Boilermaker

Somewhere between a beach shack and a serious cocktail bar sits Boilermaker – a bar that has, in its short life, managed to be both the most laid-back room in Siolim and one of the most internationally recognised bars in the state. 

Co-founder Pankaj Balachandran, who also opened the acclaimed Bar Tesouro, describes it as a return to Goa's ‘come-as-you-are’ ethos. It was built in collaboration with Great State Ale Works founder Nakul Bhonsle.

Where a lot of Goa's newer bars have chased fine-dining polish, Boilermaker deliberately does mismatched furniture with open-air seating, corrugated metal and raw wood, and a crowd that looks like it wandered in off the beach (in a lot of cases, it did).

Don't let the low-key surroundings fool you. The drinks programme is managed by Balachandran's cocktail consultancy Distilled Concepts, and it's experimental and spirit-forward. The bar takes its name literally. A boilermaker is, in bartending terms, a glass of beer served alongside a shot of spirit – and the menu plays on that pairing throughout, mixing beer-and-shot combinations with fully built cocktails that lean on Indian craft spirits, including feni and cashew-based liqueurs. 

Food follows the same brief: small plates like chorizo peanuts and smashed fried chicken, built to be shared over several rounds rather than treated as a proper sit-down meal.

What makes Boilermaker most worth the write-up, though, is that it sits on a quieter stretch of Siolim en route to the tourist magnet Thalassa, in a spot that until recently housed an unassuming garage bar called Hangout. It's telling that the bar has picked up serious recognition (#8 on Asia's 50 Best Bars 2026) while still functioning, night to night, as a local hangout rather than a destination bar performing for an audience. Regulars mix easily with the people driving out from Panjim or Candolim to try it, and nobody looks particularly out of place doing either.

If you're coming from further afield, treat it as a proper night out rather than a quick stop. The food and drinks menu both reward lingering, and the room tends to gradually fill up, so an early-evening arrival gets you the best of both the quiet start and the livelier midnight stretch. This is not the place to procrastinate until a special occasion. Go on any night.

Getting there: Easy to get there and there’s a parking lot adjoining the bar.

Time Out tip: Make sure to bring a driver. Parking is limited and so is seating.