The main Indian quarter in Paris is behind Gare du Nord, with lots of different restaurants to choose from, but it’s far from the only place in town where you can eat a great Indian meal.

We had heard about a new restaurant called Goa Beach – not far from our hotels – through two different websites, one of which was offering 30% the bille if you booked through them. So that’s exactly what we did…

Only open since November 2018, Goa Beach is one of only a small number of Indian restaurants to be found ont he Left Bank.

The interior design of the place is very brown / beige / grey, but it really isn’t to our taste. Think of it as more ‘beach’ than Goa. All the lighting has rope around it, the bar has a boat stuck to the wall… You get the idea. To save our eyes, we decided to eat out on the terrace, which is great in summer and probably quite nice in winter (it’s heated).

We were very warmly welcomed and immediately felt at ease. The menu is varied, with Indian classics and a few new ideas like Indian ‘burgers’, and for those on a budget there are a few fixed price menus, including one for kids.

We decided to start with a lassi each, a traditional drink made with femented milks – one with sugar, the other with mango. They turned out to be very good, not too sweet and just the right thickness.

To start, we shared some mini tuna samosas which were really quite spicy. This was an agreeable surprise, because Indian food is often adapted to western tastes, and we prefer it with its original kick!

The prices on the menu aren’t exorbitant – a biryani and side dish of rice comes to around 20€, which is reasonable for dinner but perhaps a little dear for lunch (luckily, we had our reduction – more about that later).

We decided to continue with a paneer tikka biryani (marinated Indian cheese with vegetables), saffron rice (nearly 5€, a little steep) and a garlic nan. The paneer wast excellent, quite firm and tasty, served with a creamy sauce (with a delicious aroma). The nan was obviously freshly-made.

The second dish was a Kerala fish curry with two pieces of fish (cod?) and a sauce with coconut milk in it. The accompanying saffron rice contained cloves and cardamom, giving it that special taste very often found in Indian cuisine.

The portions were decently-sized and we only had enough room to split a dessert between two, so we decided to try a hot & cool, gulab jamun served warm with vanilla ice cream. It was a great mix, and a perfect way to finish off our lunch!

Our (very jovial) waiter thanked us for our visit and gave us each a little gift – Indian joss sticks, which is a nice touch.

We loved our lunch, but the prices (at full rate) were just a little on the high side perhaps. Luckily, if you book online on the restaurant’s website you’ll get 30% off the food, or if you book your table on The Fork the reduction can sometimes be as much as 40%! That means that a biryani with riz costs 14€ instead of 20€, and a burger is no longer 13.90€ but 8.30€! That’s a pretty good bargain.

And one less thing that might encourage you to eat at Goa Beach – they are open every day of the week (unlike many place that close Sundays and Mondays). Hope you like it!

Goa Beach (here) is open every day of the week for lunch and dinner

Online booking on the official website (-30%) here (scroll to the bottom of the page)

Booking with The Fork (up to 40% off) here

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