Since the local population has sizeable number of Roman Caholics and Hindus, one can try both vegetarian and Non vegetarian food in Kinnigoli though the choice of eateries is fairly restricted. Only a couple places serve north indian dishes, otherwise all eateries and restaurants serve typically south indian food. For authentic Goan food one has to look for a Catholic friend for pork and other dishes. Bithul Bar & Restaurent serves Christian delicacies. Rakthi & Dukra maas also is available in Bithul. Sri Ganesh Bhavan is a well known place with a long standing reputation. In the bus stand there are few more hotels. Hotel Abhinandan which was opened is December 2007 offers Air conditioned comfort and good choice of food. Hotel Durgadaya in the busstand offers ice cream and cold drinks in addition. In the last decade a new breed of eateries called "Bar and Restaurants" have sprouted everywhere. Here you can find choices of Indian brand beers and IMFL Indian made foreign liquor which consist of whiskey, rum, vodka, brandy etc. along with food. Among non vegetarian stuff, fish is very popular followed by chicken with the Bunt community specialising in some mouth licking delicacies like "Kori Roti". Shilpa Shetty who is a member of this community, was a winner of the Big Brother competition in UK last year, which made her an International celebrity overnight. She hails from a village close to Kinnigoli. The catholics however prefer pork and beef in addition to the fish and Muslims sticking to beef and mutton goat meat. Other notables from Bunt community like Dr. Devi Prasad Shetty, a renowned heart surgeon of international repute also was born and brought up in Kinnigoli.
The staple food here is rice, particularly what is known as "parboiled rice". This is prepared by parboiling the paddy in huge containers in the rice mills and then drying in the open sun. Once dried, the rice is dehusked and then packed into straw bundles which weigh up to 30 Kgs, called as "Mudi" and stored. Such rice is usually stored for longer time in rice silos made again of straw and cemented with cow dung yes cow dung from outside. Aged rice is favored for its taste and flavor compared to the fresh produce. In olden days the milling and dehusking of the rice used to be done manually usually by ladies by pounding the rice on stone containers with wooden sticks. Such milling used to preserve the nutritious content of the rice and considered a healthy practice. These days mechanisation has taken over and most rice is milled in the rice mills by machines. However, it is rare to find "Mudi" these days which is one of most eco friendly was of storing and transporting rice since gunny bags made of plastic or jute have replaced since their are cheap, easy to fill and transport. Rice dishes like Dosa pancake made with a batter of powdered rice and lentils fermented overnight allowing it to rise, idli(steam cooked rice cakes and vegetable curries are usually consumed for breakfast like in rest of South India. However, each community have their own signature dishes for the special occasions, festivals and Church feasts. Tea is the favoured drink mixed with cream and liberally sweetened with sugar. Coffee made in the similar manner is another favourite.
