Cafe Looda Is One Of The Few Beach Shacks Open Through The Goa Rains

Looking for a beach shack in the monsoons? Head to Cafe Looda (of the Anjuna flea market fame), one of the only beach shack that remains open through the monsoons and down that bottle of beer while watching the rains lash over the turbulent seas.

Goa, in the monsoons, assumes a different character altogether. Most restaurants shut down, roads empty out and parties come to a blissful halt. This time of the year you’ll be hard pressed to find a beach shack that’s open and justifiably so; the seas are wild and storms are aplenty.

Cafe Looda is one of the rare finds, right on the Anjuna Beach that sticks through the moody monsoons. The cafe usually boasts of a spectacular view of the sea stretching out into the horizon, but often, they also cover the sides with tarpaulin sheets to avoid rain water flooding in. Sadly, this partially blocks out the view too. This year, however, to ensure that the rains stay out but you still get to enjoy an uninterrupted view of the sea, (with your beer and chilli chicken) they’ve covered the sides with glass panels. Come monsoons, we could not have asked for any better!

The food is like most other shack food, not much to write home about — try the snacks and starters, and stick with local dishes like prawn rawa fry, chilly fish (Goan style), sausage chilly fry and you’ll have nothing to complain about. 

By Goa standards, the food is comparatively expensive, but then again you’ve to account for the fact that food prices remain constant through the year.

During season time, when the Anjuna flea market is on, they also have live music through the day so you'll find a lot of shoppers stopping by for a bite.