44 Porutota Road, Ethukala, Negombo
Closed right now
Bijou is a Swiss restaurant in Negombo located along Sea Street. They serve well priced, filling meals that are accompanied by excellent service and hospitality from both the staff and owners
A jewel in the necklace of Negombo's Porutota strip, Bijou is one of the oldest restaurants in the area. Over 35 years old, it's been run smoothly over the decades by a lovely older Swiss lady named Dolly. We're glad to note that even when she's not in the country, service and quality matches up to the nostalgia!
The menu reflects the ownership's Europeaness as well as the restaurant's location, with plenty of heavy meat and cheese dishes like schnitzel, steak, and even fondue, but also plenty of local produce like calamari, king prawn, and seasonal vegetables. The menu is also bilingual, which is pretty handy for all the Germans, Austrians, and Swiss swinging through the beach town.
If you're drinking, alcoholic options are pretty reasonable, with a local gin or arrack at Rs. 375. As for food, we opted for two fairly varied options, out of enthusiasm, and also to see how the chef managed both.
I got a Grilled King Prawns in Garlic Butter Sauce (Rs. 1500), which came teamed with a generous serving of mixed fried rice, fresh salad in vinaigrette, and an extra serving of garlic butter sauce. While it was a tad bothersome that the prawns were still in their shell (perhaps my fault for not specifying I wanted them peeled), the execution otherwise was perfect.
The natural texture and flavour of the prawn was not obscured by the preparation, and the rice was tasty enough to be eaten by itself. The salad was fine too, but was neglected due to the sheer deliciousness of the main plate. Obviously, I slathered everything in the additional garlic butter, which was great for taste and terrible for arteries.
We also tried the Pepper Steak (Rs. 1300), a Bijou classic. We got it done medium (I'm still working myself up to medium-rare, sorry), and were pleasantly surprised by the soft, tender local meat we were presented with. The cut of meat was lovely in itself, and easily one of the cheapest steaks on the island at Rs. 1300, especially in that heavenly, thick pepper sauce. I thoroughly enjoyed the oversized blob of creamy mashed potatoes too. It was a simple, superb meal, and well worth it. In comparison, Colombo needs to step its game up.
The ambience reminds me of an old diner somewhere at the foot of the alps, with plenty of wooden furniture, old outdated pictures and advertisements, and colourful gingham mats. There's also some unhappy looking fish in a tank, very retro.
My favourite part is the little book case in the middle, with plenty of classic titles and a predominantly German selection of novels (there's even a complete set of German Harry Potter books. Harry Potter und die Kammer des Schreckens, anyone?). The inside restaurant is starting to look a bit careworn, especially during the day, but at night it's quite cosy and lively. For proof, check out this sweet video of owner Dolly rocking it on an accordion.
There's also this strange chef statue outside that's been around forever.
The steaks are this high.
Service was impeccable for a sleepy beach town. Our waiter has only been around for about 5 years, but he was incredibly friendly, and happy to chat with us about life, tourists, and the restaurant. He was also efficient, despite being the only present waitstaff juggling a couple of tables. Every order was right, he was able to recommend dishes, and everything came out in express time.
Overall, we're going to have to dish out some bisous for bijou. The prices are very reasonable, the location is convenient, the quality is still commendable, and it's got that heavy dosage of nostalgia the new spots can't inject you with. Just call ahead and make sure it's open though!
One of Negombo's oldest restaurants, serving up Swiss fare at reasonable prices.
Bijou is a Swiss restaurant in Negombo located along Sea Street. They serve well priced, filling meals that are accompanied by excellent service and hospitality from both the staff and owners
සිංහල බිජෝ කියන්නේ මීගමුවේ පෝරුතොට පාරේ තියෙන ස්විට්සර්ලන්ත අවන්හලකට. එයාලා සාධාරණව මිල නියම කළ, කදිම කෑම ලබා දෙනවා. සේවාව අති විශිෂ්ටයි වගේම අයිතිකරුවන්ගේ සහ කාර්යමණ්ඩලයේ ආගන්තුක සත්කාරය ඉතාම ඉහළයි.
Address
44 Porutota Road, Ethukala, Negombo
Directions
Head down Sea Street.
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Ratings Breakdown
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jam
I haven't been to this place but come on… seriously…1200Rs for cordon bleu? That's way too much…
tidalbobo
I would totally recommend NOT to go here if you are Srilankan. Sad though, this is a true experience that somewhat tarnished our recent visit to Negambo. Despite being seated for over 15 minutes, 3 reminders to the waiter and one reminder to the managers ( sort of) person at the counter area, we got ZERO service.
I would generally attribute this to being a busy time, if not for the prompt attention all the foreigners got all around us, despite arriving afterwards.
And we were not the only locals who got the same treatment. The food may be good, but who needs attitudes or behaviors of this sort….
Keith
There is another restaurant in the are (Ice bear I think or something that sounds similar) who refused to serve us because we were Sri Lankan. It is an insult that should not be tolerated.
Keith
There is a similar place called Icebear (Or sounds something like that). They refuse to serve us as it was for foreigners only. Very bad and should not be tolerated in Sri Lanka.
sanaya
This restaurant is just overrated.
SP
After having lived in Switzerland for many years and throughly enjoying the cuisine on offer, I was excited to try this restaurant following the review in YAMU…
All I can say is that I was extremely disappointed, just by reading the menu (after which I actually got up and left!)… There were nearly no Swiss dishes on the 7/8page menu! In fact the only one I could see was Cheese fondue…
Even more shocking was that this "Swiss" restaurant had Chinese and Devilled dishes!
I am glad I was passing by Negombo anyway and didn't make a special trip to read that disappointing menu!
gaya
I guess the other commenters have not caught the 'quirky' vibe that Indi's Yamu capturs subtlely and perceptively by this review. I used to live with my Dutch boyfriend while working for MAS during one memorable year 1999. Dolly had been diagnosed with cancer in Switz and instead of spending her years in the western cradle of medical marvels, decided to invest in this resto and have an active and happy life. The woman is a wonderful creature and it is not for the menu that I went there but for the crazy-quirky atmo of a real-live trattoria style place in Negombo where anyone is welcome. We had her cheese fondue 2000 31st night with other friends. Long live Dolly and her spirit. That little resto stands for a lot more than its menu!
Farah
Yamu i don't think your reviews match the standards of the place, unless you're paid to advertise it.
I have had a really terrible food experience there. I had to throw up the food on the table. It was that bad. They gave us stale food. Maybe the owner should be back in Sri Lanka to close the place so at least someone won't get food poisoning.
Please take serious notes, because based on your reviews people visit restaurants, Bijou was one of your earlier reviews and that's the reason we went there. Now i am highly in doubt whether to take any of your reviews seriously!