Cajun On Wheels is a Singaporean chain that serves good seafood (and burgers). They have some (shared) options that cost over Rs. 12,000, which can be intimidating, but you can have a good feed here for less than Rs. 1,200 as well.
The Food
The basic model here is fried (or steamed) seafood. So how's the seafood?
It's good. This is a close-up of the Mixed Seafood Ocean Box (Rs. 950). The Ocean Box range is the most affordable thing here, and it's a good value. This comes with prawn, white fish (snapper I think), clams, mussels, corn on the cob and sweet potato fries.
Oh, and a sauce, can't forget the sauce. We got the cheesy herb and butter but they have a range.
The seafood itself tastes fresh and it's well and quite simply cooked (in this case mostly steamed). It actually has very little seasoning at all, so you need the sauce for flavor. The sauce is quite warm and savory without being overly salted.
The Ocean Box is a satisfying deal and a good portion of food.
What makes COW different is their sharing platters. The prices can be a bit intimidating here, Rs. 12,700 for the Olympian Bucket that serves 3-4, for example. We started a bit lower down the scale, with the Sailors Feast (Rs. 2,400), which serves two.
The first item sticking out of the bucket is the torpedo prawns, which was my favorite. Crispy and well-seasoned on its own, it went well with the the creamy sambal mayo.
The other major item is these huge deep fried hunks of snapper. Snapper is a rare fish in Sri Lanka, but it's well worth a try. This cut is all white meat, soft and flaking off in chunks. It's not at all fishy and quite delicious – and filling. There's actually too much fish in this bucket, for me at least. The batter left a bit of oil on my hands, but beyond that no complaints.
There's more in the bucket, deep fried cuttlefish (yum), fries (fine) and chicken meatballs (why?). I liked and understood everything except the chicken meatballs, which were totally out of place.
Our main fear with this place was the price, but you can get a decent value here. If you come with a group one of their enormous, table-filling orders might even make sense. While you can eat here for just over Rs. 1,000, you'll want to budget at least Rs. 2,000 a head to have a full feast.
The Location
Cajun On Wheels is in the old Aura Cafe location, down Bullers Lane, which is just across from Independence Arcade. The structure is built out of containers and isn't huge, but it is cool and well decorated.
It's a bit cramped for the waiters to move about it, but once you sit down it's fine.
The Service
The people here are quite nice and attentive and the food comes fast. No complaints at all on the service side.
Conclusion
We were honestly scared to review this place because of the platter prices, but we managed to get in and out for less than Rs. 5,000 for two. If you order correctly that's manageable.
The quality of the seafood is quite good here and we'd recommend it in general. In Colombo they have competition from another franchise – Manhattan Fish Market – which hits a similar product and price range but in a bigger location.
Cajun On Wheels has a simpler menu, but what they do they do well and it's a satisfying and varied seafood meal. Plus they have parking. Overall we'd recommend.
