Even though I have told you all what I possibly could about our holiday in Sri Lanka, there are still two things left unsaid. Things that are worth mentioning. Food and accommodation. And in this post I will share our restaurant, café and bar experience.
I’ll start with one of our favorite “snack” place – Corne-fa Bakers:
It was close to the guesthouse we stayed in, so we came here almost every morning for breakfast. They have great pastry selection, vegan and non-vegan. Tasty and cheap. That’s the place where all the locals go.
Topaz bar, located in hotel Sapphire, Colombo. That was the first bar that we found and first bar where we tried local beer – Lion lager:
Great service, cozy atmosphere. Really nice place to chill out. They also offer very good beer snacks (warm and cold). We have visited this place couple of times. So, I can recommend it.
Beach Wadiya, Colombo:
Unfortunately, we didn’t manage to come here for a dinner, but we’ve tried some of their appetizers. And they were quite good. Main reason why I liked this place is the possibility to eat outside, basically on the beach and enjoy ocean view.
The Garden café, Kandy. This was a positive surprise. Reasonable prices, big portions and delicious food. It’s also popular place amongst locals and that is always a good sign. So, I can definitely recommend it.
And if you come to Kandy with the hired driver, then I’d suggest you asking him to take you to try some street food. Trust me, you won’t regret it. That what we did. And it turned out to be best decision ever! Street food usually is super cheap and super delicious. Quite often they offer small bites, so you can pick up a little bit of everything and try different things. Like we did:
I don’t remember names of these… but boy, they were good!
Café Chill, Ella… That place wasn’t my favorite. Atmosphere and interior were nice. But it was overcrowded with tourists, it was expensive, and I wasn’t really impressed with the food. On top of that all… I got food poisoning. And that has fucked up our holiday a bit and some plans we’ve made.
If your driver will take you to this place, it means that he has a deal with the owner and he’ll get food free of charge for bringing you there. I wouldn’t recommend this place, and my suggestion to you – check some other options from the internet before you come to Ella.
As for highlights of our trip… there were two places that stood out to me the most. Both located in Mount Lavinia Hotel. First one is Seafood cove, situated on the Mount Lavinia beach:
One of the best seafood restaurants I have ever been to! What’s so awesome about it? Well, definitely the incredible ocean view:
And of course – fresh produce:
So, how it works? You just come to check the seafood selection, choose what you like, choose what way you want it to be cooked, what sauce you want and what you wish to have as a side dish. As simple as that! Then one of the cooks takes the chosen fish, asks you how big piece you want and cuts it in front of you. I’ve never had that kind of experience. It was fun!
My husband chose tuna:
And I ordered red mullet:
Both were extremely delicious. Although next time I would take smaller portion, so I would be able to enjoy also dessert.
Highly recommend this place!
Last but not least… Governor’s restaurant. We came here for dinner twice and both times we were more than satisfied.
Governor’s restaurant has a nice and authentic atmosphere. Great service, staff is friendly and helpful. Food is good. Prices though are higher than any other restaurant I’ve been to in Sri Lanka… but in my opinion – it’s worth it.
There is also an amazing ocean view…
When I look at this photo I can say without hesitation that life is good!
Other delights what you can try in Sri Lanka are of course fruits:
My absolute favorite ones (from those that I ate) are mini bananas, rambutan (structure and taste are quite similar to lychee) and jackfruit.
Unfortunately, photo doesn’t really show how big it is. And it’s huge! It can weight up to 35 kilos!
Flesh of jackfruit looks like this:
It’s sweet and tastes like a mix of mango and pineapple.
As for most delicious dessert that I’ve eaten is… watalappan!
Watalappan is a classic dessert in Sri Lanka. It’s a coconut custard made of coconut milk, jaggery, cashew nuts and many different spices, including nutmeg, cardamom and cloves. It is so good (a specially if you like coconut as much as me) that I could easily eat two of them! And I did. One good thing about holiday – no need to calculate calories and feel guilty if you ate too many sweets. And that’s exactly what I do during this wonderful time – I enjoy every bite.
P.S. Sri Lanka cuisine is usually quite spicy (not as spicy as Indian though but still), so keep it in mind when you check the menu.
To be continued…
Related blog posts:
Traveling with Vera 