Chic Pre Launch Party of Ber, Anjuna-Mapusa Road, Goa

Ber, North Goa, is again a unique enterprise, given its location, services & menu.

Why is it unique?

It is located on the nexus of the Anjuna & Mapusa areas of Goa. The location of Ber brings it to the attention of everyone on the road and beyond. The prominent signages ensure that.

The restaurant has been created in an old Portuguese house and has ample space for people. The dining spaces include an outdoor dining area with a bar that can be converted to accommodate a dance floor.

Outdoor dining space at ber anjuna

There is an indoor dining space that is air-conditioned, as well as a private dining area for small and intimate gatherings. It’s needless to say, the decor of all these spaces is quite fabulous and upmarket.

All of these spaces can be catered to by a bar on the first floor itself. The restaurant has its own parking lot attached to the first floor of the restaurant.

Today, Ber, a fine-dining restaurant, transforms throughout the day, serving as a serene spot for leisurely lunches and a lively destination for dinner.

Ber, Goa, a gastronomic gem nestled on Anjuna Mapusa Road in Bardez, Goa. This vibrant recreated eatery is rapidly making waves among food enthusiasts, particularly those with a penchant for North Indian cuisine.

So here we were, five of us, climbing the steps to get above the Anjuna Mapusa road level to enter the open space of Ber that exudes a casual elegance.

As Saurabh Anand led us to our table, the rain had stopped, but it was humid despite the huge fans in that expansive open setting. We were given a visual tour of the well-laid-out and expensively embellished space.

Then Saurabh invited us for a walk around the newly possessed and fully renewed establishment that used to be a Japanese cuisine speciality restaurant a few years back.

The Bar at Ber was a prime portion of this dining space. As we perched on our chairs around the table set up for us, water came almost immediately. They were waiting for us, since we were the only ones invited.

As a result, I give them full marks for the service and the attention they provided.

Manned welcome desk at ber anjuna

The bartender was already in action, I could see from my side of the table, and the products, aka cocktails, started appearing on our table one by one.

Picture yourself sipping on a handcrafted cocktail with live music (there was none playing, though), creating the perfect evening mood. You just have to picture yourself.

Saurabh told us that the new menu at Ber, conjured by a newly acquired Chef, is a masterclass in gourmet Indian and INFU (Indian Fusion) cuisines, as we would soon encounter and realise.

They have small plates, indulgent sharing platters, late-night bites and homebrewed artefacts from mixology designed to fuel the party. They, at Ber, can host parties from 5 to 500, it seems.

The first to appear on our table was an Orange & Basil drink prepared by the now peering & jeering sommelier, attempting to gauge the eye language on the table. The mocktail met with everyone’s approval.

Approval of a drink without any alcohol in Goa is seldom understood, and it’s difficult to gulp it down; however, the license for intoxicating beverages was yet to come from the local Government.

Hence, the barkeeper was retaining his sanity and laughing while making mocktails. That’s when he launched the second tall missile that landed on the table quite graciously.

The missile was a mocktail made with purple Kokum syrup, bottom floated, with a generous layer of effervescent water floating on top, usually called soda nationwide.

This soft-landed mocktail was aptly called Kokum Curry Fizz. However, there was no curry in it, so I am still wondering the namakaran of the drink to the level of remaining confused.

You had to shake it to taste it and then drink it, akin to James Bond’s Martinis – Shaken but not stirred. It was indeed good when shaken, else it was just the effervescence that meets your lip, Onatopp.

This is the second reference to James Bond’s likes, Xenia Onatopp. You’ll have to watch GoldenEye to get the whole plot. For the uninitiated, Xenia Onatopp character is one of the top 10 Bond girls ever.

But we all fond of alcohol guys, kept on drinking these without getting stupefied, surely as a result of which the Goan excise officers must have got suspicious. You have to picture this also.

While you have been picturing these, the last missile exploded on the table and is called Paan Pasand and is unlike the North Indian candy by the same name. Renaamkaran this as well, I am suggesting more creativity.

The green drink, not red like the candy is, was served nestled on a betel leaf that you could eat after the fluid in the glass went dry. The drink was loved across the table, and everyone requested more of it.

The Ber family sharing platters were created with both vegetarian and non-vegetarian options, for us, the undrunk alcoholics, or should I write ACPs (Alcohol Consuming Persons).

The food fare line-up was quite long, and we were all looking forward to more surprises. The Paan Pasand by now was being supplied through a pipeline to the table and was being guzzled down by all around.

Suddenly, Saurabh appeared at the table, and the Paan Pasand supply trickled down in pace and made space for the landing of the snacks amidst fanfare. The fanfare included two chefs in tow of the platters.

The first platter to land was the vegetarian one, which was immediately followed by the non-vegetarian one.

As the veil was lifted from the vegetarian platter, Galouti Mushroom, Dahi kebab, Cheese n Nuts Kebab, and Broccoli and beetroot Shammi kebabs appeared. I rank Galouti Mushroom and Dahi kebab to the top.

Having written this Cheese n Nuts Kebab, and Broccoli and beetroot Shammi were just a little below the top.

That’s when the attention drifted to the lonesome non-vegetarian platter that was wholesome as we realised.

It was a flawless selection of delectable morsels placed in a platter palace, with the royalty at the table peering at them eagerly to devour them to nought.

This array comprised of Nakhre Murg (Chicken Breast Stuffed with Chicken Mince), Murg Methi Malai (Methi Flavoured Malai Murgh Tikka), Kori Shukka (Karnataka Crispy Fried Chicken), and Tandoori Prawns (Name Explains it All).

The top acquisition ranks were given to Tandoori Prawns and Murgh Methi Malai. Kori Shukka was close to them, but Nakhre Murg was questionably dry to everyone’s liking.

The entire snacky episode was followed by repeated orders of Tandoori Prawns and Murgh Methi Malai. Then the pin pointed to the main course that no one on the table was interested in.

However, Surabh wanted us to meet butter chicken in its white avatar, and that is actually called the White Butter Chicken. It is accompanied by Cheese Garlic Naan that you cannot eat. It actually stuffs you totally.

I preferred the Cheese Garlic Naan with its oozing mozzarella over the whiteness of the buttered chicken, which I found less spicy and a bit high on the sweetness curve.

I would go back to Ber just to enjoy the cheesiness of the garlic naan, tank up on Paan Pasand and sample some of their decadent desserts that we missed the other evening.