Food Review: Goa Portuguesa-- Goa in Mumbai

Rating: 2
Meal for two: Rs 1,200 to Rs 1,500

Goa Portuguesa -- SVP Nagar, Lokhandwala Road, 4 Bungalows,  Andheri West. Phone: 26313222

A visit to this restaurant, which specialises in fiery Portuguese-inspired dishes, is almost as good as making a trip to Goa. The restaurant is decorated traditionally to give the feel of an Indo Portuguese culture, with folk music and guitar-strumming musicians and singers wander between the two connected spaces.

The moment you enter you are greeted with an ambience, which seems to be telling you that fine dining is not meant for Goa. It is the complete opposite of a fine dining restaurant with its bright lightning, waiters in loud and colourful attire, jolly music and of course, the restaurant’s ‘Captain.’

We had heard great reviews about the place and were waiting to try the delicacies. So we started with Cream of Chicken soup and Canja De Galinha (Goan specialty) and called for Chicken Bali Bali as our starter. The soup was appetising and yummy, the chicken flavours and the coriander flavour in Canja De Galinha blended well and left an aromatic flavor on our taste buds. But the Chicken Bali Bali was a gravy dish, which failed to impress us.

The gravy was too spicy and we could actually feel and taste all the spices that went into the making of this dish.

Instead of wine we called for Kokum sarbat and Sol Kadi… both were refreshing and soothing.

Moving on to the food, the menu at Goa Portuguesa dispels the most common myth that Goan food is mostly seafood.

You will find non-vegetarian as well as vegetarian food in abundance. We started off with a Chicken Vindaloo, which had a spicy gravy and steamed rice perfect for the monsoon. As desired, the gravy was fire-red, not too vinegary and quite delicious with chicken soft and chewy. The main course was delightful!

We ended our meal with a Chocolate Brownie which came with liquidy chocolate sauce which tasted like liquid malt drink.

Overall, Goa Portuguesa was a pleasant experience with courteous staff and serenading live music.