First things first. If you are a vegetarian count your stars you are staring at this right here. If there is one consistent complaint most visiting folks have about Goa, it is to do with the dearth of genuine Indian cuisine of the vegetarian variety in Goa. But this grouse can be avoided if you know where exactly to look for a place that sells South Indian food. With virtually no known joint selling the either Chettinad variety of non vegetarian cuisine, or the Malabar oriented, South Indian cuisine in Goa is largely limited to the vegetarian variety.

There’s the Plantain Leaf that is located bang in the middle of Calangute market, which is a fully vegetarian enterprise. At Plaintain Leaf you invariably have to wait in queue, before you can grab yourself a seat. It's one of the very, very few select vegetarian restaurants available in the coastal area.

The relatively new Sharanam Green is another exclusively vegetarian restaurant in the Calangute-Candolim area. And the best part about Sharanam Green is that it is open for 24 hours seven days of the week.

Colva, the most popular beach in South Goa has its own exclusive vegetarian eatery Sagar Kinara , which specializes in South Indian cuisine. But don’t bank on too many other vegetarian joints in that part of town.

A restaurant called Salt and Pepper is a novel experiment when it comes to vegetarian cuisine. The significant addition to this mainstream Indian and Gujarati cuisine outfit is the availability of liquor at this cosy restaurant, something you do not see very often.

At the top end of the spectrum, the very well appointed food court at the Radisson has a great south Indian restaurant. The Village Plaza has a great little south Indian spread which goes by the name of Sambhar. Its interiors are typically styled to make it look like a home down south, with large earthen jars, shiny brass utensils and the works. There a wide range of curries, which you can try here, along with rasam, dosas and of course last but not the least, sambhar.

The Navatara restaurant located in both Mapusa and Panaji, is one of the briskest south Indian restaurants around town. Although the restaurant deals in a wide range of Indian cuisines, the south Indian variety is the most popular.

And then of course you have a long list of the regular Udipi hotels, which are virtually a norm in every populated area. Goa also has several in its kitty. There’s the Kamat Hotel near the Panaji church which is known for its idlis, dosas and that typical coconut  chutney, without which most South Indian snacks are not complete. There’s also Café Shanbag , Café Udipi , which follow the consistencies and the menu considered the norm in most Udipi restaurants.
Also worth noting is the very humble Public Café, a small but busy Malabari outlet in Panaji. Try this place for round-ringed Malabari parathas which you could dip into a spicy korma or chicken gravy made with lots of onion.