The beach stretch from Bogmalo Beach Resort, in Vasco, to St Regis in Cavelossim is the longest in South Goa that has quietly been offering wellness, serenity, self-discovery and luxury to visitors since tourism hopped from the North to the South of Goa. In the beginning, there was a Fort Aguada Beach Resort in North Goa, and then appeared Bogmalo Beach Resort in the south. And, as the number of visitors kept increasing, the need for rooms saw the industry shift focus from the north to the south, though this occurred slowly.
“Goa has mostly been home to the middle income group of foreigners. If I am right, the fragrance was taken by the hippies, and once the smell spread all over the world, the demand grew,” recalls Francis Pereira, former primary supplier to most five-star resorts. “The standards set by high-end hotels were followed by the lesser starred hotels, with only a change in the quality of goods ordered,” recollects Pereira.
“Tourists demand a certain standard of hygiene and the concept was not new to us,” observes Pereira. From one luxury resort in South Goa, 12 more have bloomed in this 23 km stretch, which has seen restaurants mushrooming and fading, with few now able to tickle the palate with local fare. “Most chefs passing out from the institutes of hotel management in the State must be opting to work outside, or are absorbed by these resorts,” reasons hotelier, Godfrey Lawrence, as he tries to explain the lack of genuine local food offered in most restaurants.
The absence of local cuisine in many standalone restaurants could be sketchily understood through Anoosh Shinde’s observation, “We move out of our hotel to get a taste of our routine food. Most restaurants here employ boys from North India.” Nello’s in Bogmalo, Zebop in Utorda, Martin's Corner in Sernabatim, Pentagon in Majorda, and Gaffino’s in Cavelossim are the must-visit restaurants along the southern coastal belt.
Times are changing and with that, the fare served by these restaurants, with Martin’s Corner standing out for its consistency throughout the year. “We have been visiting Sunshine (name of the restaurant changed) for years, but found the quality of food bad this time. We have been told that the main staff has been sent on holiday,” shrugged Antonio Lobo.
“I need to send my staff on holiday during the monsoons when the season is down. It is unwise to operate with a full staff if the customer count drops to 10 percent,” explains the restaurateur on condition of anonymity. “It is ridiculous to try eating out after choosing to stay in a luxury hotel.
The food is hygienic, and I am sure they employ the best chefs because the Goan fish curry is yum,” retorts Farheen, as she opens a bottle of branded water purchased from the hotel. “Before we left for Goa, we were advised to go to a restaurant visited by the who’s who of India. The food was light, and not too heavy and the place was packed from the time we entered till we left," she continues.
"I did get the feel of the Goan ambience during dinner, and we were offered a cocktail of coconut feni ,” adds the lady from South India. The beaches dotted on the stretch from Bogmalo to Cavelossim see different colours of India soaking in the sunset before dinner. Where there are hotels, the guests can be seen letting the water kiss their feet or locals taking a break from the village humdrum.
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