Sex and the City: Where to Go on a Hot Date in Colombo by Devanshi Mody

But romancing also requires imagination, and to make things more exciting, we’ve included more subtly sexy venues.

If beauty’s in the eye of the beholder, then romance is in the imagination of the lover. But a good lover sees possibilities everywhere…

No prizes for guessing Colombo’s sexiest venue: 1864 exudes romance. Colonial charm, Portuguese murals and plush contemporary seating flirt entrancingly whilst the beautiful water body casts mesmerising reflections on the wood-panelled original ceiling.

The gently turning antique fans impart an air of sensual languor. Rose petals and tremulously flickering lamps float gently on each table’s water-filled indentions - all this against a backdrop of sumptuous curtains as red as passion itself. If the heady ambiance hasn’t got you already intoxicated with love, Colombo’s most staggering collection of fine wines will have your head spinning and your heart thumping.

The chef’s exquisite ethereal creations, sublimely presented, keep you up in rarefied realms. The elaborate sequence of courses culminates in coffee or liqueurs served with homemade chocolate. It is no secret that choccies are aphrodisiacs - so eat your heart out!

Scale the heights of passion at the dizzying California Grill. The rooftop restaurant with spectacular views over the sea and the city is more than just a visual treat: you cannot be but touched by the feel of the sensuous textiles around. Tenderly, they trigger touching hands. Worry not, the dim lighting will conceal hanky-panky…

Shakespeare said, “If music be the food of love play on.” Notes from a live piano accompany the symphony of savours that play on the palate. Wonderful ballets of waiters waltz around you with the chef’s culinary medley, including caviar, which lures one from temptation to temptation.

Especially irresistible are the soups: you won’t be in a soup drinking these veritable love portions. Did they make the French Chaîne des Rôtisseurs fall in love with the award-winning restaurant?

Nothing fishy about our next choice either, Fisherman’s Cove. You can’t buy love, they say, but you can buy your loved one freshly caught marine exotica here. The displayed plethora of this bewitching open-air wooden fiesta’s fish market beckons invitingly.

With swaying palms around you, starry heavens above, an envelope of balmy breezes and the serenade of gentle waves, what could be more heartbreakingly romantic? So what if there isn’t a Taj Mahal in Colombo? The Mount Lavinia Hotel will do just fine. After all, it has been a symbol of love for over two centuries. And this ode to love ever continues to make you skip a heartbeat.

For something more wild and untamed, it has to be Sea Spray. The terrace teetering tantalisingly over the sea, crashing waves, whipping winds and sable skies have something raw, reckless and ravishing. As for the sea spray ricocheting from the rocks, these missiles strike you like cupid’s arrows and can only inject you with fiery doses of passion.

Tourists haven’t got over their love affair with this eternal venue. Move closer to the light of your light over sunset cocktails. Then proceed to indulge in one of Colombo’s most sprawling buffets. No need to survive on love and salt water air with a spread comprising over 70 delectable BBQ specialities. They say the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. A woman’s too. If she professes gym obsession the lady doth protest too much!

Some seek seclusion to romance in private. Others prefer flaunting their love. If you want to paint the town red with scarlet gossip, head to the Mount Lavinia Hotel Governor’s Restaurant. The restaurant’s terrace cannot fail to inspire romance and the fact that it is packed cannot fail to instigate tongues.

This is the place to see and be seen playing the local Don Juan. But take time from making a spectacle of yourself and your love in order to relish the daily changing buffet. The dessert buffet is to die for. This is also one of the few places in Colombo where the desserts are wondrous and varied and mercifully not sugar-saturated. So you have sweets for my sweets without the bitter aftertaste of calories.

Il Ponte has long been a romantic haven. Many of the city’s Romeos confess it’s where they head when they want to impress a girl for the first time. The poolside open air setting and suggestively red ambiance is tres romantique. The open kitchen also insures a sultry air about the place. Resist not the fabulous garlic clove served with mouth-melting ciabatta.

If your breath kills the romance, Chef Asoka’s carefully prepared Italian cuisine will rekindle it. Be it pizza, pasta or risotto, everything is ooh la la, or should one say Mama Mia. Actually, whatever you do, don’t mention your mother on a hot date!

Longing for Long Feng? You should do. The little al fresco garden terrace is cradled in the arbours of trees, abounding with flora and murmuring fountains. Lush lawns seemingly merge into the serene waters of the Beira Lake below. The tables are encouragingly meant for two - hint hint.

Two’s company, three is a crowd. Forget fen shui and zen and live it up at Long Feng. Colombo’s finest service ensures that you want for nothing: you don’t have to look around for the waiter, which leaves you all the more time to look at the loved one and the lovely setting. Chef Jason’s gorgeous, gorgeous, wonderfully textured cuisine will have you hooked.

If Paris Hilton saw erotic possibilities in telephone wires, there’s no reason why the Lankan lasses cannot find inspiration in noodles. Get yourself oodles of noodles and canoodle…

If such feats require too much imagination and only the obvious spurs you on, hit the Al Hambra. This isn’t the most happening address in town? You can make it all happen once you’ve imbibed the message contained in the myriad Moghul miniatures adorning the walls of this quietly romantic enclave. They don’t quite unabashedly depict the Kama Sutra (sigh), but they revive scenes of gallantry and courtly love.

Musicians strumming love songs make your heart sing. If this is too old-fashioned, things heat up with a rival to your affections: the food! The Friday night buffet harbours endless seductions.

At Spices the venue mightn’t be sexy but the menu is. Have you checked out the Indian menu? Hmm, saffron and mango lassis… surely meant to whet appetites of all sorts. Did you know that Indian grooms drink saffron milk on their wedding night to rise to the occasion? The apple might be the forbidden fruit, but the mango is the fruit of love.

Spice up the evening further with Chef Rana’s tongue-titillating tandoori preparations and dynamite masala curries which will leave you feeling hot, hot, hot. The chef’s passion for cooking can cook up trouble though - gents beware your lady doesn’t abscond with the talented chef!