Goa is home to several famous restaurants which serve a variety of cuisines. These restaurants are frequented by thousands of tourists who flock to Goa every year for a much-needed vacation. Some of these restaurants are fine dining restaurants that have air-conditioned dining areas with soft music and a beautiful ambience. These restaurants are situated on the beach and offer diners a beautiful view of the sea. Here’s a list of the best 15 restaurants in Goa, for those looking for a nice place to dine, on their next trip to the land of sun, sand, and sea.
Delhi Darbar, Panaji
Starting the list of top restaurants in Goa is Delhi Darbar. It’s a nice restaurant situated on MG Road, just outside the historic centre, in the heart of Panjim city. The restaurant offers authentic Indian cuisine, which is sure to tickle your taste buds. Delhi Darbar restaurant has a wide-ranging menu with items offered at reasonable prices. The quality of food and service provided is excellent. The prawn balchao served with rumali chapatis and tandoori chicken, are two dishes that one must try at this restaurant. They also serve fresh and tasty juices over here.
Pentagon Restaurant, Majorda
Next on the list of best restaurants in Goa is Pentagon. This place is a food lover’s paradise with live music in the evening that makes it such a lively place. The place is huge and you can easily manage to get a table for yourself, even on a late Friday night. One must try ordering the Paneer Chilli, which is made of extremely tender paneer cubes thrown in with the right amount of spices. The cheese balls served here are pretty decent and Dal Tadka for the main course is very tasty too. The paneer gravy is sweet and has a very unique flavour to it. The prices are extremely reasonable and the service provided is very good and prompt. Overall, it’s a pretty good place to be in for fab food with a large value for money quotient.
Chulha, Bambolim
This restaurant is located inside the Grand Hyatt Hotel at Bambolim in North Goa. The place is very elegant and has got a very nice ambience as well. Dishes that are a must-try at this restaurant include lamb kebab, dal makhani, and paneer lababdar with Amritsari kulcha. The staff at the restaurant are very friendly and happily prepare any dish that you choose according to your desired tastes and preferences.
Jalsa, Arpora
This is an award-winning restaurant that has been offering, for the past seven years, the best vegetarian, Gujarati and Marwari food you can find anywhere in Goa. The ambience of the entire restaurant is amazing. They have chosen typical ancient royal furniture to give it a palatial look. The food offered over here is very delicious and is served with a lot of love and concern. The place is a must-visit when in Arpora.
Antares Restaurant and Beach Club, Vagator
This restaurant is set in a very beautiful location in Vagator In North Goa. The views of the sea are amazing. The service is really good. One should try ordering their delicious and mouth-watering Cheese Garlic Bread and Margherita Pizza. If you’re feeling thirsty, you should try ordering their freshly squeezed Pineapple Juice or their Moso Moso Mocktail. Everything offered over is freshly prepared. Nice place to soak in some views while sipping a drink. Must visit if in and around Vagator.
Tempero, Arossim
Tempero is a nice restaurant at ITC Grand Goa Resort in Arossim. The restaurant serves the best Goan food you can find anywhere in South Goa. Their prawn curry is truly delicious and will leave you licking your fingers. Their recheado pomfret and their prawn Rava fry are totally out of this world. The food is so fresh and home-cooked that nothing can beat it. North Goa restaurants are a failure in front of Tempero for Goan food. The staff are very friendly and always around to see if you need anything.
Lobster Village, Benaulim
This is a nice restaurant in South Goa which offers beautiful views of the sea. It is located on the grounds of the Taj Exotica Hotel at Benaulim The beautiful sunset can be seen from here during the evenings. The food offered here is just too good! One must try their Goan style crab, prawns peri-peri and surmai masala fry. For drinks, one must try their virgin pina colada or their mojito cocktails. One can sum up their meal with some freshly baked cheesecake for dessert. Everything over here is just perfect – the view, food, service everything!
The Goan Room, Dona Paula
This is a nice restaurant located in the heart of Dona Paula in North Goa. It is very close to the Dona Paula beach and Dona Paula jetty. This is a feel-good restaurant with Mario Miranda type wall coverings. The Restaurant is quite spacious with ample tables and has seating on the ground floor as well as an airconditioned section on the mezzanine floor. It is noted for serving mouth-watering Goan cuisine. Their fish thalis are the most popular dishes among diners during lunch hours. They serve the famous Patrao Thali–which is quite substantial and tasty, having a mix of seafood like kingfish, prawn curry and cutlet, fish curry, crab curry etc. They also have a well-stocked bar which offers a variety of cocktails, mocktails, liquor and gins. Their service is quick and their staff is friendly. Overall a good place to have a Goan meal when in Dona Paula.
Bomras, Anjuna
This is the kind of restaurant you wish to find in any city around the world – a great chef, creativity, service, lovely place and the urge to just go back as soon as you’ve finished dinner. It is a nice place to have a quiet family dinner. One should try their delicious raw papaya salad, pork fried rice and pork belly. The ambience at the restaurant is very nice and the soft music playing in the background adds to the vibe of the place. Worth a visit when in Anjuna.
Mirabai’s Goan Village, Calangute
This restaurant is located in a cosy place, away from the noisy streets of Calangute. The place has got a great vibe with rustic décor and soothing soft music. They have an amazing menu with all the Goan specialities you would want, plus other options for the less adventurous palate.
The food offered here is served in good quantities and at reasonable rates. The staff at the restaurant are very responsive and courteous. One should try ordering their Veg Thali which includes Kokum Syrup, Salad, Chapati with Sabji, Plain rice, Sambar, Curd, Papad and Pickle. They also serve a delicious fish thali with fried kingfish.
Kokni Kanteen, Panaji
Kokni Kanteen is a restaurant situated in the heart of Panaji city in North Goa. It is known for its delicious thalis and is always busy for lunch and dinner. The décor of the canteen—chilli clusters on the walls and porcelain vessels adorning the shelves—transports you back to a time when purumenth (provisioning for the monsoon season) was required. Every meal over here is freshly prepared.
A short menu of main course items provides a wonderful taste of Goa’s green culinary heritage. Semolina-coated breadfruit fritters, home-style toi dal, and ambadyache uddamethi, a dish with fenugreek, split black grams, coconut, and hog plum, are among the vegetarian thali’s highlights. Ghotache sasav, sweet mango curry, and maskachi bhaji which is made with stir-fried moringa leaves and jackfruit seeds are all worth trying.
Titlie, Vagator
This is a nice restaurant in North Goa which offers a beautiful view of the sea. The food available here is simply outstanding. One must try their Butter chicken and Mutton Chops, which are very delicious and will leave you licking your fingers. This is the best place to sit and chill with friends and enjoy the sunset with tasty food and drinks.
Alfama
Alfama is a Lisbon-themed restaurant that serves Portuguese and Goan cuisine. The restaurant is on the property of the Cidade De Goa hotel. The ambience is very Portuguese, with tiled roofs, lampposts, and a live band sitting on a balcony above. One must try ordering the prawn balchao with Goan bread. You can also try their Goan vegetarian thali that is enormous and delicious. The service offered here is very good. Overall, a nice place to have an authentic Goan meal with family.
Kebabs and Curries
This is another nice restaurant at ITC Grand Goa in Arrosim which offers delicious kebabs and curry preparations in Indian style. The chefs prepare nice kebabs and fish/chicken curries as per your spice level requirement. One must try their Murgh Angaar and Gilawat ke kebabs which are simply exquisite. Their Dal Bukhara is also simply amazing, as is their Burrhani Gosht and Murgh Bemisal.
Sussegado, Cavelossim
Lastly, on the list of top restaurants in Goa is Sussegado. This restaurant is part of The Leela Hotel at Cavelossim. The restaurant is on the beach and looks out to the ocean. It has a very good ambience. The food offered here is of top quality as one would expect in such a top-class hotel. The service provided is also excellent. One must try their tiger prawns as well as the red snapper fish and pomfret from their fresh ‘catch-of-the-day’ display. These are cooked very simply – grilled whole and served with herb butter; they are perfectly done and are very tender and juicy. The place is a must-visit for seafood lovers.
So, what are you waiting for? Head down to one of these amazing restaurants in Goa and enjoy a sumptuous lunch or dinner with your family and friends. Bon Appetit!
