The Lazy Goose

Chef Rohan D’Souza’s restaurant The Lazy Goose serves delicious seafood, with fabulous views of the river.

Many addresses in Goa tend to give a general idea of their location, as few have door numbers or street names. So they might be ‘next to’, ‘above’, or ‘opposite’ a landmark or well known building.

This is how we found The Lazy Goose – located below the Nerul bridge. From Candolim, take the Candolim – Nerul road, cross the Nerul bridge, and after the vegetable seller stalls, take a left opposite the bus stop. Follow the road as it curves round, passing some buildings and a couple of fishing boats till you arrive under the bridge and along the river bank.

The Lazy Goose sits on the riverside, nestled among the mangroves with the most fabulous views of the river!

The Nerul river is popular for fishing, kayaking and boat rides, but this part is very peaceful and quiet.

Chef Rohan D’Souza opened The Lazy Goose in 2017. (On the same site as the old restaurant, Amigos.)

Having studied culinary skills at Southampton university, he has worked under celebrity chefs James Martin and Marco Pierre White, and has travelled extensively. Chef Rohan is highly regarded for his simple fusion food, in combining flavours from Europe and Asia.

Located among a cluster of mangroves, this is semi al fresco dining with a simple roof covering.

The evening was cool and a waiter brought some citronella sticks to keep the mosquitoes away. The décor, in keeping with its riverside location, is simple and fuss free with a boat hanging from the ceiling rafters and oars on the walls. There was a selection of 1980’s music playing, but some nights they have live music. It is informal and there is a wonderful Goan laid back vibe.

View of a boat on the river from the restaurant

The menu has a large selection of Seafood, Goan and continental dishes, so there is plenty to choose from.

We ordered the risotto balls to start with. They were fried with a filling of spinach and sun-dried tomatoes, served with a rather tasty truffle scented sweet chilly salsa.

We also had two very good flatbreads which would be perfect on their own for a light lunch. One had grilled chicken, jalapeño and coriander, baked with a spicy pizza sauce and roasted peppers. The base was perfect; thin, with a good bite and perfectly proportioned with toppings (unlike a flatbread I had somewhere in Mumbai which was far too heavy on toppings with a very soggy base).

flatbread with pieces of chicken on a wooden board

The other was a vegetarian stone-baked flatbread with a mushroom sauce, sun-dried tomato, spinach and chickpea. It was covered with a generous layer of mozzarella – absolutely delicious!

My daughter had the Kingfish steak which is my favourite whenever I’m in Goa. This was perfectly grilled, on a bed of creamy garlic spinach, with potato terrine and a small side salad. She was not keen on the warm tartar sauce, but the fish was delicious and she felt it didn’t really need it.

Grilled kingfish steak on a blue plate with salad

My mother had grilled fish with fries and a side salad. This was very fresh, nicely grilled with a lovely flavour and excellent!

blue platter with a whole grilled seabass, salad and fries

I had the grilled parmesan crusted chicken which was very tasty. It came with a serving of a good spicy potato mash, roasted vegetables, and a wild mushroom cappuccino. I preferred it without the mushroom cappuccino. The portions were quite large and although I enjoyed the flavours, this was a little heavy for me.

chicken with a side of mashed potato and roasted vegetables

The menu has a good selection of vegetarian dishes. My father is vegetarian and ordered a rather tasty Green Thai Vegetable curry which came with a portion of kaffir leaf scented rice.

white bowl of thai green curry and another of plain boiled rice

Portions are quite generous and we were fairly full, so we shared a couple of desserts.

Caramelised apple crème brûlée had a smooth custard with a wonderful vanilla flavour (vanilla grows very easily in Goa). The brûlée was a lovely caramel crunchy layer, topped with a delicious spiced roasted apple purée.

small bowl with creme brulee on a blue plate

The baked chocolate fondant had a molten centre and came with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. A perfect end the meal.

chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream on a brown plate

We were celebrating that evening and had a most enjoyable time with delicious food in a beautiful location. The staff were most attentive, and the manager very hospitable.

Chef Rohan has another restaurant in Goa, Toro Toro (on the Baga Arpura Creek Road), and several in Mumbai, including Estella in Juhu. I look forward to visiting them on my next visit!