Behold, the five-star dive bar

Someone described Goa’s newest watering hole, Boilermaker, as a “five-star dive bar” and co-founder Pankaj Balachandran is sticking with it. The restaurateur, who opened the bar in collaboration with Great State Ale Works founder Nakul Bhonsle, likes to call it a space that “brings people back to Goa for what it has to offer.” That is to say, it marks a return to the play-it-by-ear, come-as-you-are ethos that the state was always known for, until urban sensibilities started to creep in.

In 2020, when Balachandran and partners opened Bar Tesouro, the first Goan bar to get to the fourth spot on the Asia’s 50 Best Bars list in 2022, it aimed to take people away from the new Goa with its upscale restaurants and experimental cocktails. Most other bars and restaurants followed the same script, catering, in part, to the digital nomads, creatives, and executives who had relocated to the state during the pandemic. Over time, Goa became a fine-dining destination in its own right, with visitors almost expecting to see new, chic restaurants and bars on each trip. But something was off. “People were coming in, but they were missing the outdoors, the casual, laid-back seating, the relaxed atmosphere,” shares Balachandran.

Enter Boilermaker. With its open-air seating, mismatched furniture, and corrugated metal and raw wood interiors, it recreates the chill, beach-shack atmosphere that was once synonymous with Goa. On the quieter side of the street in Siolim that leads to tourist hotspot Thalassa, it is located where, until recently stood an unassuming garage bar called Hangout.

Managed by Balachandran’s cocktail consultancy CounterTop, Boilermaker’s drinks menu is as experimental and spirit-forward as you’d expect from any modern bar. A boilermaker, in the spirits industry, is a glass of beer with a shot of whisky, but Balachandran and Bhonsle have crafted their own variations, including a local twist with feni and cashew beer. Also on tap is the Even Flow Scotch Ale, a beer that has been aged in whisky barrels; the Gondhoraj-flavoured witbier Beyond your Wits; and the kokum-infused Hard Sun. There are 12 taps in total. “We’re launching with nine beers, with the other taps reserved for collaborations,” explains Bhonsle, whose brewery is currently working on a millet brew. For now, you can sample the 100 per cent jowar-based pale ale, Long View, which is light and crisp enough to serve as a base for a future cocktail.

While other drinks feature similar inventiveness, there are also a lot of classics on offer, which makes sense given that the bar aims to be the sort of place that people hang out at on the regular (“If you are in Goa, you are visiting us at least two or three days,” hopes Balachandran). In the Say Hello to my Li’l Friend section, you’ll find mini versions of the Negroni and Paper Plane. Smashables are “easy to finish” cocktails, like their clarified watermelon juice-based Midnight Brekkie (a carry-over from Tesouro), the feni and jamun-based Brainfreeze, and the What Rhymes With Orange? (Italian bitter liqueur, fluffy OJ, strawberry and lager). Sessionables, on the other hand, are more savoury pours, like the spicy but sour Siolim Salsa (tequila, grapefruit, pineapple, Gochujang, and jalapeno), and the We’re Still Figuring It Out (whisky, fig brandy, cherry liqueur, Sweet Vermouth, and Angostura), which is paired with goat and feta cheese.

The food, created in collaboration with Gayatri Desai of Pune-based Ground Up and Rajat Mendhi of Bombay Picnics (who gave Mumbai the nostalgic Bournvita Milk Pie), features innovative plates like the umami-flavoured, spicy chorizo peanuts, and crunchy, comforting smashed fried chicken with pineapple sambol, all served on steel plates, once again evoking a simpler time.

Overall, Boilermaker feels like a passion project between friends who want to bring back a slice of the authentic Goan life—but who also happen to be industry stalwarts who know exactly how to do it right. In this way, Boilermaker marks a curious moment in Goan history: the menu may be forward-looking, but the space is grounded in an ethos that is fast fading. And in a strange way, maybe this is how the sleepy Goa we all love may once again come to life.

Drinks for two: ₹1,500

Timings: Open Tuesday-Sunday; 5 pm to midnight

Contact: Boilermaker, Opposite Vailanka Wine Shop, Thallasa Road, Vaddi, Siolim 403517; 92260 49851