Cavatina by Avinash Martins — Restaurant in Goa

An Enchanting Culinary Journey in South Goa!

Cavatina by Avinash Martins is an absolute delight, offering a chic ambiance and serving exquisite Goan cuisine.

Ambience: Stepping into Cavatina feels like entering a cozy and elegant retreat. The intimate setting, with seating for up to 35 people, creates a warm and inviting atmosphere. The tastefully chosen colors give a homely feel, making you instantly comfortable. The abundance of natural light streaming through large windows enhances the dining experience, making it a truly delightful spot for lunch.

Food & Service: I must applaud how the seamless harmony between food and service sets Cavatina apart. As a tourist unfamiliar with Goan cuisine, I was unsure of what to order from the menu. However, the staff at Cavatina proved to be the epitome of hospitality. Instead of being snobbish or judgmental, they were incredibly patient and understanding. They took the time to explain the menu in detail, offering recommendations tailored to our preferences and tastes. Their enthusiasm in sharing the history and ingredients of Goan cuisine was contagious, and it added to the overall enjoyment of the meal. I can confidently say that the waiting staff's service at Cavatina was the best I've ever experienced.

Now, onto the food – the real star of the show. While I may not remember the names of all the dishes we tried, I can assure you that each one was fantastic. Cavatina's kitchen excels in crafting unique and sumptuous dishes that we had never tasted before. The bold flavors and elegant presentation truly impressed us. Every dish was a delightful surprise, and it was evident that the culinary team poured their heart and soul into creating such masterpieces.

Pricing: Some may find the pricing to be on the higher side, but in my opinion, the experience offered at Cavatina justifies every penny spent. The exceptional service, the opportunity to indulge in authentic Goan cuisine, and the enchanting ambiance make it a worthwhile investment. You'll leave with unforgettable memories and a deep appreciation for the culinary wonders of Goa.

In conclusion, Cavatina was undoubtedly the highlight of our trip to Goa and stands as one of the best restaurants I've ever had the pleasure of visiting. From the cozy ambiance to the extraordinary service and outstanding food, it was a truly enchanting culinary journey. If you're seeking a memorable dining experience that introduces you to the flavors of Goa while being pampered by a genuinely wonderful staff, Cavatina is the place to be. My heartfelt thanks to the entire team for making our visit an...

Goan Local food at Cavatina Benaulim,Goa. Are you one of them who has evolved from fine dining food to experience based local food? If Yes Cavatina is the place you must visit. Why Cavatina? Well many reasons atleast for me it gave me an experience of my childhood food. Modern yet local and traditional.    Every dish is rooted to history and tradition including the local drink urak! The ingredients and produce used to make the dishes are sourced locally from local fishermen and farmers. Every dish has a story. We wanted to taste as much as we could from the menu and hence settled for  chefs tasting menu. The pav and poder both hold a very important place in the goan food scene. And I am glad I could experience poder poder ponk ponk the dish that serves pav, day before left over curry ( it's a delicacy) and salsa to add tang to the dish. The bisque was a delicate crab xec xec with tender crab meet to bite into. The flavour was  subtle and delicate. Local inspired spanakopita was a beautiful mix of thamdi bajji ( red amaranth) cashew butter in delicate phyllo sheet. This beautiful piece of food art was served on a old roof tile. The rice pancake stiffed with prawn masala was a bite into burst of Goan flavour. Betul has the best rock crabs that were used to make Kulli ( crab) cutlets with canacona chilli served on a bed of  avocado chili mole. The mole has a awesome native pickle flavour. The chicken cafreal served with quail eggs on a nest of potato crispy is a beautiful tribute to the most famous goan dish cafreal! Hay smoked mackerel served on toasted bread and topped with salted raw mango took me back to my school days. Patra de Goa has delicate seabass wrapped  with green masala in a banana leaf the in-house mashed pumpkin  cashew and red amaranth adds colour and flavour to the dish. The Red boiled rice with the prawn gravy served with a splash of burnt feni is every  goans dream come true! Everything good has to have a sweet ending and oh my gaud! Literally this cheese cake that is made using gaud ( jaggery)  had that amazing smoked flavour of jaggery and every thing nice! The raw honey flan had the perfect sweetness, flavour and texture! The in-house made salted caramel icecream was nothing that I have had before! Goan food and flavours made using only local produce. Dining at Cavatina means getting a true Goan experience with loads of food history and stories! Chef Avinash is holding on to his roots and giving goans and tourist who are visiting Goa a true...

Hi Folks... Went to Cavatina by Avinash Martin's on a rainy afternoon in week 1 in July '23. It was a spur of the moment decision at 1 pm. We called the restaurant and they had tables available in walk in. We were staying in Varca, so the restaurant which is close to Taj Exotica, was just 2 km away.

Three things which struck me about Cavatina's after I visited it

A) The place is warm and cozy. There are about 6-7 tables. The interiors are done up well. The large glass windows allowed us to absorb the greenery outside. The staff were knowledgeable about the food and were attentive to our table.

B) The food is presented very well.. all instagrammable. I liked the way the Ros Omelette was presented in a small trolley. The Cafreal nest was presented on a tree branch and the Cavatina cigars were presented in a cigar box. Also a lot of infused feni drinks.

C) The food was tasty. You feel like trying a lot of the dishes as they are not the usual items you see at other places.

Below are some interesting tidbits I picked up on the net about Chef Avinash --

In Chef Avinash's words: he wants to tell the story of Goan food that has never been told before

The chef is creative with Goan food, but not the regular perception of it, which is limited to vindaloo, cafreal and xacuti. He dug deeper, understood the cuisine of the Saraswat community and the Bahujans. He traversed back a few decades to the aboriginals of Goa — the Velips, Gawda and Kunbi tribes — who were nomads and went to different patches, grew and ate out of them. He tried to incorporate the confluence of flavours and food styles into showcasing what real Goan food is about

Below are some descriptions and stories about some of the dishes we had.

Spanakopita made with red amaranth or tambdi bhaji, available in abundance in Goa

Partra de Goa : banana leaf wrapped chonok (sea bass) with recheado verde and water chestnuts,

This is the story of the dish : Prawns who drank the Feni. The video of the table preparation is posted. There are so many things in common between Bengalis and Goans… football, music and love for fish,’ says Avinash. The chef, who spent six months in Kolkata, was inspired by Daab Chingri and created a dish called ‘Prawns who Drank the Feni’, which comes in a daab and is...