Insia Lacewalla
Whether you're a local with cabin fever or a monsoon-loving visitor, who thrives on the smell of wet earth and wood smoke, Goa’s dining scene this season is giving you more than enough reasons to step out.
From lovingly layered cocktails to steaming coffee, here are a couple of Goa’s most exciting new openings, and they're also located close to the beach.
If Wes Anderson opened a Middle Eastern restaurant in a paddy field, it would look like this.
At Anar, the atmosphere is playful but polished — hand-painted glassware, cats in warrior robes on the walls, and an inviting dining room that hits that sweet spot between elegant and easygoing.
The menu is a lush, generous take on Middle Eastern cuisine: mezze platters that actually fill you up, Persian stews that are deep and soulful, and kebabs so juicy they practically deserve their own soundtrack. The fesenjoon (walnut and pomegranate chicken) is a must-order — comforting, rich, with just the right tang. Wash it down with a Persian spice martini and forget the rain exists.
DETAILS
WHAT: Anar (Middle Eastern restaurant)
LOCATION: Calangute-Anjuna Road, Anjuna
TIMINGS: 12–3.30 pm, 7–11.30 pm (Closed on Tuesdays)
PRICING: Rs 2,000 for two
CONTACT: +91 92097 81636
Coffee nerds, rejoice! Maverick & Farmer is here with its beans from Coorg, its scientific experiments, and a passion for brewing you can actually taste. The vibe at the Anjuna cafe is warm and welcoming, with enough space to work, read, or pretend you're working while people-watching.
Highlights? The cold-smoked coffee that tastes like a campfire in the best way. The Vietnamese Iced Coffee for those who like their caffeine with a side of condensed milk. And Espresso Martinis if your mornings occasionally bleed into your evenings (no judgement here).
Also, the Coffee-Rubbed Chicken is oddly addictive.
DETAILS:
WHAT: Maverick & Farmer (cafe)
LOCATION: Near Bhumika Temple, Anjuna, North Goa
TIMINGS: 8 am–11 pm
PRICING: Rs 1,000 for two
CONTACT: +91 98450 6723
This isn’t just a bar — it’s a quiet tribute to a classic, a mood, a memory. The Martini Bar at the picturesque boutique hotel, Ahilya by the Sea, is Goa’s most elegant new watering hole, and also its most discreet.
Conceptualised with Countertop India, the drinks here are precise, poetic, and inspired by places that mean something to the Holkar family — from Indore to Gulmarg to Chorao.
There’s saffron, capers, fragrant lemons. There's candlelight and conversation. And there’s that a rare sense of being exactly where you’re meant to be.
DETAILS
WHAT: The Martini Bar (Only by reservation)
LOCATION: Ahilya by the Sea, Coco Maia, Nerul, North Goa
PRICING: Rs 2,000 for two
CONTACT: +91 84593 86478