Goa’s celebrity chefs, mixologists, brewers, restaurateurs, and tea house owners recommend the best experiences in India’s paradise island state this December. It is party time, folks!
Image: Shutterstock/Monstar Studio.
Christmas and New Year’s eve in Goa are the best things to happen, ever. With parties, soirees, feasts, and more on your daily calendar, life really couldn’t be more exciting. The festive vibe in the air is also accentuated by the fact that 2022 has seen an unprecedented number of new restaurants and bars opening in Goa, offering different cuisines, curated cocktails, and the promise of a good time. So let our experts tell you where to head to — from the best watering holes and restaurants to Christmas dances and midnight Mass.
Ralph Prazeres, chef and owner, Padaria Prazeres
Favourite restaurant of 2022: Raki in Miramar. It really raised the bar for the food scene in Goa. The view, ambiance, and food is just right.
Must-try: Everything is great. I love the hummus and the kebabs, which are cooked perfectly well and juicy.
Christmas celebration: Attend the dances at Emerald Lawns — we used to really look forward to this, years back. So many familiar faces and good vibes. The best part was going to Cafe Bhonsle at 6 am, half drunk!
Gracian de Souza, chef and partner, The Village Bistro
Favourite restaurant of 2022: Isabella’s because of the passion that’s gone into the project.
Must-try: Fabada. It has my favourite meat (pork) and is a great winter dish made with Spanish chorizo and white beans (vaal).
Christmas celebration: Attend a Christmas dance at Cansa Recreation Club after midnight Mass.
Kasturi Banerjee, founder and director, Stilldistilling Spirits
Favourite bar of 2022: I liked Hosa in Siolim. I was impressed with their bar team’s knowledge, the quality of cocktails, and the versatile menu. The food was also well done, and the interiors stood out.
Must-try: My beverage pick here would be the Three Dots and a Dash cocktail.
Christmas celebration: During the day, you must visit a few churches, indulge in mouth-watering local food, and try some Feni. Then, head to Vagator in the evening for an energetic night out.
Swati Sharma, co-founder, Blind Gilt Cocktail Mixers
Favourite restaurant/bar of 2022: SOPO, which is possibly the only place that serves Burmese food. Very friendly vibe and the food tasted good.
Must-try: 2 Step — it’s a tequila-based drink and the perfect balance of sweet and sour.
Christmas/New Year celebration: Spice trails in Ponda, which includes a walk around some of the oldest spice farms in the state.
Snigdha Manchanda, tea sommelier and founder, Tea Trunk
Favourite restaurant of 2022: While eating out in Goa I am looking for comfort food I can go back to. Larder & Folk is my pick! Sammies, noodles, and a slice of chocolate cake, which reminds me of my childhood birthday cake, is the best thing that’s happened this side of the bridge (Panjim).
Must-try: The Dan Dan Noodles + Hibiscus Iced tea.
Christmas celebration: A few years ago, I spent Christmas Eve at Our Lady of the Cape, a 17th century chapel located inside Raj Bhavan. It is not accessible to the public, but you can sign up as a visitor in advance and make a request to attend the midnight mass. This white and gold chapel situated right at the top of the cliff has a stunning view of the sea and the Mandovi River and it’s a jolly way to bring in Christmas on a cliff.
Keshav Prakash, founder, Vault Fine Spirits
Favourite bar of 2022: Peter Tavern. It’s my local dram house. The Goa that we used to like, as tourists, was all about casual and fun drinking. This is that place: It is a very chilled out place, run by a Goan family who cook their own food. They serve generous portions of snacks and a good mix of Goan and Chinese fare.
Must-try: Cashew feni.They source their feni from a local bhatti, and serve it in a classic way.
Christmas celebration: Walk the small streets of villages and look at the different cribs, especially in areas like Fontainhas. Visit the churches, not from a religious angle but from a cultural angle. They come to life in this season, with a fresh coat of paint and decorations. Pick your church and visit on Eve or Christmas day. Another option is to kayak the backwaters, near Olaulim.
Radhika Khandelwal, chef-owner, Radish Hospitality Pvt Ltd (of Fig & Maple)
Favourite restaurant of 2022: My two favourite restaurants in Goa are Cantare and Club Nacionale, I love the old school menu and the vibe. I have managed to go to Cantare on multiple Jazz nights on Mondays and Club Nacionale on Karaoke nights where one would find people of all ages singing.
Must-try: The tongue at Club Nacionale is my absolute favourite, and the cafreal at Cantare is a good one.
Christmas celebration: This is my first Christmas in Goa and I’m looking forward to going for midnight mass at Basilica of Bom Jesus — one of India’s oldest churches and watching the old man burning — a tradition in most villages in Goa where they create effigies with old clothes and hay and burn it to bid goodbye to the old year and to make way for the new year.
Kshitij Goel, beverage director, W Goa
Favourite bar of 2022: Guilté is a new space that has opened up recently in Assagao, serving some innovative concepts like One Sip Martini and a crazy take on signature serves. Also, their food is just the cherry on top.
Must-try: The Melon Gimlet is one of the easy drinks in terms of recipe yet unique and tough to get the balance right. What I loved about this creation is not just the balance; the after-taste of melon is very approachable and hard to forget.
Christmas/New Year celebrations: A Christmas must-do in Goa is the Christmas service at Siolim Church. Also, one can go for lunch to the newly opened Hosa which is just opposite to church.
Shubham Khanna, founder, GinGin
Favourite bar of 2022: Slow Tide. It’s a beautiful place, beautiful view, lovely people, the cocktails and food are also very good, and it is also a pleasant change to the daily-opening subpar places in Goa. Additionally, For The Record-Vinyl Bar (FTR), even though it’s not a new place, has seen many changes.
Must-try: Acid Erik, at Slow tide and Djinn at FTR. Both play on my love for Watermelon and white spirit(s). Acid Erik comes very close to the Midnight Brekkie at former Tesouro, but with the added funk of tequila; Djinn at FTR is something that has evolved with GinGin for the better over the course of this year.
New Year celebration: Just like every year, this NY too, I will go AWOL. It’s the only day when I can afford to not pick up calls and not see people and disconnect from the normal hustle and just go trek to a waterfall and have like a solo picnic. Goa has plenty of those, you just need to take the plunge and take on the adventure to explore these unknown or lesser-known spots. If nothing, a foraging on the Socorro plateau is also a good way to start the new year.
Avinash Martins, chef and founder, Cavatina and Table in the Hills
Favourite restaurant of 2022: It’s not a restaurant but she’s a home cook and hosts people for lunches at her home. Her name is Agnes D’Sa and she’s from Divar. I’ve had one of the best meals at her place.
Must-try: Meat-based dishes, like roast tongue. Her son had also served this excellent infused drink with feni.
New Year celebration: I celebrate New Year at my farm with friends. It’s best to do your own little thing. In terms of food, we do BBQ, and for drinks, we make our own concoctions.
Nakul Bhonsle, founder of Great State Aleworks and co-founder, Half Pint taproom
Favourite bar of 2022: Cajy Bar. For me, this is the quintessential Goan dive bar. Truly and literally family run with a feature that I personally love in a bar: Self-service. Home cooked food, comfort music, no service yet great hospitality. Minimal. Great vibes. Always good people around in a relaxed atmosphere.
Must-try: Eligio’s (one of the owners) special Cabo shot. Apart from being a delicious drink, Eli wings it each time with the measurements. If you are lucky, you get four shots when you ordered three, and likely Eligio joins you for one. Also, I love a crisp New England IPA that’s on tap.
Christmas celebration: A Christmas feast at the Goan Kitchen, Margao. I’ve heard so much about this place and I know (without ever eating here) that it will hold up to the hype. The prospect of discovering lesser known Goan food, the stuff that’s cooked in home kitchens but seldom available in restaurants, is too tempting.
Raghav Bahl, co-owner, Juju and Beleza by the Beach
Favourite bar of 2022: Goa has firmly put itself on the Indian culinary map. If I had to pick one experience that I remember and really enjoyed, it was the new bar, The Edge at Alila Diwa. The ambience is vibrant yet idyllic. The cocktails are cutting edge and it’s a wonderful space to relax.
Must-try: My favourite cocktail at The Edge is the Goan Spritzer with Cashew Feni, cranberry, rosemary, and peach.
Christmas/New Year celebrations: As a family, we try and do many outdoor activities in December like taking a ferry out to Chorao Island, which is home to the Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary. In winter, a host of migratory birds stop by this unspoilt bit of mangrove estuary. It’s a spectacle to experience.
Arijit Bose, co-founder, Countertop India
Favourite bar of 2022: I am a man of cocktails and bars and my way of navigating the world is through said bars. One of them is Hideaway. The music, vibe, and food match what both the guys have achieved with the drinks program and it is never a bad idea to go there. Notable mentions for me this year are also The Edge at Alila Diwa, and the Izumi bar team and the food, not to mention the handle on classics that the SOPO team has.
Must-try: Any drink that Hideaway dished out is above the accepted average in Goa bar scene. I would recommend going through the whole menu. Primavera is Scotch mixed with dark espresso honey, tiramisu, and coffee liquor. It’s a post dinner ‘no brainer’ pick me up. I usually order a southside which is Gin with mint, lime, and sugar or if I feel fancy it’s the Pisco sour.
Read more.
8 Must-try traditional Goan desserts from Taj Aguada, Goa, for your Christmas celebrations
Hosa Goa brings slow dining to the new-age hippie Siolim neighbourhood
An insider’s guide to celebrating Christmas in Goa