The Dutch Burgher Union of Ceylon — Restaurant in Colombo

This was my first ever visit to the Dutch Burgher Union in Colombo. Centrally located, it was an ideal place to stay. I booked a standard room on a credit card. The Dutch Burgher Union has an old school charm about it. The rooms are modern with en suite shower rooms. There is a safe and a fridge (which I needed), in the room. The DBU has an excellent VOC Cafe and you can have breakfast, lunch and dinner here. I absolutely loved their bacon and egg pastries and seeni sambol rolls and the DBU iced coffee is out of this world! The staff are very attentive and service is prompt. They always treat you with the utmost courtesy - absolute professionals at the VOC Cafe. I loved the "Lamprais" (a Sri Lankan dish that was introduced by the country's Dutch Burgher population), at the DBU restaurant upstairs which has a real colonial feel about it. I enjoyed the music and the the Sri Lankan beer at their themed events. They had a Hopper Night - the place was packed and guests were on the dance floor. I think the DBU Management are missing a trick, however, and that is to look at the whole dining concept of Breakfast at the DBU. I would highly recommend that they extend the food on offer - how about a whole PR and marketing campaign on "Breakfast at the DBU" offering both Sri Lankan and Western Cuisine. While I was there and since I was visiting Sri Lanka, I would have loved to have tasted a Sri Lankan breakfast with kiribath and the accompaniments, or stringhoppers or pittu and exquisite Sri Lankan curries. They could leave the Egg Hoppers and Hoppers for their popular Hopper Nights. Coming back to breakfast, some visitors might prefer western cuisine so how about a good old full English breakfast at the DBU? I would urge the DBU management and chefs to consider this idea. Bring it on! Variety they say is the spice of life and that includes breakfast at the DBU! ||This is a lovely place, I felt very relaxed here. The security at the gate was tight with ex military men as security guards, the Sri Lankan Police are literally outside flagging cars for checks - if you ever need them. The Cargills supermarket is on the opposite side and you can top up your Sri Lankan SIM cards on your mobile phone there. I have to say I enjoyed the Papaya fruit and Sri Lankan Kandos chocolate at Cargills! Simply the best! Spa Ceylon is walking distance for your wellness needs. There are two ATMs close by - at the Bank of Ceylon and the Commercial Bank. Plenty of restaurants close by. If you want to travel around Colombo, you can hail a tuk tuk outside the DBU or use a local cab company. Laksala the government handicraft store is walking distance.||There was one blip - a cleaner had left my room door open,when I was at the DBU, with the fan on and the lights on - there was a guest staying in the room next to me and they could have seen what was inside my room. Any one could have walked into my room and gone through my things as there were no CCTV cameras covering those rooms. I raised it with the President of the DBU while I was staying there who I must say was rather decisive and took immediate action - he changed housekeeping policies and censured the cleaner for his criminal negligence. I believe the cleaner broke Sri Lankan laws. Guests need to feel safe and it must not happen again at a respected club such as the DBU. I was impressed at the DBU President's decisive action. I believe more CCTV cameras are being set up as I write, to protect the safety of guests. This is absolutely essential. ||I am looking foward to returning to the DBU, one sunny day. This place is rich in history, very much a part of the fabric of the culture...

On 12 November 1907 Richard Anthonisz organised a preliminary meeting of men and women of the Dutch Burgher community at the Lindsay School Hall in Bambalapitiya to consider the establishment of a Dutch Burgher Union. A small committee was appointed to draft a constitution for the union. The inaugural general meeting of the union was held on 18 January 1908 at the Pettah Public Library, with 267 enrolled members present.4] At the meeting Frederick Charles Loos, a Proctor and Member of the Legislative Council was elected as the first president of the union, with Anthonisz as Honorary Secretary (a position he retained until 1915).[5] The second president of the union was Henry Lorensz Wendt who, however, died two months after his election and in 1912 was replaced by Fedrick Henry de Vos. In 1913 Sir Hector William van Cuylenburg was elected as the fourth president of the union. In 1916, Anthonisz was elected president, a position he held for fourteen years until his death in 1930.[5]

The first writ described the vision of union, and it stated ".. promote the moral, intellectual and social well-being of the Dutch and Dutch Burgher descendants in Ceylon (Sri Lanka).. and among many others .. the promotion of fellowship, self-help, self-reliance and thrift."[1] Membership of the Dutch Burgher Union was governed by strict genealogical qualifications, with members having to demonstrate an uninterrupted line of patrilineal descent from a European employee of the Dutch East India Company.[6]

Initially, the union sublet two rooms at Sea View, Kollupitiya; the union soon set about raising funds to establish a more permanent accommodation.[4] In 1913, the union acquired land in Cinnamon Gardens on Buller's Road (now Bauddhaloka Mawatha) and Serpentine Road, where it constructed a two-storey building. The ground floor of the building contains a vestibule which leads to a large public room, with a sprung teak floor, which was used for lectures and dances. A carved wooden staircase leads to the upper floor, which houses a billiard room, bar, card rooms, a drawing room and a reading room.[4] There is also a wing containing residential quarters for outstation members and space at the rear of the building which was initially used for horses and carriages and subsequently for car parking. The grounds also contained tennis courts and a netball court. As the suburb developed, the union was forced to sell much of its grounds for new roads and to pay for increasing property rates.

The Dutch Burgher Union still operates in Colombo as a centre for social and community activities.[7] It has been described as a "once a powerful secret society but now only a gloomy billiard hall near Buller Road, draped in dust and cobwebs".

The union manages St Nikolaas' Home (a care home for elderly women of the Burgher community), and the Brohier Memorial Home (for...

I recently had a disappointing experience at DBU joint and feel compelled to share my honest feedback about the quality of their food and customer service.

I visited a place called Dutch Burger Union and decided to order their grilled chicken, expecting a delicious and flavorful meal. However, to my disappointment, the chicken turned out to be extremely salty. It was so overpoweringly salty that I couldn't even finish a single bite.

In disbelief, I called over the waiter and expressed my dissatisfaction with the dish. The waiter took the chicken back to the kitchen to show it to the chef as I requested and assured me that they would address the issue. I specifically asked the waiter to have the chef taste the chicken to understand the problem.

Unfortunately, despite the waiter's claim of informing the chef about my concerns, the chef never bothered to come and apologize for serving such a poor quality dish. I felt ignored and disrespected by the lack of attention given to my complaint.

To make matters worse, when I received the bill, I was shocked to find that I was expected to pay for the dish that I couldn't even eat. This added insult to injury and left a sour taste in my mouth, metaphorically speaking.

The overall customer service I experienced at Dutch Burger Union was subpar, to say the least. Not only was the quality of the food extremely disappointing, but the lack of accountability from the chef and the requirement to pay for an inedible dish only compounded my dissatisfaction.

I had higher expectations for Dutch Burger Union and had hoped for a better dining experience. Unfortunately, my experience left me feeling greatly let down. I sincerely hope that they take this feedback seriously and work on improving their food quality and customer service in the future.

Based on my encounter, I cannot recommend Dutch Burger Union to others and caution potential customers to be aware of the poor quality of food and lackluster customer service they may encounter.

I believe it is important to share honest experiences, and I hope that my review helps others make...