In GOA? Must visit ARTJUNA CAFE

6 years ago
Read Time: 5 minutes
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Are you in Goa and you don’t want to get tanned in the sun?

But you thinking what else you can do?

I have a perfect plan for you.

All you have to do is head out straight to Artjuna Cafe – A Garden Cafe with a lifestyle store

I am in love with this place and if you visit you will know why!

By far, It is one of the prettiest Cafe that I have ever been to in so many years.

This cafe has lots to offer apart from good food and great vibes, it also have lots of stories to share. Who doesn’t like stories that can blend into your skin to motivate and inspire you.

Artjuna Cafe – It’s a One-stop Cafe

Now you must be wondering what is a One-stop Cafe?

For me, a One-stop Cafe is a place where I can do everything.

I can shop, I can sit and eat, I can do some yoga, I can make some sand-castle, read some books or watch some movies or just simply hang out with friends.

Yes, that’s why I mean this cafe has it all the ambiance and vibes is so good that I will fail to explain it in words.

So when I approach Moshe (The Owner of Artjuna Cafe) that I will be coming down with a group of friends and I mentioned that we would be about 10 of us, he did not hesitate to say a YES.

He was so welcoming, he said “come as many of you can.”

It came as a surprise to me as nobody wants to entertain a large group of people.

It was a Sunday afternoon and Goa vibes makes you get late as always, the day arrived and I was running pretty late to visit Artjuna. I told Moshe that we will be there by 12 o’clock but we kind of reached at 12:30 and the cafe was already buzzing with people.

He was so welcoming he had a table booked for us and we were all awestruck. Felt like I found some hidden treasures.

I was taken back with all the arrangements, food, people, staff and decorations. Perfect would be an understatement.

I can keep talking about this place as it is such a pretty place to be.

Even in his busy tight schedule Moshe did give me some time to take an interview.

My curiosity of questions couldn’t wait any longer.

I wanted to know how did he come up with the concept?

how did he manage to do what he is doing?

Like every other storyteller I was very interested to find out the answers.

So I reached out to him for a quick chit chat and I noticed that our table is getting filled with Food, Coffee, Juice. They looked so delicious that I couldn’t wait to just eat and so did my friends waited patiently.

So we walked down to one of the corners in the cafe which wasn’t buzzing with people I tell you it was hard to find one such corner!

We didn’t have much time but I wanted to make the most out of it he narrated a very beautiful story for me.

Journey of 14years, a long way but a successful one but also an emotional one.

The first time that he came to Goa he fell in love with this place I believe India as a whole is a very beautiful place to be in and I keep falling in love every other day with India.

Goa and Pondicherry will always be my favourite not to miss out Kolkata as well.

First time He came to Goa was in 1996 as a tourist.

Goa pulled him back in 2004, He came along with his wife and started making handcrafted things made out of leather and would sell them in the market nearby.

Then they took up the place, where the cafe is located. It was the place where they lived in for 2 long years. They started developing the place as a craft place. They would have people coming over and work together make crafted items. But after a while of course financially it got strenuous. Since then slowly slowly the place developed into a cafe where they could offer people to spend some quality time doing what they like.

The journey of 14 years wasn’t very smooth but the willingness and passion did grow it this far.

The cafe just kept evolving over the years and now it is Huge. They have Yogashala.

They have different activities, like movie nights on projector. This cafe stands out from most of the cafe you will ever visit.

“Who wouldn’t like that?”

They organised different workshops for visitors. During the season they also have kickboxing and martial art area.

I am not done yet

They have a library and the beautiful cafe and the shop which I have already mentioned, a nice garden all under one roof, it is quite big.

I wanted to know how many people visits them as I saw people would just keep coming in.

During the season they have about 400 to 500 people visiting them every single day.

They are open 365 days. Yes, you heard me right 365 days from 7 in the morning till 11 pm.

You can do whatever you feel like. You can call it your home in Goa.

Artjuna Cafe it is, you can just sit alone or just chat with friends. Simply surf the internet or eat anything from the long menu list. You can practically just chill in simple words.

Do you have a favorite corner Moshe ?

He replied that I am making him emotional but he does have a favorite corner, he took me around to show the place. He was overwhelmed to show me his favorite corner where he could sit and watch the entire space and think how to develop it further. He would always think how to improvise and improve from what he already has, that’s why they say keep dreaming each and everyday and work towards making it your reality.

Moshe did show me a lot of pictures as well when he was younger and it brought back so many memories for him.

He would often sit there with his coffee and think how to make this place big and here we are today. I am sure it is big but his heart and passion for what he loves was bigger than what we can understand.

With joyful tears in my eyes I headed back to my table to grub the food while he got back to his daily routine of spreading some cheerful smile with guests visiting Artjuna Cafe.