SAMRUD RESTAURANT — Restaurant in Goa

It's been a year since I spotted this restaurant near my house. An advertisement featuring Vasanti actor Rajdeep Naik piqued my curiosity, so I decided to pay it a visit. Despite being within walking distance, laziness prevailed, and we went by car.

Being an internal road, parking is a challenge. Street parking is available, and luckily, we snagged a spot easily since we arrived early. It can get crowded later, so keep that in mind.

Upon entering, a large mirror on the opposite wall created an initial illusion of a packed space. Thankfully, this wasn't the case. We were warmly greeted by a kind lady, who I presumed to be the owner, and promptly asked about our order.

The restaurant has a limited seating area, with perhaps five four-seater tables and one larger table inside, with additional seating outside. The wooden chairs were comfortable, and the ambience was pleasant. Tables were adorned with tissue boxes and salt & pepper shakers. While a TV was present, it remained off. Two AC units and a ceiling fan kept the place cool. There were also two security cameras, although one was obstructed by a refrigerator.

The one element that caused some discomfort was the large mirror. Looking straight ahead, I found myself unintentionally making eye contact with other diners. Another point to note is that the restaurant seems to be understaffed. The owner herself cooks, and there is another hardworking waiter and while they puts in a tremendous effort to ensure everything runs smoothly, it's evident they are overburdened. We witnessed a customer leave during our visit, the reason for which remained unclear.

As the evening progressed, the restaurant did get busier, and with it came the inevitable "hungry zombie" effect – patrons waiting for a table, which added to the feeling of waiting.

Now, onto the food! We opted for a thali and fresh lime soda. The thali included a delicious shevyo, decent rice, a curry with a sour tinge (likely due to the use of kokum and Goan chilies), and a hit-and-miss selection of other dishes. The tamosa was fresh (at first we felt it’s some different fish but it was Gowty version of same), well-marinated, and the star of the thali. Bhaji was a letdown though, while the clams were nicely and decent. Prawns kismoor was little watery didn’t like it much. The cost of the tamosa fish special thali was ₹300 (which is okay as compared to other yet since I am customer I would want it cheaper, but can’t complain about the Government) and the fresh lime soda was ₹40, both reasonable.

The highlight of this restaurant is the distinct home-cooked taste of the food. The portions left me feeling comfortably satisfied, not overly full as can sometimes happen with restaurant meals. This leads me to believe they avoid using excessive oil or soda in their cooking, making everything taste fresh. This is regarding Thali I didn’t try other things. They offer free delivery.

In my opinion, with additional staff and bigger place this restaurant has the potential to truly excel. The owner's hard work is evident, but being spread thin can take a toll. The waiting time was around 30 minutes, which is kind of acceptable, but I believe the strategically placed mirror amplified the perception of a longer wait. Also I can’t comment on hungry zombies who were waiting for their entry in all May take longer.

Overall, this restaurant offers a unique experience – a taste of home-cooked Goan fare in a casual setting. With some adjustments, it has the potential to become a...

Our recent dining experience was extremely disappointing. The restaurant's understaffing is alarming, with no one attending the bill counter, seemingly indifferent to customer arrivals and departures. Our order of fresh lime soda, five thalis, and two starters was taken after a 15-minute wait. The first starter arrived an hour later, followed by three thalis and four fresh lime sodas after an hour and 45 minutes. However, I received my thali only after two hours. Dining out as a family is about sharing quality time, but this experience fell short. We come to restaurant as a family to spend time together to eat together.What's the point if you'll can't serve the entire family together??The food was okay The fish was fresh, the taste was very basic.And yes till the billing we didn't get our starter chicken Malaysian.All I want to say is when you have good response from people why don't you'll hire staff? Please value your customers.Valuing customers should...

We have visited Hotel Samrud two times so far. The food which is served here is finger-licking good. The quality and quantity both were very impressive. Mrs Sushma makes sure that you are fed the best food and greets every customer with so much enthusiasm and always has a smiling face. You must try their rava fried fish, prawns curry, crab Xec Xec, Malaysian chicken and green coriander chicken. Their Shravan veg thali was also really good. Best of...