Take A Pause At Lento, Goa’s Latest Café That Makes A Case For Slow Living

It would be natural, I guess, to assume that the people behind the newly-opened Lento in Goa just stumbled upon a crumbling building overrun by creepers and decided to set up a café. However, that would be wrong on their part. Believe it or not, it took nearly two years for Dishant Pritamani of Luna Hospitality and Ayaz Busrai of Busride Studio to design a café which looks straight out of a bygone era. “We wanted to create a ruin – a place forgotten in time and taken over by nature,” shares Pritamani, whoalso runs the very popular restaurant, The Second House, next door.

Walk in through its open door, and you would be rewarded with a tapestry of green that soothes the eyes, the smell of freshly-brewed coffee, and a feeling that says: Can I just take in a moment to breathe, please? It was this sense of time slowing down – good thing too, because Lento is Portuguese for ‘slow’ – which I felt as I took up a table and let the calm take over me.

Looking around, I saw their dog, Buttons, wagging her tail at me from a corner, and I wondered: Is this what they mean by the susegad way of life? I could get used to this unhurried pace.   

Lento’s journey began, as I mentioned earlier, nearly two years ago when Pritamani decided to do something about the space next to The Second House, a space which earlier was a bike parking of sorts, and thought that he could convert this into a cutesy 30-seater café. But not just any café. A fast-paced life lived in cities such as Mumbai and Pune had made him realise that he loves the slow life – heck, he’s not even on Instagram! “I have grown up around Just Around the Corner in Bandra, Mumbai. I went for dates there; I broke up there; I met my best friends there – it meant so many things to so many of us. I don’t find coffee shops like that anywhere now, and I wanted to play into that,” he says.

Busrai was with him on this. “One of the things I love about Goa is these incidental ruins that you see when you’re driving around, these Goan houses which have now been overtaken by nature. And till the last brick is dissolved, they still look beautiful and comforting. We wanted to create a space that uses that time as a snapshot and build that sense of time into the space as well,” he says. It may have been a slow process, but the results are proof that when you let nature take its course, it can lead to beautiful revelations.

The Baramasi creeper with its delicate lavender flowers grew unhindered in these two years, until it covered the entire roof of the restaurant. There are even spaces for it to grow through the window and hang down from lamps. The worn-down effect was further enhanced with the use of tiles sourced from rejected batches and discarded fishing nets. An old balcony railing from Jaipur adorns the coffee counter at Lento – remnants of times past.  

It's not just the décor, though, where memories play a role. Chef Jyoti Singh, with his varied experiences growing up in Jamshedpur, Bihar, working in places such as the Middle East and Southeast Asia, and later with O Pedro in Mumbai, brings in all his remembrances and influences to the kitchen as well. Take the Chicken Soup for the Soul, for instance. The wholesome broth with creamy avocado, sprouts, and jalapenos, generally served with rice, is inspired by breakfast in Nagaland, where his in-laws stay. “They usually have a late breakfast of sorts, which consists of homestyle soup. I have added the avocados for a creamier mouthfeel,” he says.

Hangover Dumplings are his ode to his trainee days in Delhi when momos were the go-to comfort food for late-night cravings. A layer of creamy labneh at the bottom of the dumplings is inspired by his Middle East travels. “Memories are authentic,” says the Chef. “They take us to places we relate to, and most of my food, subconsciously, is based around that,” he says.

The eggs and sandwiches section on the menu has some bangers as well. A Mexican Morning, which Chef Jyoti describes as “Eggs Kejriwal going to Mexico,” is a poached egg covered with crunchy tortillas, avocado, onions, feta cheese, and coriander – and reminded me of a spicy bhel puri. Lento’s Crab Omelette is gooey with delicate pieces of creamy crab.

From the sandwiches, their Truffled Cheese Toastie with truffle paste, Monterey Jack cheese, and cheddar on Sourdough Milk Bread is comfort food elevated with rich, savoury cheese. Three Yummy Pigs and Pita Pick-Pocket are for those who take their meats seriously, but my favourite from the lot was McPav – inspired by the Chef’s memories of eating McDonald’s chicken burger. The fried chicken patty and lettuce on sourdough pav is indulgent but light on the tummy.    

I cannot miss speaking about the breads at Lento. Chef Jyoti has devised a technique using sourdough starters (which, incidentally, he has named Baburao and Shyam after two characters from his favourite movie, Hera Pheri!), which retains the nature of the bread but makes it healthier, and therefore, easier to digest. So, the pav retains its springiness and the milk bread is soft. No wonder, I could polish off so many dishes without feeling overfed or guilty.

Lento also does some great coffees, as a good café should! With their beans coming from Chikmagalur’s Salawara Estate, there’s a nuanced complexity that makes each sip worth its while. I tried the Iced Filter Coffee – all the depth of a filter coffee but in an iced form, and the Jaggery Spanish Latte with just a hint of sweetness.

ELLE Gourmet’s Verdict

Lento is the kind of neighbourhood café where one is literally reminded to take a breather and smell the coffee. If I had the liberty to stay in Goa, this is where you would have found me each day, probably typing away on a laptop, but mostly with a cuppa coffee, lost in my own memories.  

Address: Next to The Second House, Muddavaddi, Saligao, Goa 403511

Time: 9 am to 6 pm | Wednesdays closed 

Reservations: 9888612316  

Meal for two: ₹1500 plus taxes