Slow Tide and its tribute to the Anjuna Commune

Jack’s burrata 

I forced my family through torrential monsoon rain and splashing through muddy puddles to get to Slow Tide but it was well worth it because it’s easy to see why it’s the most successful, loved and respected restaurant to have opened in Goa this year. The food is excellent but it is more than just food. 

There is a Goa I used to know and love and that feels lost because of unplanned growth and budget tourism. 

Mackerel para olives 

However, long before that there was a Goa that was even more special. Untouched, idyllic and utopian, it represented a time of innocence, a time uncorrupted by greed, materialism selfishness. A time of hope and brotherhood, exemplified by experiments like the Anjuna commune. Slow Tide is a tribute to those times and an attempt to honour the people behind it, the hippies and dreamers who gathered in Anjuna from across the world to try and explore and discover a better way of living together. 

Assam Babi pork ribs 

I know that I am guilty of romanticising the past and that the Anjuna commune had its challenges with things like drugs and smuggling. But I believe that every community and every system is imperfect, and at least in this case the goal and the attempt was to find a way that was kinder and purer and gentler. 

Red snapper crudo

We were fortunate to spend time with Neil, the founder of Slow Tide. He was able to share a little about his life and his journey and how that life, with its memories and the people who formed it, are reflected in the food, drink and space he has created. The attempt at Slow Tide is to build a restaurant that isn’t governed by the same commercial rules and popular decisions as every other place. Even the architecture by Sri Lankan architect Palinda is unique, focusing on space, stone, wood, harmony and respect for the ocean. 

Bandra potato chops

Everything about Slow Tide resonated with me and I can see why it’s so loved. This is a place I will go to again and again and spend many long afternoons and evenings there with a book and the sea and the sound of the waves. 

Prawn curry with drumstick 

We ate: 

• Jacks burrata with pickled shitake ragout in a green pea sauce 
• Mackerel para olives in fermented chilli 
• Red snapper crudo in a local coconut dressing and spiced poha
• Bandra potato chops mutton mince, roasted potato and cabbage pachadi
• Assam Babi : braised pork rib, yam and radish salsa 
• Trincomalee prawn curry with drumstick and white curry powder