The beautiful city of Mapusa, located just 10 kilometres away from Goa’s capital city Panaji, receives a huge number of footfalls daily. Its proximity to many of the beaches in North Goa makes it a suitable base during the tourist season (November to April). It is mainly a commercial town with a large resident population. Mapusa comes alive on Friday, the traditional market day, at a place known as the Mapusa Friday Market. People from surrounding villages and towns come to Mapusa to sell their wares. This fair has a lot of local flavours and specialises in agricultural produce, vegetables, locally grown fruit, spices, clothes and even plants. Due to such a huge number of people visiting Mapusa every day, several restaurants have cropped up in the city to cater to the visitors who look for a nice place to have a quick breakfast or a nice lunch during the afternoon. Here’s a list of the best restaurants in Mapusa to have a nice breakfast or lunch.
Union Restaurant & Cafe
Starting the list of best restaurants in Mapusa is Union. This restaurant serves tasty food and is a nice platform to have lunch or dinner with family and friends. The place has got a good seating arrangement and a pleasant ambience. It is a perfect place to chill your mind and fill your stomach.
Affordable and tasty Goan cuisine is served at this restaurant. One cannot miss their fish thali and their prawn curry. Vegetarians also have a lot of options. The food is excellent and the portion sizes are quite big. They also serve other cuisines which are equally good. One must try yummy tasty pomfret tandoori, prawn momos, prawn fried rice, Thai chicken gravy in bamboo shoots, chicken chilli gravy in red sauce, crab masala and virgin colada (glass size). All the food is served in good quantities and at very affordable prices. It’s truly a delight to dine at Union restaurant. The service is super quick with a smile. The quality of the food is quite good. It is open from morning to almost 11 PM, which is a big plus in Mapusa.
Matsya Restaurant and Bar
This is a fairly new addition to the list of dining options available in Mapusa. The restaurant is quite big and spacious. It has a wonderful bar, which offers a variety of good options to choose from cocktails, mocktails, and a lot of other drinks. The service is excellent, and the dining ambience is pleasant here. The menu is elaborate and gives us a variety of dishes and thalis to choose from. The word Matsya means fish. The restaurant has been named Matsya because it specialises in seafood.
For starters, one must try the Tandoori Red Snapper and the fried Bangda Rechado.
From the main course, one must try their bangda thali, which is very big and consists of vegetables, bangda gravy, rice, roti, papad, and a lot more. For dessert, you must try the sizzling Chocolate Cake with Ice-Cream.When it comes to drinks, you must try their Martini which has a nice and tangy taste. Their pina colada is also very nice.
Spice Goa
This is an amazing place for seafood lovers. You will be treated to a variety of fish preparations that are one better than the other. The place is big with a few sections downstairs as well as upstairs. Service is friendly and relatively fast. The food offered here is well-priced. Portions served are also quite big. This makes it easy for big groups to share different food items. The freshness of the food, the cooking style, warm hospitality, live music, cocktails and ambience available at this restaurant is totally out of this world.
For starters, you must try their unique Banana leaf prawns, Squids in a fiery sauce, Crispy Mackerel, Shellfish and two types of small fish fries. You must try the huge garlic butter crabs for the main course. The awesome Crab in Garlic Butter sauce is cooked to perfection and served along with toasted Poe (Goan bread). The owner is extremely accommodating. He procures fresh fish daily for his customers. The cherry on the top was the Serradura. It is so delicious. Please don’t miss going to Spice Goa whenever you are in Goa.
Indiana Family Restaurant
Lastly, on the list of best restaurants in Mapusa is Indiana. This restaurant is located in Siolim, just a few kilometres away from the heart of Mapusa city. The food is well spiced and freshly cooked. The restaurant has a very good menu. It is made up of Goan, Chinese and Tibetan food. Lovely fish, meat and veg dishes are offered over here. Their soups are also very good.
The food is well spiced and freshly cooked. You must try their butter chicken and rice. Their minty chicken kebab is simply too good and will leave you licking your fingers. Their prawn and chicken momos are also very tasty.
This little unassuming place has a wonderful cook. The service provided over here is excellent and the waiters are super friendly. If you have any diet restrictions (gluten/soy free) the chef will prepare food accordingly. The restaurant also provides home delivery within the Siolim area.
So, if you are visiting Mapusa city, drop in at one of these amazing restaurants and enjoy a nice lunch with your family and friends. Bon Appétit!
