Beyond the beach: destination kitchens and distinctly local drinking.
New tables, great kitchens and places worth your evening.
places on the shortlist
8 recent openings
Pankaj Balachandran and Nakul Bhonsle bring cocktails and craft beer to an open-air neighbourhood bar.
A collaboration between a mixologist and brewer, recognised by Asia’s 50 Best Bars in 2025.
Avinash Martins reinterprets Goa through its local ingredients.
Regional cooking with a personal viewpoint.
Bawmra Jap’s Burmese kitchen, with produce and technique at its centre.
A recognised Burmese destination.
Buland Shukla’s listening bar explores fermentation and Indian spirits.
An individual fermentation-led bar programme.
An Asian kitchen and bar from Kartik Vasudeva and Agrini.
A considered Asian food-and-drink pairing.
Ralph Prazeres and Stacy Gracias’s intimate European bistro.
A personal chef-led table.
Goan-influenced bar food and locally inspired drinks accompany independent live music.
An intimate evening stop where the cocktail menu and kitchen are part of the appeal.
A French bistro with a leafy garden, baked brie and classic beef preparations.
A focused European table, recognised in CNT’s 2025 restaurant awards.
A coastal bar specialising in rum, tropical cocktails and tiki drinks.
Its extensive rum collection gives the bar a clear focus beyond a beachside setting.
Contemporary South Indian cooking and cocktails in an art-filled Portuguese villa.
A focused regional menu gives the restored setting a culinary identity beyond its design.
A Panjim restaurant connecting Goan flavours with modern cooking.
A recognised food-and-drink destination.
A beachside restaurant whose cocktail programme is as considered as the food.
CNT’s 2024 restaurant awards recognised this Anjuna table at #37.
A reservation led, 13 seat bar inside Vaz Enterprises, with a cocktail list and an extensive spirits tasting selection.
A focused place to explore spirits with Donovan Vaz’s team. There is no meal service, so plan dinner separately.
Avinash Martins’ Panjim restaurant brings a contemporary approach to seasonal ingredients.
A chef-led address to explore beyond Goa’s coastal classics; this is the Panjim branch.
Gavril D’Souza cooks a focused burger menu from a small kitchen at the family home.
A casual, food-first discovery: choris and beef burgers give the menu a local voice. There is sit-down seating.
A petisco bar pairing small plates with cocktails shaped by Goa’s Konkan and Portuguese influences.
The kitchen gives a drinks-led evening a distinctly regional focus.
Davide Stampini and Nicholas Compagnone focus on Roman pala pizza, focaccia and fermentation.
House-made components and kombucha make this a specialist stop. Mainly takeaway, with only a few tables.
David Thompson’s Thai restaurant puts open-fire cooking and deeply flavoured curries at the centre of a garden setting.
Seek out the regional Thai cooking and charcoal-grilled plates, with cocktails that suit the food.
Priyanka Sardessai and Siddharth Sumitran’s café serves sandwiches, bomboloni and other bakes.
An independent bakery-led choice for a leisurely breakfast or lunch in Panjim.
Rahul “Picu” Gomes’ kitchen explores Levantine and Silk Route influences.
A Robb Report selection for 2025. Located within members-only Solene; confirm guest access before planning a visit.
Ralph Prazeres and Stacy Gracias’ bakery is known for Portuguese custard tarts, breads and filled doughnuts.
A pastry stop worth planning into a Panjim morning, separate from the Praça Prazeres restaurant.
Prachi Mehta’s menu combines regional flavours with contemporary preparations.
A food-led new branch with both Esquire and Paperboard coverage; evenings also bring nightlife.
Akshay Quenim revisits Hotel Mandovi’s culinary legacy with Goan breads, Portuguese salted cod and crab xec-xec.
A rooted regional table with chef Subhash’s connection to the original Rio Rico kitchen. Confirm guest access when booking at Clube de Palma.
Chef Arturo Salazar brings Peruvian and Japanese ideas together at JW Marriott Goa, including a seven-course tasting menu.
A destination for Nikkei cooking and Eric Chettiar’s ingredient-led cocktails.
A low-lit bar where feni, urrak, raw mango and jackfruit shape the drinks.
July opening coverage spotlights an intimate bar with distinctly local flavours.
An intimate bar with dark timber and a cocktail menu organised around the four suits of a deck of cards.
The drinks give the room its identity. This is a cocktail stop; plan a separate venue for dinner.
A small Siolim patisserie with specialty coffee, fresh bakes and artisan sandwiches. Its cake selection includes medovik and chocolate raspberry combinations, with slices and celebration cakes both part of the offering.
A focused pastry stop for Siolim, especially for diners who want cakes and coffee alongside Goa's restaurant and bar circuit.
A glasshouse rooftop restaurant and bar with sushi and sea views.
Both Paperboard Goa and 30 Best Bars picked it up in their recent opening edits.
A small bar using coastal ingredients, fermentation and feni.
An independently featured drinks destination that welcomes locals as well as hotel guests.
A South Goa tavern combining local drinking traditions, craft beer and inventive feni cocktails.
The Goenchi collaboration turns Tabul Phale, a traditional Goan board game, into a playable cocktail menu. Nine drinks take inspiration from local professions and Goan ingredients.
A garden café and small batch roastery sourcing Indian estate coffees, with espresso and manual brews alongside a food menu.
The coffee is roasted in Goa, with washed, natural and experimental processes represented in its estate selection.
