Kopi Desa's Roadside Bar & Mean Desserts Make South Goa Exciting

An otherwise sleepy south Goan village, Agonda, has one place you can always count on for a good time. Meet Kopi Desa, a brekkie-to-last-beer kind of place that serves European cuisine and mean desserts. 

Kopi Desa is just the place to mingle in Agonda (you’ll see faces you’ll start to recognise), catch a live gig or just sip on endless cocktails. Apart from the lovely vibe, its decor is a major win. James, the owner/host and chef Daniel literally got their hands dirty while building this place…laying each brick on their own, plastering every flaw and testing every cocktail. 

The exposed red brick walls, the sprouting planters, hanging old bulbs and sewing machines for table stands are great conversation starters. James tells us that he went all over Mumbai markets collecting lamps, posters and lanterns for this dream project. So you can often find him denting/painting in the day and mixing drinks by the night. Also, this gorgeous place smells of caramel and coffee all day. Lovely, right? 

While we didn’t really get to sample a lot of mains on the menu (guilty of drinking too much), we did sample the pork ribs and avocado fritters with baby corn when we visited two years ago, both of which were big and quite intriguing. We reckon their menu might have changed so you're going to be left to your own means to figure out. 

The taste of their pumpkin cheesecake and chocolate tort, meanwhile, lingers from back then and we wish we can find it when we go next month. Or, we'll find sweet replacements and let you in on everything you should order. 

When we last checked, they used to shut shop early. We're hoping the curfew time of about 11pm has been revised.

They recently opened their Bali-style beach huts, Indah Desa, so in case you're looking at a place to crash or spend a few days in Agonda, let this be your choice of accommodation.