An afternoon by the riverside

An afternoon by the riverside Terry’s restaurant offers not just a breath-taking view of the river Mandovi, but food that’ll keep you coming back for more, finds Cassandra D’Rosa Goa’s passing ‘winter’ calls for big meals. For some reason we find ourselves snacking on something or the other throughout the day. But if you want to go all out and eat your heart out, there’s one place that caters to big appetites, and that’s Terry’s.

Popular with the locals, Terry’s sees a healthy flow of visitors coming in throughout the year, mostly families or large groups. Just a year and a half old, anyone who’s been there has found a favourite and goes back time and again for it. Then there are those people who have grown to love the restaurant as a celebration spot for family and friends.

“People love coming here to celebrate occasions especially,” says restaurant manager John Lobo. Terry’s USP is certainly the close proximity to the river Mandovi and a large variety of food that you’ll be talking about even days after eating here, which is also why people rave about the place.

As a meat lover, I have personally always enjoyed dining here. The pork chops, surf-n-turf and steaks have always been my favourite. John said that the steaks are loved by a lot of other people, too, who visit the restaurant but this time he recommended that we try the seafood. “All the seafood dishes here are made with fresh catch, and rightly so because we just happen to be a hop, skip and jump away from the Betim wharf.”

John suggested the Carribean prawns and squid batter fry for starters. Before diving straight into the prawns I couldn’t help but notice how daintily they were dressed. Topped with white wine, cheese sauce and served with black olives, the presentation was as good as it tasted and not too heavy unlike some Italian varieties we’re accustomed to.

Now I may have mentioned that I’d try out the seafood but I simply couldn’t resist the steak. I had to make the most of my trip and so we were prepared for a rather large meal. If you’ve eaten steak here, you’d know how the generous portion of steak could fill you up just like that. To top it off, the steak has mushroom and pepper sauce served with a nice side of steamed greens and mash potato. 

And if you thought that we would be done after that, we adventurously agreed to try the pasta carbonara. Now folks, this isn’t a dish for the faint hearted. It gets cheesier and heavier with every bite, but all worth moaning about later. In true Italian style, the penne pasta is loaded with cheese sauce, salami and ham. 

And if you dare try finishing your meal with dessert - because you know how there’s always room for more - try Terry’s famed choco cake. Firstly it’s anything but a cake. Deceivingly light at first, the dessert is pure chocolate heaven in a tempting martini glass. Chocolate cubes served with whipped cream, chocolate sauce and jelly, an indulgence for any chocolate lover.

John along with the man behind Terry’s, Terrence Marchon have now decided to take things forward and are planning to change it up by refining the menu and possibly making a few interesting additions which for now is a secret. So, if you are a regular and find something excitingly new the next time you head to Terry’s, don’t forget to inform us about it. It would be a perfect excuse for us to head there yet again.