Ocean Seafood Restaurant — Restaurant in Colombo

Which ever country I am in, I am always on the quest for a good lobster dish. Not surprising then, that I ended up at Ocean, the seafood restaurant at the Kingsbury, in Colombo. I had arrived without a reservation, so after a brief wait and some arm twisting, I got a corner table right by the entrance. Oh well. Beggars cannot be choosers :). While the place was crowded and the seating limited, it had a good vibe, which is enhanced when you see their spread of fresh seafood on ice. They have it all (see my pictures). Diners go to the display and select what they wish to eat. And guess what, there are 40 different ways to cook your fancy, in cuisines that cover Indian, Thai, Chinese, Italian, Continental, Japanese and Sri Lankan. I chose a 0.73 kg lobster to be prepared in a tempered Sri Lankan style (with onions, chilies, etc), The preparation of the dish was unique, intense in taste, and took me to another place. It was very spicy, and should have been toned down so that the cooking style itself does not bury the taste and flavor of most of the lobster bites. For dessert, I asked for chocolate biscuit pudding. It was not on the menu, but the server obliged and got it from another restaurant at the hotel. It was tough, cold, hardly layered, too sweet and a disappointment. Service overall, was superb.

So I did go back for lobster again, but was keen on having it grilled with garlic butter and let me tell you it was the best grilled lobster I have ever had…. the meat was so tender like it was poached, even though it was grilled very succulent, juicy with intense flavor literally melting in your mouth, but with robust texture. Wow, this was really an amazing experience. So much so that I asked the manager to bring out the Chef (Damith Jayatileka) from the back, and I congratulated him for a perfectly prepared dish. See my pictures. I went back again on another day, and this time chose to have the grilled King Prawns with garlic butter and insisted chef Damith prepare it. Once again, a masterpiece of presentation, flavor, texture, and taste. See my pictures. Before that, Oysters Rockefeller with garlic toast was fantastic. Dessert was baked Alaska also pretty good. I will be going back, hopefully more than once, to have the lobster, as well as the king...

My fiancé and I popped into Ocean Seafood Restaurant for lunch on a weekday, and it was a pleasant experience overall. As expected for a weekday, the place was very calm and quiet with hardly any crowd, which suited us perfectly since we were looking for a relaxed, low-key meal. The ambiance was soothing—nothing fancy, but comfortable enough for a casual bite.

We decided to skip the traditional buffet and went for the à la carte menu instead, as we wanted something quick and tailored to our tastes. We ordered the seafood fried rice and a mac n cheese, and both dishes hit the spot. The seafood fried rice was packed with flavor—fresh, well-seasoned, and loaded with tasty bits of seafood that made every bite enjoyable. The mac n cheese was a pleasant surprise too; creamy, cheesy, and perfectly comforting without being overly heavy. For a quick lunch, the portions were just right, and the food came out fast, which we appreciated.

The service was another highlight—super friendly and attentive without hovering. The staff made us feel welcome and checked in just enough to ensure we were happy with everything. It’s not often you get that level of warmth for a simple weekday meal, so kudos to the team for that.

Overall, Ocean Seafood Restaurant is a solid choice for a quick, tasty bite in a laid-back setting. It’s not a blow-your-mind kind of spot, but it delivers on good food and friendly service, especially if you’re in the mood for seafood or a no-fuss lunch. We’d definitely consider stopping by again when we’re in the area and craving something simple...

Had dinner here with six friends on a Sunday night at 830pm. The crab curry, fried rices, risotto, thai fish curry were sensational. The eggplant was a miss for us - not much complexity and poor quality cheese on top.

The restaurant is beautiful but it was freezing cold. We are from Melbourne and still struggled with how cold it was- to the point we had to change tables and use napkins to keep ourselves warm.

The worst part was how long we had to wait for food with no updates. The food took in excess of an hour to arrive. When we asked for an update after an hour we were told another 20mins which was at least accurate.

Also we specifically ordered the crab curry after clarifying that the crab meat would be removed from the shell for us but this didn't happen and had to complain for it to ensue.

Finally - and this was the strangest part- they brought out the wrong rice to our table but because we were all so hungry we didn't notice. However the writer came back a couple of minutes later and asked to take it back- which included scraping it off ny individual plate. Was absurd and should have just been given to us.

As a positive the sides/accompanying dishes were very good value. Some of the seafood was a little expensive for average quality (ie 6 average sized tempura prawns for $35 USD).

Would not go back and would...