Alright, so it's an unappetizing name, conjuring visions of chain restaurant hell. But shelve your apprehensions, at least until a fresh watermelon margarita's been delivered to your table, and you’ll be rewarded.

Noodles are the clear stars here: they love their noodles so much they put it in their name. The Singapore noodles, with slivers of quick-fried beef, were fragrant with lemongrass and heaped high with flash-fried meat. As in the rest of Goa, vegetarians get short shrift; a bowl of broccoli in chilli sambal was both drenched in oil and a claggy mess. But stick with the kway teow and pad Thai and you won’t be disappointed.

Goa’s littered with great value restaurants, particularly in-season, so Republic of Noodles, with its (comparatively) high prices and awful name, is an easy one to skip over. But when you’ve tired of beer and you just want a decently mixed cocktail, head to this moodily lit, dark wood den. The noodles might be the main event, but the cocktails are worthy runners-up.

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