Mangrovia Lagoon - Ambalangoda

One of the best master cooking class I ever had. Madu knows a lot about the local food and their properties. It was a pleasure and delicious time. You have to book in advance, the location is also incredible, and the lunch in the lagoon with all cooked dishes was perfect.

We came here are dinner on our honeymoon. The setting is stunning-arrive early for some sunset drinks on the decking over looking the lagoon. Run by Italian and Sri Lankan couple-the pasta was insane. So fresh with fresh seafood. Would definitely come back.

We stayed at Mangrovia for one night and ate there for dinner. We wished we had booked for longer. One of the truly unforgettable places to stay and eat a romantic meal. We saw loads of wonderful wildlife and enjoyed chilling on the jetty soaking in the beatiful surroundings. My jumbo prawns were delicious, absolutely fresh as fresh, my husband had a home made pasta dish which although was a smallish portion was ample. The chocolate volcano was delicious. We also enjoyed a glass of Italian red wine (a rare treat in Sri Lanka). Yes, the food did cost more than other establishments in Sri Lanka we ate at bake houses which charged 200 rupees for a main course, a lot of mid range, and Mangrovia was our most expensive, but the setting and ambience made it the best meal we had. Some ingredients need to be imported, thus the bill, which was about the equivalent of £40 for wine, main and dessert was pretty good value at £20 a head. You certainly can't get much for that price in the UK. Unforgettable in a fabulously good way. The rooms are fantastic too and excellent value for money.

The food, the atmosphere and the setting here is amazing. The boat ride on the lagoon is beautiful too, the early evenings are so peaceful, with monkeys in the trees, birds coming home to roost, fishermen peacefully casting lines, and large water monitors waiting for a snack on the river banks. The menu here is a treat, everything is fresh, everything is prepared by the lovely chef, she makes all of the pasta and it is delicious. The cocktails are pretty good too, in fact excellent. The cooking classes here would be fantastic, it would be a real treat to learn to prepare everything so freshly

Two days before we left this beautiful country, we had decided to attend a cooking class to be able to cook these delicous meals ourselves. Chef Madhu let us decided what vegetables and spices we would like to cook with to prepare a typical Sri Lankan rice and curry. After that she told us a lot about the ingredients, where they were from, when they would grow and how we could use them back at home. The instructions of the cooking class were very easy to follow and if we had questions or needed time to take notes, she would repeat it again. After we had finished cooking we were allowed to eat all the rice and curry with a beautiful view across the Lagoon. Even though we did not prepare deserts, Madhu made some for us while we were enjoying our lunch. In the end Madhu surprised us with presents which contained all the spices from the cooking class. An unforgettable experience.