Cruising down the Beira with a plateful
View(s):By Smriti Daniel
There’s a lot to be said for a floating restaurant. Drifting around a lake, water birds taking off outside your window, sunshine glittering across the water, the occasional bob as the wake of another boat coincides with yours, it’s all part of the experience – as is taking your time.
8 Degrees North, docked at Cinnamon Lakeside’s pier at the Beira lake, looks less like a boat and more like a floating, two-tier hall. In the evenings, the wood panelled floors of the upper deck make for a great dance floor. A transparent dome and large windows allow you a fine view of the stars or (on special occasions) fireworks exploding over the city. During the day, however, it’s an entirely different experience. For starters, it’s hot. You’ll want to stay downstairs, in close proximity to the buffet and in the comfort of the air-conditioned dining room that keeps the blazing noon day sun at bay.
Dubbed the ‘bubbly brunch,’ part of the deal is endless refills of sweet, fizzy sparkling wine – only a disappointment to aficionados anticipating the very dry, crisp variety of champagne. (Incidentally, there’s also juice to start and tea/coffee to finish.) Drinking your first glass by the rails, looking out over the water, is the perfect start to your meal. The buffet does what you’d want a buffet in Sri Lanka to do – serve up generous portions of fresh, luscious sea food. The starters menu is rich on oysters, shrimp, mussels, crab and shoe-lobsters, all prepared extremely simply, with a range of sauces on hand to tweak them to your taste.
Fans of Japanese food will linger over plates of sushi and sashimi soaked in baths of wasabi and soy. With two soups, a lavish salad bar and freshly baked bread on hand, it’s easy to fill up well before you even get to the main courses and only the most dedicated buffet fans are likely to do the spread any kind of justice.
The selection of mains is a nice blend of Western and South Asian cuisine. However by this point, the only reason to eat more is because a dish is wonderful but the offerings can be somewhat uneven – we enjoyed the baked, delicately pink Norwegian salmon and the prawns in a flavourful green curry sauce. Service is attentive and warm – the small space allows personal attention such as the chief steward having the beef roast carved for you at your table. As you’d expect, desserts have a counter all to themselves. Think fruits and an assortment of beautiful little tarts and pastries.
If you’re curious about the experience, this is the only time you can walk in as an individual diner. The boat is reserved for private events the rest of the week. They encourage you to stay though, casting off at 1 p.m. and returning to the pier only at 3 p.m. It’s a lovely, delicious way to while away your Sunday afternoon, but should you wish to leave early, the captain will call up a motor boat to take you to shore.
The Bubbly Brunch is priced at Rs. 3,800, all inclusive. Call 011 2491000 for reservations.
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