Padaria Prazeres offers some classy European specialties, all in a cozy little café
Situated in the quiet lanes of Caranzalem, is a quaint little café, Padaria Prazeres, started by Ralph Prazeres and his wife, Stacy Gracias.
Ralph and Stacy wanted to bring a piece of Europe to Goa in the form of Padaria Prazeres.
Ralph studied at le Cordon Bleu in London and went on to work at award-winning restaurants in the city such as St. John’s, Clos Maggiore, and Bao. He has done a stint at the world-famous Noma in Copenhagen, besides working in a few kitchens in Lisbon and around Europe.
Stacy has a background in finance and worked in London with companies like Rothschild & Co., RBS and HSBC. Ralph says, “We wanted to offer people in Goa something that is not readily available. Goa deserved a good bakery, one where they can enjoy both sweet and savoury.”
At Padaria Prazeres, Ralph manages the kitchen while Stacy takes care of the marketing, inventory and accounts, including the entire front office operations.
The interiors have been tastefully designed and has a little bookshelf if one would like to read while eating. There is an outdoor seating space for anyone who would like to sit out and enjoy their coffee while watching the world go by.
Everything at Padaria Prazeres is made in-house. Their menu has both sweet and savoury items. The savoury menu has items like Roast Chicken Sandwich (on ciabatta), Prawn Cocktail Sandwich (on brioche), Tzatziki Sandwich (on brioche), Garlic Cream Cheese Bagels and Smoked Salmon Cream Cheese Bagels. The Roast Chicken Sandwich on ciabbata is filling with tender, juicy chunks of chicken on a bed of lettuce and tomato and makes for a filling snack.
The patisserie menu is where one will find all the deliciousness and is the USP of the café. Pasteis de Nata is their most popular item and it’s easy to see why. A crunchy, flaky tart holding gooey custard, dusted with powdered cinnamon and every bite is a treat. The Pão de Deus, which translates to the bread of God, is a traditional Portuguese dessert that is a soft brioche and a topping made with desiccated coconut, and is excellent with a cup of coffee.
Berliners also feature on their menu, which are German doughnuts made of sweet yeast dough, without the central hole, and deep-fried. Padaria Prazeres features two kinds of Berliners on their menu, one with a dark chocolate filling and the other with custard. One bite of this pillowy soft doughy goodness, sprinkled with powdered cinnamon and icing sugar, has the filling oozing out, leaving the person in raptures of delight.
Another specialty of this place is the Palmier, which is a French creation, made from puff pastry. Puff pastry is made with alternating layers of dough and butter, rolled and folded over to create a number of flaky layers. The pastry is then rolled out, coated with sugar and baked. The Palmier available here is huge, as big as your palm, crunchy, buttery and sweet.
Apart from these items, their patisserie menu also boasts of items like cinnamon sugar doughnuts, glazed doughnuts, madeleines, financiers, carrot cake, banana cake and date and walnut loaf. The boulangerie menu has baguettes, ciabatta, brioche buns, milk chocolate brioche, garlic butter knots, bagels, cheese scones, caramelised onion focaccia and black olive focaccia. Coffee and tea are also available to go along with all the deliciousness available here.
Ralph plans on adding more items to the menu. “I’ll be expanding our menu to more of the European items that are not easily available here. I plan on getting French, Portuguese and Italian classics here and stick to that. We are also thinking of doing brunches which will have the classic eggs benedict, croissants and high teas with finger sandwiches and British scones. All this is in the works.”
The place is a must visit if you have a sweet tooth and perfect for a conversation with a friend or reading a book. They play amazing music too, especially if you’re a fan of 90s variety. With two driven people like Ralph and Stacy at the helm of affairs, Padaria Prazeres is definitely going to be one to reckon with
