A Foodie Must-Have: Coconut Tree

I recently visited The Coconut Tree in Bournemouth with some lovely ladies of the Bournemouth Bloggers. The food is Sri Lankan street food. Think Asia meets Tapas.

This tapas or meze style dining is my favourite. Mostly because I’m the most indecisive person ever so it means I can choose multiple dishes I like (they recommend three or four per person). But, also because it is (I believe) the most social style of dining. Like in Greece, we spent hours chatting and eating, the time flew by. The staff were so friendly and attentive, and gave us recommendations before we ordered.

When I went, Yasmin and I shared:

• Hot, battered, spicy mushrooms – they were delicious and you get sooo many. I didn’t find them spicy at all so no worries if you can’t handle heat!!
• Cheesy Colombo – it was like halloumi in a sweet, sticky sauce. One of the favourites at the table.
• Brinjals – This was like a mix of some of my favourite veg. Makes a perfect side dish when you have a lot of spicy
• Hot battered spicy cuttlefish – this was similar to calamari and was one of my favourite dishes we had. The waitor highly recommended it to us.
• Black pork – this is a pork belly curry and comes in a really cool, black pot. I definetly recommend getting this with rice to make it a proper curry.
• Devilled chicken wings and prawns – this was in the same sauce as the cheese. They were INCREDIBLE. The prawns were huge.
• Last but not least… Hoppers – This is a classic, Sri Lankan street food dish. It is like a pancake with different salsas/sauces and an optional egg. You eat it similarly to a pancake too.

With our dinner we were given a drink of choice. I got the Sriki-Tiki which was delicious and came with a show. Our waiter sprinkled cinnamon while my drink was on fire causing sparks. How cool! It was delicious too, think summer cocktails and island flavours.

If you are lucky enough to have a Coconut Tree near you (Bristol, Cardiff, Cheltenham, Oxford and of course, Bournemouth) then definitely get down to one.