Blue Lagoon, Jetwing Lagoon's restaurant, impresses with its exquisite architecture and decoration, 5-star service and prime location on Negombo lagoon bank. The food is not that exciting though.
Blue Lagoon's menu offers a large range of Sri Lankan, Asian and Western inspired snacks, mains and drinks. Unless you or your crew is extremely picky, you should find something to munch on or to sip in.
Food and drinks are well executed and presented and they surprisingly come at a reasonable price. If you choose wisely and stay away from the booze, you can have a decent meal for about Rs. 1,200 or even less. Some substantial options such as burgers or pastas are priced around Rs. 800. It's not as cheap as a filling meal at your usual buth kade but in such a location, you'd expect the bill to be inflated.
The Food
While we were waiting for our mains to come out of the kitchen – which didn't take long by the way – we were given a complementary basket of breads with olive oil and roasted onion cream. Nice touch.
We opted for the Rosemary Pork Cutlets with Fruit Kebabs (Rs. 1,300). It was refined and generous. The two pork cutlets were nicely cooked and seasoned. As stated on the menu, they came with a side of roasted pineapple and mango on a skewer. The sweet and salty combo worked really well with the meat. And one of the best parts of having some roasted fruits as a side instead of rice or fries, is that we weren't feeling stuffed.
The Spaghetti Bolognese (Rs. 850) came deconstructed with the Bolognese sauce and parmegiano on the side. It enabled us to check that each element was well executed: pastas were al dente, the sauce was meaty and tasty and the parmegiano, well… cheesy? All together, it obviously worked well. Again, the portion was generous.
We also ordered the Vegetarian Spring Rolls with Asian Noodles (Rs. 750). The spring rolls dough was nice, fluffy and flavoursome. The well cooked noodles were served with veggies, in a kind of a chop suey sauce. I personally found the noodle dish a bit boring but to be fair, I'm not a chop suey person.
All in all, the food was nice and we couldn't fault anything but it didn't wow us as much as the surroundings.
The Drinks
As for drinks, we went for a Mango juice at around Rs. 500 and it was worth every penny. So good we gulped it as soon as it landed on the table and therefore we don't have any picture of it. They use natural and fresh mangoes so the drink didn't need any sugar. One of the best mango juices we've ever had.
We also had a round of Espressos at Rs. 350 each. The espresso was an honest one and fulfilled its purpose of waking us up for the drive back to Colombo.
The Ambience
Designed by the legendary architect Geoffrey Bawa and operated by Jetwing, this place is obviously charming and luxurious. There's nothing not to like in the design of the restaurant and, more generally, of the hotel. Jetwing did a good job in keeping the decoration simple, enhancing this way the architecture and the natural surroundings.
The restaurant is vast, and in addition to the spacious dining room, it has a comfy lounge and a narrow terrace on the lagoon. Almost empty on the day we visited, the place felt very private and exclusive.
The star here is definitely the lagoon. Try to get here before the sunset to enjoy the soothing sight of the scenery from the golden hour to the pitch-dark night when fairy lights illuminate the majestic tree in front of the restaurant.
The Service
Service is 5-star. The staff is attentive without being disruptive at any time. They let you chill and wander around as much as you want and don't pressure you to leave or overconsume once you're done with your meal or drinks. We've easily spent half a day there on the stormy day we came in.
Staff is also very efficient and orders didn't take long to reach the table.
Conclusion
More than the food, it's the 5-star atmosphere and the stunning view on the lagoon that's really special here.
