Sea Shells by James — Restaurant in Goa

Visit No.1: Visited during a very rainy evening of August. It's tucked in the bylanes of Bambolim near the rocky shores, very close to some five star resorts. Non AC place, well covered but there was enough breeze by the open sea next door & fans to keep it cool inside with zero flies. The interiors were well lit up, the decor was classy & had rattan, teak, bamboo furniture & fixtures in shades of light wood. The crockery was elite as was the crowd. There was Live music & the young band was amazing, really set the mood with a mix of old, new English genre & few Goan folk songs. Very few places offer Live music in off season in this part of Goa. The food was well presented, good portion sizes & very delicious. We had Masala Papads, Spinach Mushroom soup, the Pesto penne pasta, Chicken madrasi with apam with some mocktails. They were served quick & with a smile. The rates are reasonable with dishes averaging out to Four hundred per dish & there was no extra service charge levied. It was a wonderful experience & would definitely recommend to all, especially families.

Visit No.2: Again visited with friends on September end. Everything is the same as above. This time we danced as well. The live music is really good. The lead singer even came to our table to ask if we were having a good time & our choice of music. The staff is extra sweet & took really good care of us. Saw some charming old couples dance as well. Food was excellent, even Serra Dura was amazing! An evening very well spent. Every rupee spent here is worth its value for the fond...

This place is good only if you prioritise ambience over the food taste and quality.

Food overall is over priced especially when you compare with the portion size served. The chicken roast was average in taste and the chicken pieces in it were not nice and not well cooked. Ordered for spaghetti for the kids. The portion size was disappointing and so was the taste. The kids ate it anyways coz they were so hungry…feeling sorry for them.

Cocktails were way below average and again quite pricey. If you are charging 450/- for most of the cocktails in the menu, at least keep a good bar tender ! The coconut daiquiri was quite a disaster. The quality and quantity of the cocktails should be a given a serious thought especially when you are serving mostly local Goans. We know what cocktails taste like. You can’t take people for a ride like this. The Urrak costed 200/- and it was so poorly made, it really made my heart cry!

The manager ( I suppose ) tried to make up by offering a discount on the bill. I do appreciate his genuine gesture. But instead of giving a discount after customer expresses their disappointment, it’s better to read customer reviews and improvise on it.

I don’t think I will visits this place again. There are may better serving local restaurants. Just good ambience alone cannot bring back your customers. ( live band is a good thing but also annoying sometimes as one cannot have a normal conversation with people at their own table ) You need to focus on food quality and keep a good balance of pricing and portion...

We visited yesterday for Dinner and were a group of 6 people.

We ordered some Fish fry, Fish masala fry, prawns rava fry, Calamari rings, chicken cafreal and much more.

The quality and taste of the food is really good. Service was quick. However, The menu is definitely overpriced, there are many more outlets servicing more portion size for the same cost.

A major let down was that after the entire meal for six people , we were left with some rice which we did not want to pack.

We requested for some additional curry ( any) to help finish the rice. The waiter and the manager of the restaurant were adamant that there was no option to get just a small bowl of curry and made us take an entire portion of fish curry ( which was obviously too much for the rice ) - I found this to be not a very customer friendly approach and that too to guests who’ve Already had a hefty bill of 9000+ Rs

This money minded and unfriendly approach towards customers has to change , else you will not make loyal customers . I for sure won’t come back even though the meal was satisfactory.

Hope this serves as a heads up to others intending to...