Delicious Sri Lankan fare at The Bistro 

It has been a year since the Best Western chain of hotels opened their first property in Sri Lanka. Situated down Baseline Road the hotel is home to The Bistro restaurant which has a neat menu offering anything from continental to Sri Lankan cuisine. We tried out a few of their curries and the meal was simple and flavoursome.

Value for Money, Taste and Friendly Staff – 4 stars 

The Sri Lankan option on the menu is called ‘Asian Curry in a Hurry’, which includes steamed rice, fried chillies and dried fish (karawala), coconut sambol, dhal curry, tomato curry, pappadam and a seasonal curry – Vegetarian (Rs 500), Chicken/Fish/Pork/Beef (Rs 650) and Prawn (Rs 750).

Our tasting included two beautifully cooked rice options that of white basmati rice topped with fried curry leaves and yellow rice topped with fried cashew nuts and onions. We dug into bits of both with a delectable Prawn Curry with Kathurumurunga Leaves. The gravy was absolutely delicious while the prawns were perfectly cooked. They also serve a scrumptious Chicken Black Curry. Among the other accompaniments were Kankung with Grated Coconut as well as a Bean Curry, Dhal Curry and Potato Tempered. The beans were not overcooked and therefore had a slight crunch to it. Among the other side dishes were a Sri Lankan Salad which had tiny cubes of tomato, pineapple and cabbage seasoned with salt and pepper as well as Karawala and Fried Chillies, Brinjal Moju and Pappadam. After all a Sri Lankan meal wouldn’t be complete without Pappadam! 

They could however improve on the dessert options on their menu as all that was on offer was ice cream and fruit salad. It was a big portion, that of three scoops of ice cream, fruit and strawberry sauce (Rs 600) but variety would have been much appreciated.

In order to give the public a chance to try out their delicious Lankan fare, they had a Sri Lankan Night on Thursday July 30, which was a roaring success. Tickets for the buffet were sold for Rs 1,500.

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Toilets – 3 stars

The toilets were clean but the floor was wet, which is a no-no in my book.

Parking – 5 stars

There is ample parking both in the basement and on the side of the hotel.

Address : 102 A, Kirulapone Avenue, Baseline Road, Colombo 5
Telephone : +94 11 752 7527  
Website : www.bestwesterncolombo.com
Facebook : www.facebook.com/BestWesternColombo 

By Natasha Fernandopulle
Photographs by Kanishke Ganewatte