Eat-ernally Goan Hospitality

GOA as we know it is in a constant state of flux, and slowly but surely, much like the bigger cities around it, there is a growing trend of places opening up, and shutting down within a year or two.

- Fernando Monte Da Silva

However, amidst all of that, there are many establishments that have long since had its doors open to anyone who wishes to pass through them, to experience the true Goan way of life, and the hospitality they have to offer. It is those very places that we salute today.

HOSPEDARIA VENITE, PANJIM

Hospedaria Venite on Rua 31 de Janeiro in São Tomé in Panjim, isn’t your average tourist attraction. It is a meeting place for many a local that knows of the secret delights the venue houses and the tourist that chooses to tread off the beaten path. Venite has always served as an example of a very satisfactory gastronomic end product. The food that is dished out by proprietor Luis de Souza and his merry band of helping hands always hits the spot. Luis is the man who makes the restaurant however, and if one is really fortunate, during the sweltering heat of the mango season, one can share a seat with him in the restaurants quaint window seats and listen to his banter about all affairs Goan, ranging from politics to local good-to-know gossip. For those who dare to leave behind their sentiments, these walls serve as a little piece of history, a recording of a certain moment in time, that immortalises the given state of a writer and the time he yielded his weapon of choice, be it marker, paintbrush, pen or my personally preferred choice, colour pencil.

LONGUINHOS BAR AND RESTAURANT, MARGAO