Anyway. We got down to business and had a look through the menu. Like all the restaurants we ate at in Goa, Infantaria too has a menu that’s incredibly eclectic--there’s Indian (read Mughlai), Chinese (assuredly not authentic), Goan, and 'continental' stuff available. We settled for a grilled seafood platter and nearly passed out with hunger while waiting for it to arrive. Service is abysmally slow, and the waiter--a stripling in a blue T-shirt and scruffy jeans--pointedly ran off to chat with the cashier when we tried to attract his attention.

The grilled seafood platter, when it eventually arrived, was a mix of good and bad. The crab and the red snapper were excellent; the prawns were good, as were the mussels, and the squid was a horror--I’ve never had more rubbery stuff in my life. Along with the platter came assorted sautéed vegetables, all rather limp and unappetising. For dessert, we asked for apple pie but were told that it was over, as was almost every other item on the dessert menu. I finally ordered a tiramisu--a little too chocolatey for my taste, and with none of the delicate flavours I prefer in my tiramisu. My husband, who ordered a chocolate excess, liked his dessert more than I did mine.

All in all, not a great experience at all--the food’s average, the service is horrible, and it’s not as if it’s very cheap either--this, at around Rs600, was one of the most expensive meals we had in Goa.