If you're ever in Negombo, and craving for some good food, Lewis Lane is one of the places you should go. From different meats, pizza, burgers to seafood, booze and ice cream, this street is packed with all your favorite kinds of food.
While scoping out some interesting restaurants in this beautiful fishing town, we came across this place called Papou's Restaurant. Located down Lewis Lane, it's a well-known spot where you can grab a fancy meal without leaving a dent in your wallet.
Food
Serving up a range of burgers, sandwiches, pizzas, meat and seafood-centered specialties, the menu at Papou's Restaurant is pretty wide. They also serve beer and bites, if you're not looking for a heavy meal.
Featured here is the Grilled Medium Prawns (Rs. 950). You can choose the side and the sauce you want with it, and we went with french fries and garlic butter sauce.
Fleshy, chewy, and succulent, the prawns were grilled to perfection with a slightly charred flavor to boot. There were 11 prawns in this dish, along with a massive side of deliciously crispy, adequately salty french fries. Being the perfect compliment, the garlic butter sauce did a really good job enhancing the overall flavor of the meal.
The combination of perfect grilling and the good sauce is what all we need in a good pork chop, and Papou's Restaurant delivered it. At Rs. 950, it came with two sizeable pork chops, a sauce and a side of your choice – we opted for the red wine sauce and rosemary potato wedges.
The meat wasn't exactly flowing with juice, but we didn't mind as the red wine sauce made up for it. Adding a bit of tartness and leaving a fruity note on the palate, it was the true winner of this dish. The potato wedges were chunky, with a slightly crispy exterior and a soft middle, and had the ideal amount of seasoning.
As per the recommendation of our waitress, we tried a portion of Hot Butter Cuttlefish (Rs. 650) as well. It was both wet and crispy at the same time and boasted a rich spicy flavor. We really appreciated the fact that it was freshly made, and not re-fried. There were plenty of well-seasoned onions, capsicum, green and red chilies to go around, making it a great tapa to go with your beer.
Service & Ambience
The service was prompt, friendly and accommodating. They seem to know their way around the menu so well.
The place itself is fairly spacious, and they've kept the ambience very simple. It's more of a semi-indoor arrangement of wooden chairs and tables, enough to hold around 30 – 40 customers at a time. They've got a few giant fans, so you shouldn't be worried about the whole non-airconditioned environ here.
Conclusion
Freshly made delicious food, good portions that fill you up, and easy on the wallet – Papou's Restaurant does it right. We recommend!
