Vaarta Opens in Sangolda: Indian Street Food Meets Heritage Dining in Goa

Vaarta, a newly launched restaurant in Sangolda, is introducing a more thoughtful and immersive approach to Indian street food. Housed in a restored 160-year-old Goan home, Vaarta blends heritage architecture with an interactive dining format, offering guests an experience that balances nostalgia, design, and contemporary culinary storytelling.

Positioned as a fine-dining yet accessible concept, Vaarta moves away from conventional chaat-centric formats to create a slower, more considered dining journey rooted in memory and conversation.

A New Perspective on Indian Street Food

Rather than replicating traditional street-side experiences, Vaarta elevates Indian street food by giving it space, structure, and intention. The restaurant focuses on interactive and live elements that encourage guest participation while preserving the emotional essence of familiar flavours.

Key experiential highlights include a Puchka counter, where diners can customise fillings and flavoured waters, and a “Make Your Own Barf Ka Gola” cart, served tableside to add a playful, nostalgic touch to the meal. These elements transform dining into a shared, sensory experience rather than a quick consumption format.

Heritage Architecture Preserved with Care

Vaarta’s setting plays a central role in its identity. The restaurant retains the home’s original architectural features, including graceful arches, vintage windows, and aged flooring. Structural interventions have been kept minimal to preserve the integrity of the 160-year-old property.

Design details such as bakelite switches, interconnected lighting, and restrained material choices support the dining experience while maintaining the character of the heritage home. The result is a space that feels intimate, layered, and deeply connected to Goa’s architectural past.

Founder’s Vision: Food That Invites Conversation

Sharing her vision, Neha Mehta, Founder of Vaarta, said: “Vaarta was born from a simple longing, the kind of food that carries memory and invites conversation. I didn’t want to recreate street food; I wanted to give it the space and respect it deserves.”

This philosophy underpins every aspect of the restaurant from its menu structure to its interactive service style and heritage-led design.

A Menu Rooted in Memory and Regional Diversity

Vaarta’s menu draws inspiration from street food traditions across India, offering a thoughtfully curated selection of small plates, regional mains, and desserts. The offerings are designed to evoke familiarity while being presented in a refined, sit-down format.

Complementing the food is a beverage programme inspired by familiar Indian flavours, reinforcing the restaurant’s focus on nostalgia and sensory recall.

A Thoughtful Addition to Goa’s Dining Landscape

With its emphasis on food, memory, and setting, Vaarta enters Goa’s dining scene as a concept-driven restaurant that values experience as much as cuisine. By combining heritage preservation with interactive dining, it offers a distinctive alternative to conventional fine dining and casual street food formats.

Vaarta’s arrival reflects a growing appetite for experience-led dining in Goa where guests seek stories, context, and connection alongside exceptional food.