Negombo Express Food Tour with 7+ Tastings

Sooooo much food!

Great authentic food experience. Sooooo much food! Don’t eat for a week beforehand. Our guide was a lovely guy but limited English and conversation/information.

via Viator

It was very fun and lots...

It was very fun and lots of food - a bit too spicy for me though. Fun riding in the Tuk Tuk and guide was very informative.

via Viator

Fantastic food tour

Fantastic food experience! Very experienced and thorough, great variety and well looked after right from pick-up to the end. Loved it!

via Viator

Unenjoyable experience, not as advertised, poor planning and pacing

Would not recommend this tour. We've been on multiple food tours throughout the world at this point, and unfortunately this was by far the worst we've experienced, food tour or otherwise. The positives: - the food itself and locations were good and we probably would not have known about the restaurants on our own. - the pickup and drop off were easy, transportation was good, and communication before the start was helpful Negatives. Tour not as advertised: - length: the whole tour lasted under 2 hours despite being advertised as 3.5hrs. - itinerary not as advertised and parts missing: There were no drinks, no king coconut, no spice or tea tasting, no exploration of Negombo or anything of the sort. - uneducational: there was no attempt to explain the foods or tell us anything about Negombo, aside from 'this is a traditional Sri Lankan food' which is implied. We learnt nothing from this tour that we couldn't have just Googled ourselves - disengaged guide: although our guide was nice, he might have something happening at home as he was on the phone for the majority of the time and seemed to be rushing through the tour. In which case, it would've been best if he just cancelled it. Attempts to ask him questions about Negombo or the food resulted in a short answer and just very little engagement to make the tour interesting at all. Other cons — portion sizes: on similar tours a plate of food is shared between 2-4 participants which allows everyone to have a taste of something new while having enough room to taste many things. This was not the case, we were given whole plates of food for each person and a lot would have been wasted if we didn't take the food with us. Going so quickly through restaurants meant that it was hard to enjoy the food and there was too much given too fast. No time to savour or really enjoy the food. - samey food items: the only foods we were introduced to were savoury items, all of which were a variation of bread or dough (dosa, hopper, kotthu). There were no sweet items or anything else, no drinks besides bottled water (even though coconut and tea were advertised) . This could have so much potential, maybe seasonal exotic fruits, Sri Lankan sweets, etc. Overall I cannot willingly recommend this tour to anybody. This whole tour did not feel like a food tour, it felt like a speedrun of 3 restaurants via tuk tuk.

Response from the operator: Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback. We sincerely appreciate all reviews, as they help us improve our service. First of all, we would like to honestly acknowledge our mistakes on this tour. We are very sorry that the king coconut was not provided, the tea and spice shop was not visited, and that the driver used his mobile phone during your eating time. This does not meet our service standards, and we truly regret this experience. We have already addressed this issue with our driver to ensure it does not happen again. Regarding the tour expectations, we would like to kindly clarify a few points. This experience is advertised and sold as a Negombo food tour, not a Negombo city sightseeing tour. However, our driver still provided a basic introduction to Negombo during the journey. The main focus of the tour is food, as clearly stated in the itinerary. All the masala-based food items and restaurants listed in the itinerary were provided. We also have photos from the tour showing the food served and CCTV records at the restaurants confirming that guests had sufficient time to eat independently, without being rushed. Since 2015, we have been serving food in this manner, with full main-dish plates, as this reflects Sri Lankan dining culture, where guests are offered complete meals rather than shared tasting portions. This tour is not advertised as a group sharing experience, and this is not mentioned anywhere in our listing. If guests have specific preferences, we are always happy to explain details before booking. Additionally, our itinerary clearly lists the food items included, and we do not mention sweets or desserts as part of this tour. Guests were also allowed to take away any remaining food from each location. Once again, we sincerely apologize for the missed items and any disappointment caused. Your feedback is taken seriously and helps us improve our service for future guests.

via Tripadvisor

Amazing Scooty Tour

What a fun way to explore Negombo! Riding the scooty along the beach and through local streets was amazing. Our guide was super friendly and showed us hidden places we’d never find on our own. Highly recommended!”

via Tripadvisor