The place is neat and clean--pretty blue or red-checked tablecloths, photographs of Goa, coconut palms, and buffalos on the walls, and (inexplicably) posters of Zermatt next to the kitchen door. The day we arrived for lunch, it was particularly humid, and the busily whirring fan overhead was a relief. The staff, who’re friendly without being obtrusive, brought us chilled colas (we ordered those as soon as we arrived) and helped us choose Goan specialties from the menu.

I ordered a fish curry with steamed rice, and my husband ordered a prawn curry, also with steamed rice. Both were good, though the gravy, which was rather spicy and had its fair share of coconut, was the same for both dishes. We topped it off with lemon pancakes--thin crepes sprinkled with sugar and limejuice and folded over. Very nice.

While lunching at Capricorn, we also discovered that they offer a 'full English breakfast', and that too for just Rs120 a person. We turned up the next morning, and ordered it for ourselves. What we got was two pieces of rather chewy toast topped with fried egg; baked beans; fries that had gotten a bit limp; a so-so frankfurter (I’d been hoping the 'sausage' they’d promised would be the spicy Goan chourisso!); and some very good, crisp bacon. The cold coffee I had along with my breakfast wasn’t great--it had a distinct taste of drinking chocolate--though my husband’s banana shake was good. It was an average breakfast, but very filling--and some of the other items on the breakfast menu showed promise. So we came back another day and treated ourselves to lavishly buttered toast, somewhat overdone ham-and-cheese omelette, and chocolate-banana shake. All better than the full breakfast, and all--like everything on the menu--fairly inexpensive; two people could easily eat a full meal here within Rs 500.