Vida restaurant by Tato's, Margao, Goa, March 2024

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Today, Lesley, Maria and the gang of Jaya, Viola and Roma are at a Margao restaurant that has been on our list for some time. Vida restaurant is by the Cafe Tato’s group, which also runs Petisco in Panjim and Masak in Patto. Since we love the food at Cafe Tato, we have been wanting to try Vida for a while

Costs we paid: brinjal bhart on chapati Rs 220, tambdi bhaji samosa Rs 220, assortment of phodis Rs 220, Goan fish thali Rs 320, kingfish rawa fry Rs 600, prawns masala fry Rs 490, beetroot, pineapple, pomegranate salad Rs 200, khadatli tora Rs 50, teesrio sukha Rs 280, veg Kolkapuri Rs 280, coco loco Rs 380, serradura Rs 200m kangachyo nevryo Rs 200

Vida is located right on the Margao bypass, very close to Gogol circle. In one direction is Gogol circle, with the left going to Raia Curtorim, right to Borda in Margao and straight to Aquem and Rawanfond. In the other direction is Arlem circle and Fatorda

Vida has a surprisingly fresh green look in the heart of Margao town. There are plenty of nice tables in the downstairs section. The upstairs section is also very green. We prefer to sit downstairs

Vida has quite an extensive menu with lots and lots to choose from. We opted mostly for the clearly Goan dishes, like the first three items in the starters: brinjal bhart on chapati (Rs 220), tambdi bhaji samosa (Rs 220) and assortment of phodis (Rs 220). We’ll also try khadatli tora as it is raw mango season

First up is the tambdi bhaji samosa (Rs 220), something we never heard of before. It was stuffed with very well made tambdi bhaji and all five of us enjoyed it. You can see the colour of the tambdi bhaji has seeped through

The khadatli tora was nice and fresh in the young mango season and very delicious. We enjoy this tora with pez and of course, just as a snack with urrac

And here are Vida’s assorted phodis (Rs 220). They served potato, banana and brinjal phodis. This is one of Maria’s favourite things: vegetable phodis. Everyone of course enjoyed the crisp fried stuff

Vida’s brinjal bhart on chapati (Rs 220) looks very delicious. Another great starter by Vida

Now to order our mains. Today we're having two fish thalis, kingfish rawa fry, prawns masala fry, veg Kolhapuri, plain naan, beetroot, pineapple and pomegranate salad, and teesrio sukha.

Despite the fancy gadget, the video shows that we have ordered the veg Kolhapuri for Jaya but they forgot to bring it and then claimed that we had not ordered it.

In mains, first comes the beetroot, pineapple and pomegranate salad (Rs 200), with more tora (Rs 50). Nice combo. Jaya, Viola and Maria enjoyed the salad a lot

Vida’s fish thali has modso, fish curry, ambot tik, kismur, cabbage bhaji, gulab jamun, salad, sal kari and rice. Our verdict on this place depends on how good the fish curry is. Viola likes it and that’s saying a lot. About the second curry, we thought it is ambot-tik (sour and hot fish curry), but it tasted more like balchao. Whatever it was, it was very tasty. We all loved it. The kismur was a bit soggy

Now the best time of the afternoon: teesrio time!. Viola found the teesrio too good. Maria and I also loved the teesrio sukha

One thing I don’t understand is why they don’t have a Goan veg thali when otherwise they make such good veg. The brinjal bhart, tambdi bhaji and assorted fodis in the starters were so tasty. Just add these to a rice plate with some dal, salad, papor and sal kadi, and you have a great Goan veg thali. Even the cabbage bhaji on the thali was tastier than the veg Kolhapuri

For the sweet ending, w must try something more here than the thali’s gulab jamun. We chose three Goan desserts: Coco loco, a coconut and feni sweet cocktail, serradura and kangachyo nevryo made with sweet potato

The sweet feni cocktail was very interesting. Roma approved of the serradura. She says it was nice and smooth and gave it 9 points out of 10

Then the kangachyo nevreo, which we are all very excited about, was so delicious. Viola noticed the lovely taste of ghee

We were five of us but Rs 5,755 is still quite a bomb of a bill, given we had no alcohol

Though Vida was quite expensive, the quality of the food was definitely good and portions very generous. Vida is a good place to go if you want to splurge on a special occasion. The restaurant has a very nice vibe

Music:
Wanderer's Trove / A Nightingale's Journey / courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com
Daniel Kaede / Marygold Spring, Forgotten Memories / courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com
Vendla / Rioverde / courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com