A holistic haven for the eclectic Anjuna expat community, Artjuna is located on the road to Anjuna Beach and Wednesday flea market. The café is situated outside an old Portuguese-style house in a beautiful garden, with a trendy lifestyle store inside the house and a popular covered event space offering regular yoga, mixed martial arts and other workshops. The second branch ‘Mojigao’ in a quiet corner of the village of Assagao nearby was featured in Vogue India as one of the 9 new restaurants not to be missed on a visit to Goa.
The cafe is known for its Mediterranean, particularly Israeli dishes like the Mezze Platter (with hummus, falafel, tahini) and Shakshuka, an all-day breakfast favourite with eggs and vegetables. The salads, sandwiches and other Mediterranean dishes like the Moroccan Fish Stew and the Turkish Lentil Soup, besides the vegan menu, are also well loved. Desserts are made in-house like the Chia Seed Pudding, Cookies and the Puffy Pancakes, which go especially well with the Arabica coffee, sourced from Chikmagalur. Artjuna also bought the French patisserie in Goa called Delicieux which is now called Artjuna Bakery.
Among the refreshing beverage list, healthy smoothies like the Turmeric Coco Smoothie and freshly squeezed juice blend of fruits and vegetables loaded with vitamins and minerals like the Papaya Lemon or Pineapple Mint are perennial favourites. While the soft launch of Mojigao began with a smaller menu of favourites like hummus, lemonana (mint with lemon and crushed ice) and muesli breakfasts, they will increase the offerings in the next season.
The lively, vibrant space at Artjuna has a welcoming atmosphere with something for everyone. This includes a kid's playground, movie screenings offered on Mondays and Fridays, kirtans and other events like art exhibitions that take place frequently. Surrounded by mango trees and frangipani flowers, the garden is lush. One can relax and read a book from the library.
The same spirit of openness was carried forward to Mojigao located in a massive grove area, projected to be an eco-stay with six wooden cottages in the pipeline. To begin with, large Ganesha idols with fresh flowers greet you as you walk in. There are teepees and an organic jungle gym for kids that also catch one’s attention. There is a large and serene yoga and meditation space on the upper level of the plot which is on a slope. An eco pond will also be built so guests can enjoy swimming in nature.
Artjuna began as a dream of Moshe Inbar and his wife Anastasia, who wanted to set up a workshop and exhibit their unique handmade leather bags, belts, pouches and jewellery. Slowly it evolved into a pleasant space where they could sit and talk with their customers. Over the past 10 years, the lifestyle shop has developed more products inspired by the spirit of India, which are appreciated globally. Today, Mojigao is named after Moshe and his partner Jim, while they added gao which is Konkani for the village. They are driven to build their dream eco-village to give back to the community they have loved for years.