Restaurants with a view are always entertaining because there is something to watch if you’re dining alone, or waiting too long for the waiter. Pier 88, behind the Nebula Supermarket in Alutgama, the town by the West Coast’s Bentota River, offers views of a statue of Buddha on a river rock, riverine wildlife (water monitors and cormorants), calamitous water-skiers and trains rumbling across a distant bridge.
The story behind this bar and restaurant is a tale of fun and friendship. In April 1995, Nishan Fernando, the young owner, opened Nebula as a supermarket specialising in items for foreign residents and tourists. He started in a small way and had lots of encouragement and his customers from overseas became friends.
Behind the shop was a patch of jungle leading down to the bank of the Bentota River. He cleared the jungle and in 1996 erected a small hut and created a garden and restaurant for friends and guests to relax and have fun. Gradually this became a popular meeting place so over the years he extended it as a restaurant, built a smart bar and pavilion, added a pier and improved all the facilities.
He says he was only able to do this because of the help and advice generously given by customers, friends and professionals. It is because of the encouragement of Sri Lankan and foreign residents and visitors who have become regulars. This has resulted in Pier 88 becoming the neighbourhood’s most popular bar and restaurant.
Go there once and the service, ambience, the price and, of course, the food, will surely make you want to return when you’ll receive a genuinely warm “Welcome Back!’ This place is so good for food and service, you might even forget the river view!
