Elita Restaurant — Restaurant in Galle

We treated ourselves to a more expensive meal, which is a luxury given we’re travelling, but this place really disappointed.

The calamari was covered in a tomato sauce similar to what you would get in a tinned pasta sauce like Dolmio. There were a few dishes on the menu in a tomato sauce so I sincerely hope they’re not all like this.

The red snapper was decent which is why they get the extra star; however, we had to argue to have the red chili sauce as apparently the chef thought because my girlfriend was Italian she couldn’t handle the spice (why have a red chili and green chili dressing as options if you’re then going to say no and push people to have the coconut or the lime dressing options?), and for the price of almost 7000rs was definitely overpriced.

I treated myself to the arrack cocktail which was disappointing as it just tasted cheap and sweet. We paid the same price for a cocktail at the posh Galle Fort Hotel which was phenomenally nicer.

Our waiter was a bit manic which can be funny and quirky at times, but was just a bit tiring on this occasion. When he brought the bill he was speaking chaotically about how they hadn’t added on the service charge and if we could do that. I just said yes to shut him up and even did the maths for him. Looking back, I’m not sure if this was all part of the show just to charge us more.

I wasn’t sure whether to write a review as I don’t want to damage people’s livelihoods but felt they really needed to know how disappointing this was. Our bill came to 16,200rs (£40) which is a hell of a lot for Sri Lanka and was not worth it; especially given in a lot of places along the coast you can get delicious rice and curry buffets for 1000rs… I’ve seen the reviews that they add bits on to the bill and am wondering now if they did that with ours, as when I left I couldn’t work out how it had been as much as it was, plus reflecting on the odd tirade about adding the service charge.

They need to up their game if they’re charging this much. If you’re planning a nice meal in Galle, I’d suggest...

As I can see, this is a seafood restaurant recommended by a lot of hotels and locals. It turned out to be probably the worst dining experience in my life (and I dine out a lot). There were 8 of us including two young children for our Christmas dinner. We even made a reservation ahead of time. When we got there, there were basically 5 kinds of seafood available and some can be cooked in different ways. After we ordered, we were told 3 out of the five seafood is not available that day. The reason being it is Christmas Day and the fishermen do not go out for fresh catch that day. Well I guess it is not the first Christmas for the restaurant and they would not have planned better? No calamari, no crab and no clams. All we could have is fish and so-called king prawns.

We waited for at least 30mins before the first dish was served. And literally the first as there were no dishes coming for another 20mins and by this time, everybody finished the one and only bite of the first finish. My patience by this time is out the window and I told the staff, we want all dishes to be served together and not one dish every 20mins or so. Not to my surprise, they did it again and again. Mind you the serving size is small too. I have no idea how they managed to run a restaurant for all these time not evening knowing what is called customer service.

In terms of the food, it is nothing great and a few of us found it to be too salty compared to other food we had in Sri Lanka.

By the time we went and paid, I made obvious that I am very unhappy and they offered a big discount. However no discount scan compensate for a completely ruined Christmas dinner.

I would definetely recommend you to go elsewhere for good seafood (like at the King Fisher Hotel further away from Halle fort) and get a pleasant experience.

I would have rated this place -1 if it is possible....

Absolutely Not Recommended

We came here for lunch in early January 2025 and ordered two dishes, having enjoyed a seafood platter the previous night at Bastille, and wanted to try another eatery. I had read some reviews of restaurants in Galle and, since we only had 1.5 days in town, decided to ask the locals I met in a café for recommendations. Not sure if the locals were paid to say what they said, or if the chef at Elita wasn’t working that afternoon, but the food we ordered was absolutely disappointing!

1. There are two entrances: one near the main gate of Galle Fort and another fancier one facing a small alley. We entered through the first.
2. The staff seemed clueless when we arrived and didn’t know what to do.
3. The waiting time was excessive, though longer waits seem to be common in Galle compared to other parts of Sri Lanka.
4. Once the food arrived, flies swarmed the table, and the staff did nothing to address the issue.
5. The prawns were ridiculously small, with mushy, unfirm flesh - clearly not fresh.
6. Crab options: There were supposedly two crab options, but we were told they only had sea crabs in yellow curry, not the Lagoon Crab we wanted.
7. Sea crabs in yellow curry: This dish was an absolute joke. It consisted of four steamed flower crabs in an extremely thin, bland curry sauce. It barely qualified as a curry, and of all places in Sri Lanka!!! The crabs themselves were pathetic - tiny, with very little meat and even less flavour.

To top it all off, the staff were quick to clear our plates and ask for feedback. HOW DARE YOU. I didn’t hold back, pointing out the horrendous experience and questioning whether the food was really prepared by the chef who proclaimed to have spent 20 years as a chef in Belgium. You're bashing your signboard man!

Absolutely...