breaking diets for. Two absolute must-haves are the garlic prawn linguini and the bebinca French toast. Attracting audiophiles, the space also sells a starter kit with two speakers and a turntable that will soon enlist you as a regular costumer at their record store. Besides hosting regular listening sessions, the cafe runs an Instagram series called People of Wax, building its own community of collectors.

Bloody Dangerous, Assagao

The newest bar from the trio that gave us speakeasy-like spaces like Drop Dead Sexy and Room One is their biggest yet. Siddharth Kerkar, Vipin Raman, and Bonita Mascarenhas’s Bloody Dangerous occupies the same floor as the other two. Think of it as a fun Monty Hall problem—which door do you want to enter? There’s art all over here too, and an entrance that will give you pause, if only to take in the 3,000 red lamps surrounding you.

The space is built on fears and phobias, so Kerkar’s artwork veers on the morbid—Halloween here must’ve been fun—with a corpse, a beating heart, tooth-shaped stools, dead babies, doll hands creeping out of the wall, and slabs of ‘meat’ hanging above the bar. In contrast to the art, the drinks are delightful. Dali & Gala’s Arnold Hou makes drinks that are complex and come with surprises—Dirty Dick has a penis jelly that lights up under their UV light, while No Sugar? Fuck Off! has a fake egg. The food is really, really good, with small punchy plates curated by Priyanka Sardessai of Larder & Folk and chef Yong of Dali & Gala. Do not leave without eating their Dirty Fries (Duck).

Lovefools by the Sea, Utorda

Chef Sarita Pereira brings her Bandra Lovefools experience to Goa, propping it by the beach and turning it into an all-day experience. Lovefools by the Sea is her return to her Goan roots and a tribute to her late father, whose recipes were tweaked and added to the menu. The space is like an elevated shack, shaped like a fish and part of the Royal Orchid Beach Resort. It has a distinct Goan feel. On the menu, she has taken the xacuti, cafreal, bebinca, and recheado and given them her twist—ros omelette becomes a chawanmunshi, while mushroom is layered into a bebinca. Her version of the Goan thali is ideal for a late-afternoon fix. The drinks are themed too, with names like Window Seat and Sunscreen, enjoyed perfectly on the beach.

Eleven Eleven Craft Bar, Anjuna

Mukund Khanna was inspired by New York’s speakeasies when he was planning his own bar in Goa. Eleven Eleven Craft Bar, or just 11:11, is an open-air space with relaxed cabanas, communal tables, a pool table, and a verandah inspired by Goan homes. The cocktail programme, curated by Chetan Choramule, wants to tell you a story—from the versatility of the noodle soup in What the Pho! to Anjuna’s after-dark folklore in Black Magic. Chef Dhruv Nijhawan’s food is cuisine-agnostic. From day to night, the space morphs from a casual hangout with karaoke and pool in the day to a high-energy lounge in the night.

Jenny’s Coffee House, Assagao

It’s a cafe whose biggest claim to fame—at least in the run-up to the launch—was its owner. Jenny’s story was that she left Paris for Goa to open her own place, doing some influencing on the side. The owner, as most people soon found out, was actually an AI character. Could Jenny’s be the first cafe in the country to be ‘run’ by artificial intelligence? Well, thank god it’s not. The cafe is part of an old plant-filled bungalow, doing specialty coffee, matcha, juices, smoothies, aperitivo-style drinks, sandos, eggs and breads—everything you would expect from an all-day breakfast spot. Of course it’s Goa, so there’s alcohol too. That Jenny’s is actually part of the furniture store Bentchair makes this a shoppable cafe, where you can sit, dine, and shop the table you ate at.

Common Time, Anjuna

I first heard about fika over two decades ago from a Swede friend who swore by the Swedish coffee-break ritual of pausing all work to enjoy coffee, cake, and conversations for approximately the same time it takes to smoke two cigarettes. Anjuna’s newest coffee shop, located inside a 114-year-old bungalow, seems designed for this caffeinated ritual that fuels both corporate slaves and creatives alike. At this 80-seater cafe, the Goan outpost of a Delhi chain, you will find light Scandi-style furniture, a white tiled bar for the barista, and a menu serving coffee, sandwiches, and a comforting assortment of brunch hits, like Singapore’s beloved kaya toast. From 8 am to 8 pm, expect to see laptop-luggers, Instagram influencers, as well as tourists looking for a place with a strong coffee programme. —Megha Mahindru

Zac’s Taverna, Benaulim

South Goa’s newest is Zac’s Taverna, which is part of Silva Heritage. The 40-seater space is like an old-school taverna and a contemporary bar experience. The drinks menu features a mix of classic cocktails and house signatures with local Goan influences like cashew feni, kokum, mango, and other regional flavours. Bar bites, small plates, and hearty Goan favourites make up the food menu—think fish cutlets, prawn cafreal and mutton kheema pao. There’s music, ladies’ nights, quiz nights, and other events too.

Events, pop-ups and revamps

Feast in the Fields, Cansaulim

Every year, Hansel Vaz throws a party for 100 that the rest of us on Instagram wish we could attend. Vaz is a familiar name in Goa when it comes to all things Goan, especially his beloved feni. Since November 2022, he and Urbanaut have turned his family’s ancestral field into one of the most coveted dining experiences in the state, even worth booking a flight to Goa. Feast in the Fields started with 40 people and has now expanded to 100. It’s one long-ass table, a sit-down meal with curated drinks, music, and food that tells a Goan story. The popularity of this experience means they’ve expanded it to two afternoons this year. The chef changes every year, too—this time, Goa’s beloved chef Rahul ‘Picu’ Gomes will be dishing up a feast. On the side, expect fun cocktails by Treize (the bar run by Vaz’s brother, Donovan) and a surprise new flavour from the Mr Jerry’s x Cazulo collab. Book here.

For The Record - Vinyl Bar

The relaunch of FTR was the talk of the town. The misconception was that Prateek Sadhu’s Naar was coming to Goa. In actuality, it is Sadhu and Akshay Tripathi’s Varakaar Hospitality (which owns Naar) that is now working in partnership with Buland Shukla of the OG eatery.

The newly revamped space opened last month and much of it is the same (even the prices!). Among the changes are neatly demarcated dining spaces: the vinyl room, the cocktail room, the courtyard, and of course, the record room—Off the Record. The beverage menu currently includes a good wine selection alongside the bar’s signature creations, like the Mango Sticky Rice, HydroBall (rum and horchata), and Mez Coco (mezcal and black rice), house sodas, and hydrosols. There’s a significant Goan touch to the food, with mushroom cafreal, chilli beef with pav, kokar crudo, mackerel toast, and prawn recheado flatbread. We will, however, miss their black garlic tart.

Fireback + Barback Goa, Siolim

It’s a Thai party as Fireback returns to Goa for the season alongside cocktail bar Barback Goa. Fireback’s menu swaddles the familiar—pineapple som tam and miang kham (betel leaf bundle with pomelo and toasted coconut) with some new additions, like fire-grilled pumpkin and sweet potato, and red curry with soft-shell crab.

The bar, which occupies the outdoor back area of the space, is inspired by Bangkok’s Chinatown and explores southeast Asian flavours like pandan, yuzu, kaffir lime, hojicha, guava, and lemongrass in the drinks. The pandan negroni and tom yum gimlet are worth repeating. The food for the bar includes bite-sized flavour-packed dishes like chilli oil dumplings, salt-and-pepper rock shrimp, stir-fried chilli ginger noodles, and spicy mala lamb noodles.

Chef's table, The Seven Doors House, Pilerne

This November, the 1932 heritage estate Seven Doors House is opening its doors for a chef’s table. O Encontro (it means “the meeting” in Portuguese) is an intimate chef’s table comprising eight courses cooked by chef Meenakshi Sharma. The food highlights 10 Goan ingredients, from jamun and kokum to lepo and toddy, and includes familiar local flavours—cafreal, recheado, vindaloo—but showcased in an unexpected manner. The event will be held on Friday, November 6 and 27; ₹6,825. Reserve via WhatsApp: +91 99998 80758

Indian Accent at Heliconia, JW Mariott, Goa

Delhi’s most exclusive table visits Goa for two nights only this festive month. Chef Rijul Gulati’s sure-footed menu has won diners across Delhi and Mumbai and is likely to make new fans as he brings their iconic blue cheese naan and Indian Accent Shorba to a new audience. Serving a mix of their greatest hits via an à la carte menu, the meal is likely to be extremely Instagrammable, with the daulat ki chaat making an appearance, among other photogenic plates like the palate-cleansing kulfi sorbet that comes in a miniature pressure-cooker.—Megha Mahindru

November 13 and 14 November, 7-11pm. Rs 4,000 (without alcohol), Rs 5000 (with alcohol). For bookings, contact +91 8956299271; +91 8956299288 or click here.