Regarding Vivek Menezes' BBC article transcribed on Goanet Reader, describing Charles Sobhraj the famous international drug smuggler as a regular at O Coqueiro, he Sobhraj, may have come for the late Gines Viegas' fare, but he is more likely to have been there for the easy international calls that place facilitated.
Those were early days of telephone service in Goa and overseas calls had to be booked through a post and telegraphs operator in Panjim. Calls would normally come through after several hours. Viegas, clever businessman that he was, in collusion with a connecting operator arranged for his patrons to get their calls instantaneously, for a fee of course. This was quite a big reason for the restaurant's success. Every Gulfie, Africander, hippie, politician or other notable, could be found there. Not to detract from the reputation of the food itself, but my own dining experience at Coqieiro was middling, not exceptional like were a couple of restaurants in Goa of that day. Mandovi's was a timeless classic, Tito's was up and coming and Gordon's (or was it George's) pork chops in central Panjim were indeed more menu-enticing. I went to O Coqueiro once and ordered wild boar for which he was famous then. It was so heavily spiced (I didn't mind that) but tasteless, that it could have been beef or rabbit I was eating, for all I knew. No gamy taste at all. After that once, I had no special menu item incentive to go there again. Sometimes popularity and the ensuing success has little to do with the main line or purpose of that business. In Coqueiro's case it was due to Porvorim just developing as a satellite of Panjim and therefore easy accessibility, Viegas' business nose and friendliness, the variety of liquors and of course the international phone calls. He was from Assagao. Roland. Sent from Samsung Mobile
