‘Hard Rock’ rocks Unawatuna

By Sanath Weerasuriya, Pix by Nilan Maligaspe

Hard Rock Cafes, though not found in Sri Lanka, are popular restaurants around the world. But ‘Hard Rock’ is a specialized sea food restaurant located on Unawatuna Beach, considered as one of the best beaches in Asia. Started in 1997, 'Hard Rock' restaurant is a popular place among foreigners visiting Southern Province.

Anura Yatawara

The restaurant is a brain child of Anura Yatawara, an experienced hotelier in the South. 'I just started this place in very small way and it has grown in to a big project now. The main reason is serving the need of the tourist. Most of the visitors are dying to eat a good sea food platter and we are the best at it' explained Yatawara. His new project is the new project Ocean Bay Hotel catering mainly to tourists coming for adventure and water sports.

‘Our main service is to arrange facilities for water sports, adventure boat ride service to 'Jungle Beach' in Roomassala off the Unawatuna coast and taking tourists on deep sea fishing trips’ said Anura. Apart from that, 'Hard Rock' arranges city tours to traditional tourists. ‘Galle Fort, religious places and ancient places and locations, turtle hatcheries, handicraft villages spice gardens are some of the popular places we include in these tours’ he added.

‘Hard Rock’ is planning to expand during this year by adding a pizza centre for Italian food lovers. ‘Since lately, we get quite a number of Italian visitors and that's why we think of going for a pizza corner. But still the British tourists are the number one travellers to the South’ said Yatawara. For more details contact 091 2246288.