Aunty Maria, Hotel Fidalgo’s 24X7 coffee shop, has been the perfect antidote for the hungry
(and intoxicated) souls after those late night party sessions in Panjim or the
northern beach belt. Perhaps the only one in the capital city to be operating
round the clock, Aunty Maria has been the go-to place even for teetotalers, for
a late night snack or breakfast in the wee hours of the early morning.
According to the management, since its inception over a decade ago, the café
has been enjoying a clientele comprising mostly of locals, with the tourists
adding the icing on the cake. We are told this is partly due to the efforts of
the management to keep the menu evolving and working on the feedback received
by their patrons. A few months ago, the menu at Aunty Maria underwent an
overhaul after two years; and after sampling the offerings here, we can say
that this has been the most serious revamp in almost a decade.
They say, all happiness depends on a leisurely breakfast, and at
Aunty Maria, the breakfast section assumes an important place on the menu. The
café starts serving breakfast from 5 am onwards, and naturally, guests make a
beeline to this café early in the morning. While the classics like Bakers
Basket, and Maria’s Signature Basket have been retained, there have been a few
new additions like ‘18th June Good Morning’ that allow the guests to choose a
combination of how they’d like to have their most important meal of the day.
Other new additions include the introduction of Spanish Omelette, new
smoothies, burgers and sliders, among a few other subtle changes in the menu.
The Biryani, one of the bestsellers of the café, remains unchanged.
We love salads, and
the Smoked Watermelon and Feta Melange at Aunty Maria is one of the better ones
that we have tried till date. The smoked flavour of the watermelon is clearly
the hero of the dish here. Mumbai Masala, the new sandwich on the menu, is sure
to impress those who have a taste for the typical chatpata flavour. With jeera
aloo, cheese and a few other ingredients sandwiched in-between, Mumbai Masala
is what the café calls ‘a step to Indian food revolution’. We also tried the
Thyme infused Pulled Chicken and the burger, which, we must say, is a meal in
itself. The burger is best washed down with one of the many new additions of
smoothies on the menu.
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With
a special breakfast menu, pizzas, salads, waffles, pancakes, biryani, kathi
roll, pastas and fresh bakery products like croissants, pastries, doughnuts and
more, Aunty Maria is a friendly informal place for coffee, nibbles and
conversations. There aren’t many options out there for late night / early
morning diners, but we are glad that despite enjoying absolute monopoly, Aunty
Maria is also a worthy contender.
