Cafe LaDiDa, the cosy little afternoon getaway

Cafe LaDiDa in Sangolda, Goa, is the perfect getaway for coffee and French desserts, especially after a day at the beach or a busy day sightseeing. The cafe instantly gives you a warm and peaceful atmosphere, with its wooden furniture, the smell of baked goods and the windows that allow you to look out at the peaceful greenery outside while you sip on your coffee and tuck into the delicious desserts and sandwiches offered on the menu. The menu offers mouth-watering treats such as tarts, tea cakes and muffins, macarons and cheesecakes. For vegans there is also a vegan and gluten-free banana and almond cake that goes perfectly with a cup of coffee. The menu offers a large variety of sandwiches and open baguette toasties including gluten free versions.

This beautiful little cafe was started by chef Jeneva Talwar, who trained at École Nationale Supérieure de Pâtisserie (ESPN) Lyon in France. Chef Jeneva, who chose Goa as the destination for her cafe because of its cleaner and more peaceful atmosphere, has expressed her warmth of personality perfectly through her cafe which gives you a warm and welcoming sense of belonging. Chef Jeneva described how one’s style is an extension of one’s personality and lifestyle, and describes how the quality of life in Goa has given her added greatly to her cooking and baking style, which is now more of a clean, earthy and wholesome style. As an aspiring chef myself, I of course wanted to ask Chef Jeneva for some tips on starting a cafe and as she told me it’s important to have a good understanding of business, human resources, management and training, in addition to one’s cooking skills.

I think you’ll have a pleasant experience checking out Cafe LaDiDa, and if you’re ever in North Goa you should definitely make a visit to this cafe.

Elizabeth Smetacek is a culinary student and the proprietor of Lisa’s Bäckerei. She can be found on Instagram @elizabethsmetacek @lisasbackerei