Matsya Freestyle Kitchen at Samata Retreat Centre

I recommend this place. Very good food and worth the drive even if you are far from this place. I loved it !!!

Having eaten here last year, we decided to revisit. The menu formula is unchanged, we elected to go for the seafood fixed tasting menu option at Rs 2,500 each. Course after course was delivered, with chef Gome coming out to explain each course as it is served. The food was as delicious as our last visit but we did have to ask the (slightly detached) waiting staff to ask the kitchen to slow down, at one stage the waitress was standing by us with our next course as we were finishing the previous one. We found the white wine (at Rs 1,600 a bottle) perfectly adequate and at odds with some of the poor reviews seen here previously. Matsya is a good choice if you want something different and a change from the fairly standard beachfront fare to be found in the Arambol area. Do make sure your driver knows where Matsya is before setting off, it’s not the easiest to find.

A very interesting concept where you eat what the chef has planned for the meal. However he will ask you first if you have any allergies or restrictions. That night we started with a kind of churos and a chutney to dip in. Very well with the drinks. Then a fresh oyster with spices and mango, followed by crabs, shellfish in a curried sauce, excellent fish. The lamb was tender and juicy. Dessert was fresh fruits with ice cream with a soup like sauce. Limited bar but a good selection of wines. All the dishes are brought by the chef himself and the service staff does the rest. Matsya close early March and will reopen in Morjim after the monsoon.

Let me start by saying that the setting is lovely here. And the food was clearly made with love by a talented team, however, over the seven courses there didn't seem to be much sense of progression. You start with the usual very small dishes and work up to a larger sort of main course, then we got another small course before our pudding. Some of the dishes felt a little samey. Which is not to say there weren't good dishes. My favourites were the oyster in super zingy coconut broth and a prawn and mushroom salad. Both had perfectly balanced south east Asian flavours. The service set up seemed a little odd to me too...we were received and sat by waiting staff and given a drink from the limited selection (more on that next) and then Gome, the creator of the place came to the table as each course was served to tell us what the food was, which is great but the waiting staff then didn't pay much attention or offer more drinks, their sole purpose seemed to be to carry the plates. I had to go up at the end to order the bill and then again eventually to pay it. We asked the staff to order us a taxi and when it came nobody told us, it was simply good fortune we looked over the balcony, saw a taxi there and went downstairs to ask if it was ours. Nobody acknowledged our leaving. As for the drinks, all that was on offer was local wine at 450Rs a glass (it's not great), a standard size bottle of beer at 200Rs or Italian white which I didn't order so don't know the price. It seems to me when you're charging the amount of money they charge for the food and with such high priced drinks, the service really should be noticeably better. I get that this place is all about the food, it's a really interesting idea, but the drinks and service should in my opinion match the standard of the setting and the food. All in all, glad I went but wouldn't return.

The ambience is excellent, sitting on the roof top terrace. The chef takes his food seriously and is knowledgeable he can probably make something tasty out of anything. As he sources his ingredients on a day to day basis, the set menu changes every a day. It is good value considering the quality and effort that has gone into it. It's a great place for a romantic rendezvous or small groups of friends.