Located beside nightlife fave Thalassa, and overlooking the same handsome (but environmentally savaged) stretch of Vagator Beach in north Goa is new beach club and restaurant Antares. Fronted by Sarah Todd, of MasterChef pedigree, it opened last week. Sea breeze wafts through its casual chic décor – all cane and bamboo – while the music is distinctly lacking (if you asked a maiden aunt what young people listen to this compilation crawl would surface). Thankfully, my meal was glorious. Mushroom rillettes – sumptuous, secular, sublime. Charred eggplant sides, total winner, throw in some more (hung?) yoghurt and pomegranate please. Pumpkin tortellini came up dancing with its base of toasted pecans. The barbeque prawns didn’t sit with me (tandoori mix!) but I can imagine the back-slapping and high-fiving set of Delhi visitors might order repeats. Besides, if you’re doing most things right you’re allowed to sell out just a bit. My red snapper was light and clean, harking back to the overall mood of Australian cuisine that it draws from California nouvelle but then has more fun with it. Goa seriously lacks a gourmet haunt – most peeps are content with calamari on the coast with badass beer. Antares does not really file in at A for fine dining but it comes pretty damn close to filling a space. But, please, can your music not age me so quickly?
Meal for two costs Rs 4,000. Antares, Small Vagator, Ozran, Vagator, Goa. info@anataresgoa.com
