Eat with us at the Stay Golden Restaurant, Arugam Bay

More than just a restaurant in Arugam Bay

We are passionate about food at Stay Golden! Our aim is to provide tasty and freshly cooked dishes for you. Enjoy a consciously chosen variety of dishes in our restaurant in Arugam Bay – including vegan and vegetarian options. The theme “good food, good life” is leading us.

Nutrition plays a major role in the well-being of a person. We are what we eat. We, at Stay Golden, are aware of our responsibility as restaurant owners. It’s not just about the good look or the taste of food. It’s about its ingredients, spices, and the way of preparation. Cooking is art. That’s why we strive for you to enjoy our food: With your body, mind, and soul.

Opening Hours

The Stay Golden Restaurant is open all year long. It opens at 8:00 am for breakfast and is open for lunch until 3:00 PM. In the afternoon, we have a short break. At 6:00 PM, we open again for dinner until 9:00 pm.

Every day:

8:00 AM – 3:00 PM
6:00 PM – 9:00 PM

In the slow season months of the year from October to February, we appreciate a short call or Whatsapp-Message (Rihan: +94 (77) 490 9609) before you’re coming. Thank you for your understanding.

Eat with us and relax at the pool

In case you don’t stay with us, you can come by to eat at the restaurant and enjoy the pool. Guests from outside are welcomed to use the pool for a fee of 2,000 LKR per person. Please note that our in-house guests enjoy priority, and there is no guarantee for outside guests to use a sunbed.

Options for everyone with the Stay Golden menu

The menu is a mixture of typical Sri Lankan and Western dishes. We serve modern food, with a touch of fusion kitchen. The emphasis lies on fresh, healthy, yummy and simple. Just to mention some: Our selection starts with superfood like smoothie bowls and energy balls, continuing with salads and sandwiches. Of course, we also offer the for the region typical seafood and rice and curry. Hence, you can choose from our menu fitting to your needs at every time of the day.

You can find the menu here to get a first impression:

Restaurant Menu Folder from above
Stay Golden: Also a vegan restaurant in Arugam Bay

Vegans and vegetarians are more than welcome. We, Angie and Rihan, are a mixed couple of a plant-based eater and an “everything-eater”. Therefore, we know what it takes to meet different demands. Moreover, we continuously improve our vegan menu options in the restaurant.

The location: Stay Golden Restaurant

The restaurant is located in the garden of the Hotel Stay Golden in Arugam Bay. The pool is directly next to it. With just a couple of steps, you are at the beach. Therefore, you can enjoy your food whilst listening to the sound of the waves. The dune is our natural border to the wide and empty beach in front of us. We try our best to create a relaxed and positive atmosphere for you. A home away from home.

By the way: When you consume in the restaurant, you can use the pool free of charge as a guest who does not stay with us.

Remote work? Yes, please!

As you can see on the header picture, our restaurant is used as an office by our guests, too. People like to work, spend their day and enjoy good food at Stay Golden. We offer good and stable Wi-Fi, which is obviously free of charge, when you consume with us. Especially in the slower months from October to March, it is a great place to work, and, at the same time, be surrounded by others.

The Stay Golden Restaurant on TripAdvisor

Find our TripAdvisor listing for the restaurant in Arugam Bay here. Please note that we also have a TripAdvisor hotel listing. Therefore, you often find a restaurant review mixed with a hotel review at the hotel listing.

Have you eaten at our restaurant already? Did you like your experience? We are looking forward to your review 🙂 Thank you!

Our ingredients: Healthy, fresh, regional and organic

We only use ingredients from the local markets in Pottuvil. It is important for us to support our local community. We try to act sustainably to better our environment. Therefore, we are proud to say that we offer a big variety of vegan dishes. Additionally, seafood is purchased freshly at the fishing market in Arugam Bay, just hours after the catch. In this area, they still go for fishing using the traditional way. Chicken is delivered by Rihan’s uncle, who runs a small chicken farm in Pottuvil. In the Western world, you would probably call this kind of chicken organic and free-ranged.

Some dishes are based on seasonal availability. This means that foods such as mango, avocado, and calamari are only served during their season in Sri Lanka. Please also have in mind that we are located at the East Coast of Sri Lanka. This is still a differently developed area of the country, especially in comparison to the touristic South Coast. There are many ingredients, that are just not delivered to Pottuvil at some times of the year (e.g. avocado). At the same time, we refuse to buy mango flew into Sri Lanka from China. Instead, we prefer regional and fresh wherever possible. It’s one little step on how to take responsibility for the future of our planet.

Stay Golden is eco-friendly

We are all sitting in the same boat: Climate change is happening. We believe in the importance of everyone contributing a bit, as much as he or she can, in the collective fight against climate change. Here are some little things we offer in the restaurant:

1. Save plastic and other resources with us
  • We try to reduce plastic. In our restaurant, you won’t be served plastic straws. Instead, we use reusable metal straws.
  • Another way to save a lot of plastic is refilling mineral water. Therefore, we offer a refill water system. You can refill your own travel bottle with mineral water at the restaurant. Even with using a plastic bottle twice, you make an impact. During your time at Stay Golden, we invite you to use one of our glass bottles. These are also available while eating at the restaurant: We are happy to serve you a glass bottle with drinking water and extra glasses.
    Furthermore, you can continue refilling a bottle while you travel in Sri Lanka. Find other places to refill your bottle here: https://www.getwater.lk/
  • We also recommend visiting Waste Less Arugam Bay. They have a small spot at the main street of Ulla, the village South of Arugam Bay. There, they offer information about their recycling system for plastic bottles in Arugam Bay.
  • Instead of one time used paper napkins, we offer cotton napkins. On the one hand, it saves resources. On the other hand, it looks nice, too 🙂
2. Conscious actions for your karma
  • Maybe try out some new dishes. We are proud about our vegan and vegetarian options. Good for your karma and nature 🙂
  • In our kitchen, we separate waste. Organic waste is used to produce fertile soil for our garden. Due to that, you can also find naturally grown tomatoes or watermelons in our garden. At last, the local waste disposal collects all other non-organic waste.
  • Anytime, we support you doing some karma yoga. If you would like to collect rubbish at the beach, we will provide bags. And, of course, we will take care of everything you have collected. 🙂

We invite you to help us during your time at Stay Golden. Let’s reduce plastic, save resources and so much more. Every little action counts. Thank you.

We are looking forward to welcoming you soon!