Travel Travel

My Perfect Goa

FTAlmanac

November 19, 2025

Goa is both chef Ritu Dalmia’s
muse and home, even though
she won’t open a restaurant
there! She does the next
best thing though: Draw up a
perfect insider’s list exclusively
for TFTA, of all the gems you
must dine and drink and laze at
on your next visit. May the best
tourists thrive!

By Ritu Dalmia

I live in Goa technically, but if I am honest, I am lucky if I manage more than 6-7 days in a month there. However, when I am there, it is all about wonderful food and drink mostly at home, gossiping with some of my favourite human beings, and just adding on more calories! This little black book of Goa is extremely biased — but whatever it is, it is my list.

MIGUEL’S, PANJIM: When I say, bias, there cannot
be more, mainly because this one’s run by our ex-Diva chef
Madhav Dayal, who has made me proud several times over.
The cocktails are thoughtful and balanced, the food is an ode
to Goan-Portuguese cuisine — with a touch of Italian, which,
I would like to believe, has come from Madhav’s years at Diva

SLOW TIDE: For years, this was the best-kept secret of Goa’s older settlers. Recently, it has been bombarded with tourists from Delhi and Mumbai. So, instead of going on weekends, I prefer to go on weekdays now. The small plates are just spectacular and my favourite here is eggplant with the Mangalorean bun. I have had evil thoughts of poaching their chefs several times but, so far, I have kept myself in check! This is not a place where you rush through your meal, you always end up ordering second portions , and yet another unplanned cocktail…

VILLA 59: One of my big regrets in life is that God did
not give me a good voice. If truth be told, I croak when I try
to sing, yet I love it. Villa 59 has karaoke nights on Thursday
and I just love eating carb-heavy chips with peri peri
prawns. The cocktails are out of the box and the karaoke is
gloriously off-key.

FORK AND LADDER: I have always dreamt of
opening a sandwich shop. Unfortunately, out of pure laziness,
I did not manage to do it. A good sandwich, in my opinion,
is the closest one can come to heaven, and Fork and Ladder
has perfected this art. The ambience is lovely, with a couple
of dogs lazing happily with guests, the staff friendly, and the
best part is their pulled pork sandwich. A warning: don’t eat
breakfast or plan a dinner after lunch at Fork and Ladder.

MHAMBREY BAR: When anyone thinks of a fish thali in Goa, they think of Vinayak or Anand. Honestly, I am just so done with them. Recently, my friend Aradhana Seth suggested this small place called Mhambrey bar in Aldona. It was love at first sight, no frills and fancy, cozy, they have discontinued the thali but the rawa fish fry and prawn koliwada are just superb.

BAR COLD DRINK: What a cheeky and a cool name,
and actually the place does justice to it. It feels like a bar next
door, with simple but delicious bar snack and really really
nice cocktails, which thankfully are not as expensive as those
in most of the other Goa restaurants

BOMRA’S: I can’t even remember how many years ago I first went to eat at this one. I think, in the first years that it opened. It was the first restaurant in Goa which started this trend of chef-run restaurants. I also think this is the restaurant which made the whole of India fall in love with Burmese food. My order is always the same: their version of a pisco sour, tomato salad with tamarind (which was served in my café for years as “Bomra’s tomato salad”), the green tea leaf salad, crab curry and coconut rice. The best way to describe a meal here would be subtle and unforgettable.

CAZULO PREMIUM FENI: Lets face it, Feni is just not any drink, it is experiencing Goa in a glass, and the man who has taken it to another level is Hansel Vaz. He has now created a “table in the water”, you can see the farm, his distillery, taste the various Fenis this magician creates and finally move towards your table by the spring to taste some amazing small plates paired with Feni. It is truly an enchanting experience. Make sure to book in advance as they do not take walk-ins.

WHISPERING CAFÉ: Nestled in a an old Goan
home, this café feels like home. I absolutely adore their
potato mushroom and baked beans skillet served with
warm crust poi, and the tranquility of lunch changes to a
very cool bar with pizzas in the evening. This is the sort
of place where you go for lunch and stay till sunset. Ahh!
before I forget, don’t you dare finish your meal without the
chocolate mousse.

PADARIA PRAZARES: I have a dear friend called
Anna who has been living in Goa on and
off for some years now. She likes eating
out more or less every day. When ever she
would go to Panjim, a box full of pastis
di nata would arrive, and that tradition
now continues even when Anna is not
in Goa. The wonderful Prazares couple
have recently opened “Praca”, another
great restaurant, where it is so heartening
to see dishes like prawn cocktail and
pate, the “continental” food we grew up
with. It is old school, unpretentious and
truly perfect.

My friend Aradhana Seth
suggested this small
place, Mhambrey in
Aldona. It was love at first
sight, no frills or fancy
stuff, but the fish fry
and prawn koliwada
are superb