Kritika Kaushal is solo woman entrepreneur who built one of Anjuna’s most distinct art-forward cafes
Three years ago, tucked away in the narrow lanes of Anjuna, a modest dream took shape. A 29-year-old girl, passionate about art, food and business, madly in love with Goa and its heritage, quietly launched Diavola. It wasn’t just a café. It wasn’t only a pizzeria. It wasn’t trying to mirror the typical bar culture either. Instead, Diavola positioned itself as a hybrid space; a warm Art Café by day, a wood-fired pizzeria through lunch and dinner, and a relaxed bar built around conversations, creativity and community at night. As Diavola completes three years, the café stands not just as a successful hospitality venture but as a reflection of Kritika Kaushal’s personal evolution, an impeccable example of solo-preneurship and of women-led businesses. 
From outside, Diavola seems effortless: fresh hand-rolled wood-fired pizzas, handmade pastas, craft cocktails, aromatic coffee, art on the walls, weekly art workshops, and a mellow ambience with pleasant music, a peaceful open green view that blends old-school Goan cafes’ charm with a contemporary concept. Inside, it is anything but effortless. Kritika personally oversees sourcing, kitchen workflows, creative direction, staffing, marketing, bookkeeping, and customer relations. Yet the cafe never feels overburdened; instead, it has come to embody harmony between culinary craft and hospitality. Every corner of the cafe reflects Kritika’s love for Goa and its heritage. You will find artworks where she has painted scenes of Goa on the art wall (pen series of churches of Goa, paintings of Dona Paula, Torda Creek, Parra roads, Fontainhas windows to name a few), guides to heritage and cultural walks through Goa, the incorporation of Goan ingredients in a highly European menu and live music evenings showcasing homegrown artists. Diavola’s food and hospitality have been widely acknowledged, as is visible in the high ratings on Google and social platforms and on multiple features by LBB, Goa.
Kritika’s story is not the familiar escape-to-Goa trope. For ten years, Kritika worked in key roles across large startups and incubators; navigating growth, strategy, and execution. The corporate world gave her structure, discipline, and a deep understanding of operations. Three years ago, she had been living in Goa for years and working in a well-paying senior role in a large startup. However, she wanted to give back to Goa, and she found a perfect opportunity to do so by running her own business modelled around art and food. She had no experience in entrepreneurship or F&B industry, but she used her startup experience to run the numbers and work out a plan. She had to deliver quality with resilience and keep innovating for the venture to mature steadily rather than falter under pressure. So she decided to run the two demanding worlds in parallel; a high-stakes corporate career alongside a newly opened café; for two whole years for financial sustainability.
Only in January this year, she felt that the business was stable enough for her to jump into it full-time and take it to the next level of excellence. That choice wasn’t romantic bravery. It was data, discipline, and conviction; the same qualities that have shaped Diavola into a space grounded in creativity, quality and hospitality. Even after three years, she does not plan to slow down. She has taken up a professional course at the renowned Le Cordon Bleu in London to master patisserie and culinary skills, bringing back her learnings to do justice to the culinary landscape of Goa by opening more brands and hospitality ventures. While she upskills, her team will continue to run the cafe thanks to the operational systems and a year-long training provided to them by Kritika. 
She takes pride in the trustworthy team she has built. Animan (Joy), Pranav, Chandan, Bimal and Ravi have been around for a long time and they match the spirit of any other startup team; they are entrepreneurial, risk-averse, hardworking innovators, always curious, and hungry to learn and grow beyond their comfort zone. Almost all of them are multi-taskers and masters of all trades, and don’t let their backgrounds intimidate them. They host people with utmost warmth and put up a seamless show with or without Kritika. They have been with Kritika right from the start and take pride in building Diavola together with her.
While many associate Goa with laid-back beaches and unpredictable seasonal trade, Kritika treated the challenge like one would in a high-stakes startup: with careful planning and understanding of unit economics & finances, clear priorities, and a refusal to settle for less than consistent quality and hospitality and added a gem to the Goan landscape.
As Diavola enters its fourth year of operations, Kritika plans to bring in culinary perfection to the menu. Diavola’s team has come together to showcase their best menu this season; with handmade pastas like tortellini and gnocchi, craft cocktails like tiramisu cocktail and picante, fresh cheese cakes and cannolis, wood-fired thin-crust fig & goat cheese pizza, caramelised date coffee and matcha latte, and lip-smacking sandwiches to name a few. If you still haven’t visited, this season may be a good time to drop by and experience the charm of Diavola.
