Yes, you read that right, and yes this does exist. Café Al Fresco by Bodega is a one-of-a-kind eatery, where the owner swears by food, wine, and sake, but doesn’t serve the latter two!
“Food. Wine. Sake. That is my life. There is nothing else that I think of or talk about. Nothing else. Ever.” On a hot October afternoon, I was being the pastor to Chef Vandana Naik’s confessed quiddities. Standing under a ginormous mahogany tree (some say, it is the only one in Goa) in Sunapranta Goa Centre for Arts, I was distracted by a rabble of butterflies sipping nectar out of dainty purple Buddleias. It was lunchtime for butterflies, the well-heeled, the hip, the plain Janes, the daggy and the dandy, the fop and the frumpy. All walking into Café Al Fresco by Bodega, a 40-something cover eatery unrolled around a century-old courtyard where a tall tree sits in the middle like a liege lord.
Of butterfly patches and red velvet cupcakes…
Café Al Fresco by Bodega is a decade-old, but I had never stepped in until a friend mentioned the butterfly patch, red velvet cupcake, Vietnamese coffee and the spoilt-for-choices sandwiches. I walked up the white stairs with bright indigo flounce, crossed a narrow corridor into the café owned by Vandana, a trained chef, who worked in New York City for 17 years before returning home to set up what she calls “a non-Goan, non-alcohol café with eclectic comfort food made with minimum use of processed food and a changing menu”.
On the table, a QR code beckoned. For long, orders were only accepted on Whatsapp. All one had to do it mention the table number with the code next to each item on the menu and the food was delivered to the table. Now, there’s a laminated menu, too, which is sanitized after every service. Men in black were hurrying around with the crowd favourites: Pesto chicken sourdough sandwich that is loaded with grilled tomato and mozzarella, mutton shakshuka, and salted caramel almond flour cake. But I am not a formulized gourmand — I neither have a sweet tooth nor do I eat meat.
Rejoice vegetarians, there’s plenty for you!
Unlike puny vegetarian options in several Goan restaurants and cafes, I had a million sandwiches to choose from: Cream cheese bagel sandwich, smashed creamy chickpea sandwich, hummus & roasted pumpkin, roasted egg plant and labne sandwich. Or, I could throw in other vegetarian alternatives: Jalapeno hummus with focaccia, cauliflower soup, grilled veggie with Asian sauce bowl, or a scrumptious garlic mushroom pasta. The bagel buff that I can be, lunch was cream cheese bagel sandwich stuffed with tomato, scallions and capers.
And ah! The eggs in Café Al Fresco by Bodega. Omelettes, scrambles, Benedicts, Turkish-style poached eggs (highly recommended) that come in various combinations: Spinach, feta, ham & cheese, smoked salmon, spicy shrimp.
Chewing on a crusty bagel, I was caught in a semantic squabble. In Spanish, a bodega is a wine shop/cellar but the Bodega that I was in served no alcohol. Irony! Vandana, who talks only wine and sake and has just completed her Level 2 wine course from London’s Wine and Spirit Education Trust (WSET), deliberately curated the no-alcohol, no-Goan dish menu.
Shuts by sunset, yet packs a punch…
“I wanted Café Al Fresco to be a day-time eatery that serves no alcohol and shuts by sunset,” Vandana said. And why no Goan dish (though Goan sausages do find a menu mention)? I asked the chef over an across seven-seas call. “With a degree from Culinary Institute of America (New York), I have only worked in NYC and when I returned home I did not want to start a Goan café. There are enough of those in town. Also, Japanese, Korean, and Mexican are my favourite cuisines. Hence, for this café I wanted an eclectic comfort food made with minimum use of processed food,” added Vandana who began her culinary entrepreneurial journey with a tea café in Fontainhas.
In the café, do not cry a river for the alcohol — there’s enough to slug it straight back. Vietnamese coffee, Bodega coffee (double shot espresso with coffee ice cream) café con gelato (single shot espresso with vanilla gelato), cappuccino,
berry smoothie, and homemade drinks including berry lemonade, mixed berry smoothie, lemonade, booch kambucha, fresh lime soda.
Nothing pre-mixed, it’s all about scratch-baking here!
Do not ignore the red velvet cupcake, sugar-free chocolate banana cake, and PBJ Cake (peanut butter jelly). Not merely because they are delish but more because Vandana was one of the pioneers of scratch-baking in Goa. In her kitchen, there is no shelf for pre-mixed mixes. “We try to make everything in-house, using the highest quality ingredients available in Goa,” she confirms with great pride, adding that they source a lot of local ingredients but also use imported ingredients.
It was still lunch time and men in black were still scurrying to lay quiches and chicken pomodoro pasta on long, short wooden tables. Still chewing the bagel sandwich, I remembered what George Bernard Shaw had said: “There is no love sincerer than the love of food.” In Café Al Fresco by Bodega, food is sincere. I’ll go back for that food. And also for the rabble of butterflies. And the ancient mahogany tree.
In conversation with the owner, Chef Vandana Naik
Tell me a little about yourself…
I have been a trained culinary professional since the last three decades. Graduating in culinary education, starting from Nirmala Niketan and Sophia polytechnic in Mumbai and the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York. I have worked in New York City for 17 years, in 3-star restaurants.
How long have you been working with Bodega?
I opened Bodega on September 3, 2012.
What was the basic brief for curating the menu?
Our style of menu is more eclectic comfort food with minimum use of processed food. We try to make everything in-house, using the highest quality ingredients available in Goa. Few items like ketchup are not possible to make due to the quality of tomatoes available.
What’s the crowd favourite?
Eggs benedict, Turkish style poached eggs, muttom shakshuka, and the all-time favourites red velvet cupcake and salted caramel almond cake.
What’s your favourite dish from the Bodega menu?
Blackeyed pea burger, vegan gluten free, sugar free chocolate banana cake.
Is there a demand for local Goan dishes?
We are not a Goan café. Our guests know that and they come for our unique menu items.
How sustainable is the produce to the table ecosystem?
Being in Goa it is always a challenge.
What percentage of ingredients is locally sourced?
We try to source as many local ingredients as possible, though we do use a lot of imported ingredients too.
What about the carbon footprint of imported goods, if any?
As availability of ingredients is neither easy and nor consistent, there is a certain amount of use of imported ingredients. I am not sure if that has any effect on the carbon footprint.
My leftover sandwich was wrapped in aluminium foil? Isn’t there a sustainable option?
I have asked Abhishek to look into it.
Overall rating: ⭐⭐⭐.5 (max 5 stars)
1-10 for the following:
Food: 3.5 | Service: 4 | Interiors/Décor: Plain Jane | Vibe: Casual in an old-world setting.
One dish we loved: Cream cheese bagel sandwich, mixed berry smoothie.
One thing that didn’t work for us: Cole slaw was too salty.
Good to know:
Address: 63/C-8, Altinho, Inside Sunapranta Goa Centre for Arts, Near Army House, Panaji, Goa 403001
Phone: 0832 242 1311
Timing: 10am to 6.30pm
Closed: Sunday
Instagram: @cafebodegagoa
Service Options: Dine-in. Take away. Delivery only in Panjim
Alcohol served: No
Smoking allowed: Outside
Payment methods: Cash. Credit Card. UPI.
Disabled access: Yes
Dress code: No
Pet friendly: No