Godinho, a historic restaurant

Feasting on Portuguese and Indigenous Goan flavours, relive the calm and quiet of a time long gone by, writes Bunny Suraiya

It’s 1938.

A young couple in their 20s make the long journey from the little southern village of Curtorim, up the length of their tiny country of Goa, to Panjim, the capital city in the north, to try their luck at making a better life for themselves. The young man is Antonio Salvador Godinho and his wife is Rosa Fernandes Godinho. Foodies both, long before the term was coined, they set up a small eatery near the Panjim Residency. Perhaps to their surprise or perhaps in accordance with their expectations, the food they serve is a hit with the officers of the colonising power, Portugal. They decide to move to bigger premises, and on November 4, 1938, Godinho the restaurant as it stands today, came into being on Rua Ormuz in Panjim.

It was the only restaurant of note in the area, and soon Antonio Salvador counted the Governor of Goa as one of his regular patrons, who threw lavish dinners at the restaurant, enjoying the Luso-Goan cuisine – a blend of Portuguese and indigenous Goan flavours. The Portuguese, who brought chillies from Mozambique and introduced them into Goa, and thence to British India, had a decided preference for spicy food, so the Goan spice flavours melded into their Luso cuisine suited them very well. Godinho prospered as a restaurant, the young Godinho couple were happy.

But there’s always another goal to reach. In order to boost the meagre population of their tiny colony, running like a green and gold ribbon with lush vegetation and sun-drenched beaches along the western border of British India, the Portuguese government promised a large cash prize to whichever family produced the greatest number of offspring! The Godinhos did their best but in her ninth pregnancy, in almost as many years, Rosa and her new-born infant passed away together, leaving Antonio Salvador with eight surviving children, and it was the youngest, Joao Nazareth Godinho, who took an interest in the restaurant.

Fast forward 86 years to the present day. Joao Nazareth’s two sons, Kenneth Armando Godinho and Kezer Godinho – the third generation of their family – run Godinho today.

Goa has changed much. Despite it having been liberated or invaded by India in 1961 (depending on one’s point of view) up until the 1980s, Goa was still very Portuguese and a closed book for Indians who had long been freed from the British Raj. Today, there is the constant honk of traffic. Hoardings scream ‘Niyaz’s Hyderabadi Biryani’ and ‘Sher-e-Punjab’ and ‘Navtara Pure Veg Restaurant’ and ‘Tamil Tiffin House’. Coaches come from Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat. Airplanes touch down every 10 minutes from Delhi, Kolkata and a dozen other cities and countries, carrying tourists shrill with dozens of different Indian and foreign tongues.

But inside Godinho the restaurant, there is the calm and quiet of a time long gone. There are Portuguese posters and football pennants as decorations.

The Virgin Mary smiles down at you from one wall holding the Christ child, while from the opposite wall, Antonio Salvador and Rosa Godinho, formally posed, preside over the restaurant they created more than half a century ago.

Kezer sits in the restaurant from opening till lunchtime, Kenneth from after lunch to dinnertime. Sometimes there is muted music to be heard. On the red-and-white checked tablecloths, traditional fare is served that evokes the history of this iconic restaurant. There are Goan specialities of course, like Mutton Xacuti, Pork Vindalho, Pork Sorpotel, Tisreo (Clams) Sooka, Chicken Cafreal, but there is also Beef Steak with an egg on top served with chips and salad. Suckling Pig can be ordered on special request (mainly mine) and, in remnants of the Portuguese menu, Beef and Pork Custelets, now renamed Beef and Pork Chops. A full bar, including sweet port from Portugal, is offered.

During my two weeks in Goa I visited Godinho three times. At my most recent lunch, we were a party of four. We ordered Papad stuffed with prawns, Beef Chops, a plate of french fries, Tisreo Sooka, Chonak (sea perch) Curry, Chonak Rawa Fry, Golden Fried Prawns, Prawn Curry with rice, some pois (Goan stretchy bread), a couple of beers and soft drinks. Of course, we couldn’t eat it all, but the waiter was happy to ‘parcel’ it for us, a much nicer term than doggy-bag. The prices are so reasonable that I once saw a student with his rucksack walk in and ask, “Can I get a lunch on 200 rupees?” He was welcomed like royalty and went away with a full stomach and a contented smile!

Godinho is more than a restaurant. It’s a way of life. Long may it endure.