Let’s Sea Sunday Seafood Lunch at Heritance Negombo

All things seafood like never before!

Bluetan Restaurant at Heritance Negombo now offers a special Sunday seafood lunch like no other inculcated with the noble cause to promote the beautiful city of Negombo, through local and international cuisine prepared with locally produced ingredients, right down to the herbs used. By doing so, Heritance Negombo renders a helping hand to the community, supporting the livelihood of local farmers and fishermen. The buffet is priced at LKR 6,000 nett per person, here’s what we thought about it.

What’s incredibly special about this particular seafood lunch is that it’s not your ordinary buffet. From action stations to travelling stations that arrive at your table Bluetan truly nails the personalised gastronomic experience.

Drinks

Shooters

While there were no fresh juices on offer to drink by the glass, there was an Oyster Bar where fresh shooters were served. Both alcoholic and non-alcoholic shooters were available and out of the non-alcoholic shooters, a personal favourite was the Celery Shooter.

They have numerous interesting flavours so do not hesitate to step out of your comfort zone and get adventurous. Not pictured here is the alcoholic Bloody Mary Shooter we tried. With perfect ratios of Tabasco sauce, tomato juice and vodka, we absolutely loved this one!

Appetizers

To start our meal off, a selection of warm buns and butter was brought to the table on a compartmentalized tray, which stood out from the usual spread you would find at other hotels, where the buns are laid out at the buffet itself.

At the buffet, we found a wide array of plated appetizers, pickled veggies and a selection of cheese. Bluetan did not hold back on their range of appetizers which perfectly suited the seafood theme. It was super difficult to decide exactly which appetizers to go for but we finally settled on the following.

On plate: Prawns with Apple and Leeks, Tempered Crab Fennel with Mushroom and Cabbage Salad, Spicy Thai Seafood Salad

Prawns with Apple and Leeks

Curried leeks accompanied by spiced cubes of apple topped off with fresh and juicy shrimp made this an interesting appetizer due to the unusual combination of ingredients.

Tempered Crab Fennel with Mushroom and Cabbage Salad

The addition of pickles and mushroom along with the hidden cabbage salad gave the dish a nice contrast of flavours. However, the crab fennel lacked flavour so we weren’t too happy with this dish.

Spicy Thai Seafood Salad

This salad was easily the best appetizer we tried. Cubed fish, chopped prawns and cuttlefish along with yummy pickled onions and veggies made this salad colourful and absolutely delicious.

Mains

We were more than pleased with the sheer variety of mains. The buffet consisted of international seafood dishes along with a Sri Lankan spread. There was also a Stir Fry Action Station, Seafood Grill Station and an Oyster Bar, and just when we thought we were done with the mains, we also witnessed their special Seafood Travelling Action Station.

On plate: Spanish Seafood Rice, Prawn Chow Mein Noodles, Grilled Mullet and Cauliflower-Leek Puree with Broccoli and Lemon Gremolata, Fish White Curry, Shrimp Etouffee, Cuttlefish Tempered, Seafood Stir Fry Action Station, Grilled Seafood Action Station, Seafood Travelling Station, Oyster Bar

Spanish Seafood Rice

Imagine aromatic seafood paella minus the fluffy conventional grains of rice. This was a well-seasoned and vibrant staple for the rest of the dishes on offer.

Prawn Chow Mein Noodles

This staple was super flavoursome and included juicy prawns mixed with colourful vegetables. We preferred this in comparison to the Spanish Seafood Rice in terms of flavour.

Grilled Mullet with Cauliflower-Leek Puree and Broccoli with Lemon Gremolata

I cannot wait to go back and eat this again! The softness of the grilled mullet contradicted the crunch of the broccoli. The lemon gremolata added the right amount of zest to the fish and the cauliflower-leek puree was the cherry on top of this delicious dish.

Fish White Curry

This curry merged very well with the Spanish Seafood Rice. The fish was succulent and seasoned appropriately. Highly recommend this for people who cannot handle spicy food.

Shrimp Etouffee

Containing scrumptious shrimp doused in a delectable broth and herbs, this creole dish packed a heavenly punch in every mouthful. Absolutely no complaints here!

Cuttlefish Tempered

Off the Sri Lankan fare at the buffet, we picked this Lankan favourite. However, this surprisingly lacked the usual kick of spices Sri Lankan dishes generally boast.

Seafood Stir Fry Action

A must try! This was easily a crowd favourite and a personal one at that. Made straightaway and served steaming hot, one portion from this action station consisted of fish, prawns and cuttlefish mixed with plenty of bell pepper, zucchini, carrots and lettuce tossed in oyster sauce. So yummy!

Grilled Seafood Action Station

Choose as much seafood as your stomach craves for and get it grilled right in front of you. From mullet to jumbo prawns and a variety of fresh fish, Bluetan had it all!

Seafood Travelling Station

This is not your ordinary buffet. Adding to this splendid gastronomic experience is the Seafood Travelling Station which is essentially reminiscent of a shawarma, but with seafood instead. Their friendly and experienced staff served up some yummy tandoori prawns, thalapath fish marinated in Sri Lankan spices and seafood terrine with a curry sauce.

Oyster Bar

Oyster shots? Yes please! Topped with flavoured caviar and finely chopped veggies, these oyster shots can be washed down with their selection of shooters. We loved the tobiko and soya flavoured caviar and highly recommend the oyster bar for those adventurous souls out there.

Dessert

We were told that the chefs at Bluetan were highly specialised in desserts especially and it truly showed. The intricacies of all the desserts made the buffet look colourful and picturesque.

On plate: Crepes Action Station, Blueberry Financier, Dry Fruit Compote Pod De Cream, Chocolate Fondant, Berry opera

Crepes Action Station

Made with skill and precision, you can opt for as much topping as you want. We noticed that this particular action station was popular with the kids really bringing out the familial feel to this Sunday seafood lunch. We opted for good old chocolate sauce on our warm crepe. No regrets!

Blueberry Financier

This dessert was basically a glazed French mini muffin with a strong almond taste topped off with a blueberry coulis. Bite-sized and pretty, this looked too good to eat! That did not stop us from devouring it though. Sorry, not sorry.

Berry Opera

Layers of buttercream and almond sponge cake soaked in coffee topped off with raspberry compote, white chocolate flakes and a miniature meringue cookie made this dessert. We were super excited to take a bite of this delicacy but the flavour of raspberry overpowered the entire slice, so, unfortunately, this did not live up to our expectations.

Dry Fruit Compote Pod De Cream

If by any chance you stuff up on mains and have no room for dessert, fear not! This dessert was very light and will nicely tie up your entire meal. Topped off with prunes and apricots, we loved this simple dessert.

Chocolate Fondant

The Chocolate Fondant, in particular, was too strong for my liking. While this was supposed to be a molten chocolate cake, it had the consistency of a chocolate mousse so we were quite disappointed with this one.

Special Dessert Travelling Station

We were blown away with the service at Bluetan because they truly personalise your experience. This travelling station arrives at each table once guests have done their rounds at the buffet and are relaxing.

They begin by laying out a glass tray in front of you and place the following one by one: caramel sauce, raspberry and mango gel, vanilla and chocolate crumble, microwaved sponge cake, meringue cookies, assorted chocolates, a coco shell stuffed with milk chantilly, a profiterole filled with raspberry custard and a scoop of raspberry sorbet.

This was the winning dish of our entire meal, not only because it was curated with skill but also because everything tasted heavenly. The raspberry profiterole was the star of the entire dessert and this tray as a whole had all the customers captivated while they watched the specialised chefs at work.

While it is understandable to think twice before spending LKR 6000 nett per person on a buffet, the spread at Bluetan’s Sunday Seafood Lunch: Let’s Sea was remarkable. It is definitely worth your buck so do not let its price tag stop you. The incredible service makes it worth the trip and the explosion of flavours and attention to detail will keep you coming back for more!

Tip – Call ahead and make a reservation for a table in the outer area to enjoy the spectacular view while you enjoy your meal!