Royal Thai - Cinnamon Lakeside — Restaurant in Colombo

If I could give this place a minus star rating I would!!

SLOW service & many staff who don't seem to understand the concept of good service to the level they bill themselves. This is the service level I would accept from a no star hotel. But for a group of hotels that advertise an above average experience this was far from that.

If I start, with menus. They seem to believe technology for the sake of technology is the in thing.. With QR code menus everywhere. Apart from if they are required due to covid regulations I find them the most inconvenient and unergonomic way to have a menu... Having been given a single menu between 7 people and asking for a further, then even after asking if everyone at the table could please have a menu each, having another single menu brought with no explanation... is beyond bad service. I asked specifically if they were short of menus or if it was due to covid restrictions but no answer... So I assume not.. In fact half way through reading the menus a waiter came over and asked if he could take one away.... When we eventually gave the menus back, two immediately went to another table without cleaning (there goes the covid excuse) and one went back on a pile of menus... So no shortage either. This was the start...

Then the drinks took and extraordinary amount of time to arrive... The restaurant was not busy... Even after asking if the bottle of water could come first as a person in our group was thirsty, it took too long.

The food came quickly, but I'm assuming most of that has been pre-cooked judging by the fact all the dishes were a little beyond warm and not piping hot. The taste? Mediocre. Acceptable, but nothing to write home about.

The desserts were probably the only thing that was pretty good... But also took a long wait! The coffee btw, is disgusting.

There are many places in Colombo with far better food at this price point. Try those. Don't try here.

To be clear, a few years back this place and hotel were really good....

Had booked a table for a special occasion. Had called two days prior and booked a table for two. The intention was to surprise my girlfriend who I met after a year because of the pandemic and propose to her. Unfortunately bad decision by choosing this restaurant. Had mentioned while booking that it's a special occasion and I'm booking the table to propose my girlfriend zero acknowledgment on that by the staff. Never mind it was special for me not for him so I decided to move on with the plan. When I arrived at the restaurant the table wasn't ready. The manager just pulled a table from the other tables and asked us to sit there. Even that was okay. We requested to sit inside as it was a warm day the manager refused straight away the waiter was kind enough to ask the manager again and arrange a table for us inside after we said we don't have a problem waiting. After waiting for 45 minutes we got a table and no one came to take our order for another 30 minutes. We weren't really in a rush because I was meeting my girlfriend after a year and we had a lot to catch up on. Finally someone came to take our order. Was expecting good food after a long unfortunately the food was disappointing too. The waiters were in a rush the managers seemed bit tensed and it wasn't a good environment for me to propose so I decided to move to the bar next to the restaurant because luckily Royal thai was out of desserts. Anyway long story short not at all happy with the service and the food as well or it wasn't a good...

I recently had the pleasure of dining at what I can confidently call the best Thai restaurant in Colombo. I brought a group of friends visiting from Switzerland, who were eager to experience authentic Thai cuisine in Sri Lanka, and this restaurant exceeded all expectations.

From the moment we stepped inside, we were welcomed by a warm ambiance that transported us straight to the heart of Thailand. The menu offered a wide variety of dishes, each more tempting than the last. Every dish we ordered was bursting with vibrant, authentic flavors that left us all amazed. From the perfectly balanced soups to the richly spiced main dishes, every bite was a journey into the essence of Thai cuisine.

What truly made this experience unforgettable was the reaction from my Swiss friends, who have traveled extensively around the world and sampled Thai food in numerous countries. They unanimously agreed that this was the best Thai food they had ever tasted and were absolutely astonished by the depth and authenticity of each dish. The flavors were a perfect harmony of sweet, sour, salty, and spicy—just as they should be in true Thai cooking.

So impressed were they by the experience that they insisted on meeting the chef personally to express their gratitude and admiration. It’s not every day you find food so exceptional that it compels you to thank the chef in person, but this was one of those rare occasions.

Overall, it was a fantastic experience, and we were more than satisfied with the value for the...