Misfit — Restaurant in Goa

Bright little corner in one of the sleepy lanes of Saligao, and pretty popular by the looks of it. It’s split level and upstairs is the happening part, with balcony style seating. Like all Goan hot spots, this one too has its own set of regulars who swear by it. We had a weird experienc though. One of our friends was drinking a strange looking red wine so I asked her what it was. She said she had asked the waiter who told her it was a locally made red wine called Myra. When I took a sip I knew it wasn't a wine but some sort of wine mixer but in the meantime, the guy serving us went inside and returned confidently brandishing a bottle of Myra, a locally made red. Our friend seemed ok with her cloudy drink though so we went back to enjoying the evening. Later that night, as we were leaving, the person who owns/manages the place said it was time for a little confession - our friend had been drinking sangria all evening! It was left-over sangria from the previous evening chilled in a Myra bottle; the guy who served us didn’t know this and so had stuck to his guns. The lady didn’t even apologise or offer to discount that bill (as we were told later, she probably felt sangria is more expensive and therefore did us a favour). This episode left such a bad taste in our mouth we haven’t come...

There are a few places in Goa where you can experience some decent jazz music, Cantare is one of them. They have a full-fledged jazz band on Mondays this season. Except for Wednesday's, The other days of the week are made for by the duos, or smaller bands with the kind of versatility you'd look for in musicians for the type of ambience Cantare offers, moving slightly away from the typical jazz feel, but still maintaining originality.

Entertainment wins over the kitchen. The food can be improved, and I say this in all fairness as some dishes are prepared to perfection while some are not bad but are limited to neutrality. The Wholesome nachos, or the calamari, batter or garlic butter could be improved for example. The Thai green curry, on the other hand, had a standard of its own even though it could be debatable amongst those who prefer less coconut milk in it. Personally I loved it.

There's nothing like the ambience created with warm lighting coupled with dark coloured wood. The walls are kept adequately simple, delivering a classy feel by the bar.

The waiters are very professional and sufficiently friendly. Mr Richard does an excellent job making sure his guests are taken care of as a host and plays a considerable role in making Cantare a more welcoming...

We had heard that Cantare had good live music... And we were glad that we went here. The artist was really good and took some of our requests too.. Cantare, an old house converted into a restaurant.. It is located on the first floor accessed by a wooden staircase- elders might find it slightly difficult. In addition the washroom is on the ground floor.. So would cause a nuisance to those who might have to use it more often than others. They have three sitting areas.. One behind the stairs overlooking the farm (wadi), second the balcony overlooking the road, and third the indoors. The first is used for larger groups- it has the charm of an open outdoor sitting, with the harmony of toads and crickets.. But also the mosquitoes. Second is for couples, while the third can be flexible- especially during off season We were seated in the first, but then requested for change to the indoor sitting .. For mosquitoes and light.. We tried chilly pork sausages, prawn risois, thai curry, pois- regular as well as butter garlic version, Sorpotel.. Thai curries were really good with a perfect balance of cream and spice.. Pork sausages were good too.. But the sangria and the Capriosca were disappointing.. Service was good and prompt.. Mr. Shiv was in charge...