Best Seafood Restaurant In Goa? Souza Lobo Calangute Wins Hands Down!

PANAJI: If you are looking for a reasonably priced seafood restaurant in Goa, serving a variety of Goan, Indian, Chinese and fusion cuisine, particularly in North Goa; without a second thought head off to Calangute beach, to the 90-year-young Souza Lobo restaurant.

This iconic Goan restaurant is an institution in itself, having been around for over 90 years and now managed by the third-generation owners in the same family, it lives by its motto – traditional recipes live here.

It is definitely the best place for authentic Goan food, particularly seafood dishes and other cuisines like Indian, Chinese and even continental dishes are the best you can get in Goa. Souza Lobo is also featured among India’s 100 Best Seafood Restaurants – a coveted distinction for the otherwise simple Goan restaurant.

We chose Souza Lobo for several reasons and permit us to elaborate on them one by one.

First: the restaurant serves a variety of fresh seafood (depending on season and availability) including clams, oysters, crabs, lobster, a option of prawns (variety in size and source like ocean-based or fresh water-based), squids and not to forget the most sought after Kingfish (Surmai), Giant Sea Perch or Asian Sea Bass (Chonak in Goa), Red Snapper, Grey Mullet (Shevto), Silver and Black Pomfrets, Mackerels (bangdo) and at least half a dozen more, including a lot of local Goan fish.

Unlike some other seafood restaurants in Goa, which specialize in a few or limited variety of seafood like crabs, prawns, etc., Souza Lobo offers you almost every seafood item that is available in the waters around the Goan coast.

Second: one can order and get authentic traditional Goan curries and seafood dishes like crab xacuti, crab xec xec, prawn balchao (pickled prawns), Goan prawn curry, recheado bangdo, recheado prawns, recheado pomfret, etc., or go for Indian dishes like tandoori crab, tandoori Red Snapper, fish tikka, crab masala, etc., or even choose among international and continental preparations like Lobster Thermidor, Baked Crabs, Butter Garlic Stuffed Lobster, Tuna salads and the works. The same seafood or fish is available in various cuisines and presentations.

Souza Lobo does a variety of vegetarian dishes as well and the Mushroom xacuti is an absolute delight.

Third: each cuisine and the flavour, taste and preparation that goes with it are authentic and the chefs are so well trained that be it Goan recheado bangdo and crab xacuti or Baked crabs and Lobster Thermidor or for that matter Punjabi fish tikka – one can get the original taste and flavor of the dish as though you were dining in a speciality restaurant serving only that particular cuisine.

Fourth: Most importantly, the seafood items served at Souza Lobo are freshly caught and direct from the ocean to your plate. They normally don’t serve or cook frozen seafood purchased from other Indian states. Most of the seafood served at Souza Lobo is local Goan catch and the restaurant actually has a dedicated team of fisherfolk who get their daily supply of seafood from the waters around the Goan coast.

There are several more reasons why we chose Souza Lobo as the best seafood restaurant in the coastal state.

Desserts: besides authentic, traditional Goan cuisine and a variety of other food and cuisine options mentioned above, the restaurant has a fantastic choice of desserts for those with a sweet tooth. From the Goan-Portuguese pudding Serradura to the caramel-filled,12-layered sweet cake Bibinca, often referred to as the ‘queen of desserts’ in Goa and the simple custard, there are several dessert options on the Souza Lobo menu.

Ambience: it is typical Goan structure of the early 1930s, without much fanfare, non fussy, no psychedelic lights, or expensive foreign art (the restaurant does have paintings of Goan folk lore) or huge crystal chandeliers, but instead a Mangalore-tiled roof with original teak wood framework and a very Goan warmth and feel.

Service: the staff are well-trained, courteous and helpful and go out of the way to ensure that your dining experience is perfect.

Bar: the restaurant has a well-stocked bar with some of the finest local and international wines, champagnes, sparking wines and other alcoholic beverages including the local Goan Port Wine and Urrak and Feni; and its in-house team of mixologists are experts at putting together some fabulous cocktails and mocktails as well as coolers and beverages to go with your choice of food.

Music & Entertainment: the restaurant is primarily a Goan, seafood restaurant that also serves meats, poultry and pork dishes in various cuisines, but recognises the fact that food is paramount. There is no loud distractive music (DJs and local bands are in attendance on weekends and the occasional musical gig and karaoke not withstanding) and good food and the perfect dining experience is what you should visit Souza Lobo for.