Edit – Martin’s Restaurant has permanently closed down.
Martins Restaurant, not to be confused with Martins Corner, is located right in the heart of Margao, at the intersection of three roads. With the manic Margao traffic, parking during the afternoons may be tricky, however, the few shops across the street down their shutters for lunch break, opening up a few spots for parking. And if you’re lucky, you’ll score a spot to park. If not, do what I did and go around the building in front of Martin’s Restaurant, up to the back road.
About Martin’s Restaurant
This family-run restaurant has racked up quite a following in the last decade of being in business. While today, there are plenty of restaurants in Margao that serve up Continental Fare, when Martin’s Restaurant first started out, it was slim pickings. But what I loved about the place is that they don’t rely on past fame – the restaurant changes with the times, introducing new additions to the menu, experimenting with old favourites; and when I visited, they even had a lounge bar under construction upstairs to cater to their younger clientele, for whom proper sit down dinners can be stuffy.
Martins Restaurant has a simple, family-style ambience. The tables are set close together, a beautiful wine and whiskey rack adds to the charm, and a bar section to add a bit of colour to the space is all that this cosy restaurant holds. Service is warm and friendly and while they have an extensive menu, the no-nonsense fare is well-presented. The menu, in fact, has been inspired by the travels of the owners, and hence, there’s a little Asian food on it, too.
The Food
The first dish I sampled set the tone and how! Goan-styled grilled prawns were juicy, flavour-packed and the Piri Piri spice was lip-smacking! It even came with a small vial of Piri Piri sauce if you like it extra spicy! If you visit, this should be one of the dishes you order.
Next, we tucked into deliciously warm potstickers! For those who don’t know the difference between potstickers and dumplings, potstickers are generally a tad crispier because when they’re boiled in water until the water evaporates and they literally stick to the pot, giving it slight crispiness, unlike dumplings that are soft all around. Martin’s Restaurant Pot Stickers are perfect pockets of doughy goodness – soft and generously filled with mildly spiced meat, but I’d have liked it to have been slightly crispy at the bottom! So filling were they, that I felt I couldn’t eat anything more for lunch, but I hadn’t even started on the main course yet.
I really wasn’t expecting a bowl of Pho to be placed in front of me, next! This Vietnamese street food delicacy consisted of rice noodles in a bowlful of intricately seasoned broth, with slivers of beef and a veritable garden of greenery. The last time I had really good Pho was in Chinatown, Ontario, and this spiced, but not spicy soup was just as soulful, fresh and fragrant.
What Martin’s Restaurant is really popular for is their Steak On Stone concept – where a chicken or beef steak is marinated in your choice of seasoning and cooked on your table on a sizzling hot lava stone. Watching the meat turn from pink to a golden-brown is next-level satisfying and is definitely a memorable part of a meal. I opted for chicken in garlic butter and even the last juicy bite was as hot and delicious as the first one. Keep in mind that this is a one-person meal and would be too small to share, even with the veggies and mashed potatoes.
Was I done eating? Nope! Bring on the tenderloin steak. That’s yet another dish that has patrons raving at Martin’s Corner for its said to be one of the best steakhouses in South Goa. Carne-loving folk, tuck that napkin under your chin and slice into a steak cooked the way you like it. The velvety mashed potato and herb butter served alongside make it impossible to resist. Perhaps some Pan Jus would have made it a tad better and sealed the deal.
The highlight
Where there’s smoke, there’s flavour… at least in the dining department! The smoked Chonak (Giant Sea Perch) was hands down the dish of the day at this Margao Restaurant! Beautifully seasoned on a bed of herbs, it is infused with all the flavours of sweet-citrusy-smelling wood and is served with a side of garlic sauce. Highly recommended!
I was absolutely floored with their Sera Durra and could have ordered another if I wasn’t so full. Unlike many Sera Durras that I’ve tasted in restaurants around my house, the cream had actual flavour and it we couldn’t have eaten it any faster.
Safe to say that my 2-hour drive from Saligao to Margao was worth it, what do you think? I’m doing my best to explore more of South Goa restaurants this time around and will be back next week with another great restaurant from Palolem that does a great Indian-fusion menu. Look out for that! Until then, check out Pink Flamingo in Candolim and Mojigao in Assagao in the meantime.
Toodles!