Their Seafood Platter
One of the things Goa stands out for is its beaches. The hot but breezy feel, the sand, the waves that run over the seashore are perhaps the little things that make the beaches one of the pleasant locations to take a deep breath at. Taking into consideration the feel that such an environment can give, for which it’s also one of the major reasons that gets Goa the ‘tourist destination’ title, Joets’ Bar and Restaurant has embedded itself at a perfectly ideal location on the Bogmalo Beach. In perfect proximity to the seashore, just enough for a good view of the horizon, this comfort-coated restaurant boasts of serving you seafood like you have never tasted before! Yet again, as the diet of a Goan, would consist mostly of seafood, that’s what you’ll get. And you’ll get it delicious, perhaps too delicious that you wouldn’t want the taste to leave your tongue. In conversing with the owner, Selvy D’cruz, it seemed he couldn’t have been any happier himself to narrate the true story behind the restaurant’s existence.
Who would’ve thought that a day like any other consisting of everybody’s regular schedule could make up a restaurant. Yes, that’s the story of this restaurant. Back in 1978, a man, a fisherman, sharing his catch of the day with friends and carrying on his days like that, suddenly had the thought striking him; the thought of building his own restaurant where he could share his catch with a ‘wider’ people and perhaps even set up a bar. It eventually didn’t just make him happy but it turned out to make his son happy, his family happier and the people that come in and out just as happy as them. The man, who did it all, is Selvy’s father, “Jose D’cruz”; and like the well-known quote goes, “Behind every successful man, there is a successful woman”, so was it proved. Two hands became four when his wife helped him build his dream. And that’s the start of the story, the story behind why it’s called, Joets’. A bit of “Jose” and “Etelvina” gave the restaurant a perfect name, Joets’. Everything only got better from there. Specializing in seafood, their kitchen never runs out of it. From a little diner place just for the fisherman, his wife, his friends, this place has built into one of the best seafood restaurants you’ll ever find.
With an ambience that’s only dressed with comfort, the food will only complete your day. Gaze at the horizon, sip on their finest cocktail, or rather one of their finest cocktail, that’s “Joets’ Bogller cocktail”. It sure will keep you engrossed in the moment as you give your mind a break and stare at nature undressed. Nothing will ever feel as perfect as that. Well, but that won’t take your hunger away. So for a good start, try their “Prawn Reacheado”. Not very spicy but just the perfect crispy texture you would expect after you get one look at it. It will be a temptation to order more but you’ll have to keep your eyes from getting bigger than your belly because that’s just the start. Have you heard of “Sausage Parathas”_? Well, let them surprise you. Be the first to try your first! Their “Sausage Parthas” are a ‘must try’. They give you a gist of the surprises you can expect. If you happen to have finished their cocktail faster than you thought you would have, try to hold yourself back from ordering the same and go for their ‘Woo Woo’ cocktail. One sip and the glass will seem so hard to put down. For a main course, their “Sausage Pulao” will bet that you couldn’t have chosen any better restaurant than Joets’ for a meal. The Recheado for every dish is the hard effort of Selvy’s mother as she prepares the recheado in her very kitchen so it can reach all the way to the restaurant’s kitchen and into your plate, blended into the dish that you order.
A few of her dishes that come with her own ‘hand-cooked’ recheado include Prawn/ Fish/ Goan curries, Xacutti and Cafreal. Their steamed up kitchen, is run by the eldest brother who is one of the main chefs. The staffs are always on the lookout for anything that they can give a helping hand to. Although the restaurant specializes in seafood, they have also a multi-cuisine buffet, so if your taste buds are not all about the ‘seafood lover’ type as you happen to have a better taste for beef or chicken or perhaps a continental dish that just makes you love its bland flavor or a simple vegetable plate; their platter is set up with it all! For a good veg meal, try their ‘Veg Jalfraze’ or for that matter, you could even go for their ‘Chilli Milly’. Their ‘Veg Jalfraze’ is really a blend of vegetables cooked in tomato gravy that is sure to treat your vegetable appetite a perfect meal. Otherwise, for meat lovers, you could opt for their perfectly seasoned or seared steaks.
Their ‘Pepper Steak’, ‘Mushroom Steaks’ are a few among the beef options. For a good finish, they’ve got pancackes, Baskin Roobin delicacies as well as a freshly made Bebinca Fruit Salad. They just cannot deny you their best, and they make it feel like it’s more than their duty to do so! What would a restaurant near the beachside be without any entertainment for lovers and friends and family? And they know better than to only bring you good meals! Friday nights has a live ‘one man band’ playing the night away till morning 1:30 a.m. You can count on them for a night to let loose on cocktails or sway across the floor with your loved ones to the sound of peaceful music. A relentless time that would numb you to its subtle leisurely escape. But that wouldn’t bother you because you know an experience like that will never come back and the other experiences will never feel the same! Selvy gladly claims that many of the regular visitors consists of ‘clients’ too.
Also with just the same assurance, he claims that the daughters of families are allowed into the restaurant on their own while their family is at the beachside. So not only do ‘the’ Joets’ guarantee you a delicious seafood menu to choose from but also a restaurant that’s safe just as much as comfy. Behind the curtains, the food that you order is cooked by a joint effort of the Joet’s family, with the love running through the veins as they serve. The eldest son of ‘the’ Joets’, Joe D’cruz, is the one who heads the kitchen and what may also surprise you is that a family member that doesn’t stay in Goa, uses the trips to the family in Goa as a time to get cooking in the kitchen. Confidentially, anyone could say that the Joets’ restaurant is a run by the family of the Joets’ (Jose and Etelvina).
So, don’t hold your horses too long! Pick a day you would want to make good and give it a Joets’ experience. Joets’ will guarantee you a perfect day that will let you forget your worries, will make you feel as though time has stopped, will embrace your fussy appetite with the best of what you ask and will leave you betting that you couldn’t have had a more perfect day than that! Also having the tendency to surprise people, Joets’ is bound to make your jaw drop too! That’s about as best as it gets.
