sublime

we've been going tosublimeevery trip to goa. this time honestly, the food was good but this place just lost 6 of their loyal customers. not only we were served super late but no body was present at the floor to attend us, we had to go inside to ask for plates. the food that was promised to us did not come as expected. the waiting staff asked us themselves if they should split our steak in six portions and gave us 1 cold steak and then disappeared again. the prawn risotto had only 2 prawns and we're bland.

we visitedsublimeas i was really craving some great tacos. the restaurant is very beautifully made and is nestled in a lot of greenery. the food lives up to its expectations both on presentation and taste.
the only issue we had (which is big enough that we may not want to go back) is the absence of hospitality in the place. the owner is cold and even comes across as rude.the chef made conversations with guests he seemed to know as friends but not beyond. the staff goes around mechanically running between tables. there is no sense of being "welcomed" or "warmth". if anything we felt we were over-staying our welcome and rushed to finish our food and get out.

i visited goa for the first time a few years back and went tosublimebased on a recommendation from a friend. now every time i visit goa, i make it a point to have a meal there during my stay.
 
sublime is the perfect example of fusion cuisine that has been done well. the myriads of flavor pallets, textures, and spices, are perfectly blended without overpowering each other to create a new cuisine of its own. it's a well designed mix of formal gourmet styles with hints of inspiration from across asia and goa.

the focus is on the fresh and organic ingredients which create a lasting impression. the first time i visited the restaurant it was located on the beach which created a relaxing ambience that made you feel like you were truly on vacation. it has now shifted to assagao where they have recreated the same ambience but with a different aesthetic. the vibe is still very romantic with dim lighting, candles, beautiful furniture, it creates more of a polished look than a laid back one as you are eating surrounded by the vivid architecture of the classic portugese style villa.

both times i have gone there for dinner but i know that their menu varies through the seasons and also through the different times of day offering lighter courses during lunch hours and more heavier and decadent ones during the evenings. 

this particular evening we decided to order the following dishes:

1. asian style chicken salad cups; with mint, tamarind, and fried garlic: rating: 3.5/5

the salad cups looked great presentation wise. the lettuce was crisp and juicy which gave you a nice crunch every time you bit into it. the chicken was also cooked well, not too dry. the only thing that stood out to me was that the marinade was a bit too tangy. it could possibly have had too much tamarind. i felt it needed more of the peanut sauce to balance it out.

2. dynamite prawns: rating 5/5

the prawns were amazing. perfectly crunchy and fiery in every bite. the sauce was not too overpowering as they had coated the prawns with just the right amount of it. they were also cooked extremely well, soft on the inside and a bit of a crisp on the outside. 

3. sous vide cooked belly of pork; with chinese five spice, elephant food yam, carrot puree, green beans, red wine reduction demi glaze and crispy onion rings. rating 5/5

usually i avoid pork belly as it is extremely heavy but this was anything but. there was an earthiness flavor created from the red wine reduction which was absorbed into the meat making it soft and tender. the belly practically melted in your mouth and was paired with crunchy onion rings to balance the texture of this dish. 

4. emperors balls with salted caramel and sesame: rating 6/5

delicious! crunchy on the outside and chewy and creamy on the inside. you would never think salted caramel and sesame would go together but they actually the pair up quite nicely. this desert is not too sweet or salty, well balanced in flavor and texture. 

overall i had a wonderful meal and would highly recommend this restaurant to anyone visiting goa!

true to its name! after a few too many beer-and-chip lunches at the beach, we decided it was time for some "real" food by candlelight. the encrusted portobello mushroom with pumpkin cream, potato gratin, pesto and garlic crostini was a sensuous explosion of flavors.sublimealso gets brownie points for its wonderful staff, super-friendly resident german shepherds and craft cocktails.

so we heard so much aboutsublimeand today when we finally got an opportunity, we landed up on a sunday afternoon, but look at our luck, it’s the last day of the season! (15th april? why?) chef chris doesn’t seem to be around. clearly the mice are at play while the cat’s away! radio blaring loud, staff fooling around, screaming, abusing each other... i understand they are excited and looking forward to their vacation but do we have to be subjected to this vibe on our vacation? one of the stewards actually said he doesn’t feel like working since it’s their last day! really! now i wish i were a foreigner who didn’t understand hindi!

the slushes we ordered were lovely and refreshing. but the shiitake mushroom & glass noodle dimsum and the black bean fish fillet with sesame coconut steamed rice were too salty for our liking. it looked like the chef went crazy with the black bean sauce and the soy! but that didn’t make us ask for the bill. it was the steward’s desire to not work on his last day made us ask for our bill and leave.

it’s the last sunday of the season for god’s sake! make it memorable to your customers. play some good music, turn on the charm and create a sunday experience that makes customers return the next season!

rude staff - unfortunate.
made a reservation atsublimefor a party of 10 (all looking forward to some great food as have been here a few times before). on getting into the restaurant was seated and subsequently unattended for 15 mins. walked up to the bar to order drinks as we could tell that the place was under staffed. was very rudely told to sit back down and orders are only taken at the table. sheepishly complied with my tail between my legs. another 5 mins go by with no one even glancing at our table of 10. when i asked the server to help us he rudely shouted across the tables to his manager that the manager should have not taken our reservation as they were understaffed. unable to sit through this humiliation we left for a super evening at bora bora next door. good luck and god speedsublime- you can't survive of great food alone in goa anymore. have to back it up with bare minimum service at the least.

ok, so i've been tosublimea few times now, but i'm still waiting for that perfect meal. chris (the owner) has a great passion for his place and that comes through by his good networking with all his customers, but he's somewhat let down by the staff. example - on my last visit, i ordered the clams with goan chorizo, but was instead given an assortment of seafood and shellfish curry. alright, it wasn't bad and it was their last trading day of the season, but that's no excuse for getting an order wrong, especially as they write down the orders. i would go again, purely for its location, but i really think the food needs to step up.