Sipping on kokum feni: Goa’s new restaurants are now wooing locals with creative regional menus
The Hindu
Goa’s international tourists and backpackers have been replaced by an influx of inward-looking Indian travellers, work-cationers and staycationers since March 2020. The result: stylish, responsible restaurants with inventive, regional menus. Here is a primer for your next vacation, punctuated with feni cocktails
Prior to the pandemic, Goa welcomed approximately 90 lakh tourists, including around nine lakh foreigners, per year. But from March 2020, foreign tourists have paused. Backpackers and party chasers have given way to long-stay tourists, many escaping the claustrophobia of locked-down cities to rent villas by the beach for months.
While restaurants across the country began to close down, Goa witnessed the rise of stylish, responsible restaurants, focussing on local menus and finding inventive ways to put a spin on tradition, keeping in mind the change of tourists.