The Bayleaf image

The Bayleaf

Restaurant Bar Pizza restaurant Italian restaurant Pizzatakeaway Pizza delivery service

One of the Most Reviewed Bars in Colombo


Address

7, 79 R.G. Senanayake Mawatha, Colombo 00700, Sri Lanka

Website

www.bayleafcolombo.com

Contact

+94 112 695 920

Price rating

$$$ $

Rating on Google Maps

4.40 (1.8K reviews)

Open on Google Maps

Working Hours

  • Tuesday: 11 am to 11 pm
  • Wednesday: 11 am to 11 pm
  • Thursday: 11 am to 11 pm
  • Friday: 11 am to 11 pm
  • Saturday: 11 am to 11 pm
  • Sunday: 11 am to 11 pm
  • Monday: 11 am to 11 pm

Featured Reviews


Frequently mentioned in reviews: service (22) pizza (19) great (16) good (16) pasta (16) Italian (12) time (12) restaurant (11) menu (11) dining (10)
Reviews are sorted by relevance, prioritizing the most helpful and insightful feedback at the top for easier reference.
  • 5/5 Lawan W. 2 years ago on Google
    Food is delicious and the prices are reasonable. Staff is friendly. The pizza is great and they allow to have 2 flavours in the same pizza. I recommend the place.
    11 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Amalan Dhananjayan (. 1 year ago on Google • 311 reviews
    This is an Italian restaurant. Place is nice and has enough space for large groups indoor or outdoor. The waiters are pleasant and friendly, and their service is great. The food quality is really good. But the taste is average, maybe it's for me, so won't complain much. For the dessert their Baked Alaska is top notch, must try. The prices are high but the service and the experience that place gives you makes up for it.
    4 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 4/5 Esala S. 11 months ago on Google • 215 reviews
    Its a beautiful place just in front of D.S college. It must be an old wallawwa (kind of a old mansion) renovated and transformed into a restaurant. If you wanna go there I would recommend to reserve first. Because if its full you have to go upstairs and it doesn’t have greater ambiance. Food is tasty and staff is friendly. However prices of food is overpriced (considering all factors). VAT is not included in the menu shown. It has been added separately. Other than that its a good restaurant. You can get private dining as well.
    2 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 3/5 Dallascious T. 1 year ago on Google • 256 reviews
    An Italian restaurant located in a residential area in Colombo with both indoor and outdoor seating. We were greeted and asked to go upstairs to be seated as we didn't have a reservation. We chose the small balcony area and it was quite comfortable as there was a ceiling fan right above our table. However, the door kept moving towards the chair as it had no stopper. The management should have remedies for such details as there are quick fixes to them. The server was friendly and as we were looking at the wine menu; he informed that the wine list was limited due to the financial importation restrictions and bought bottles they had available. We appreciated this gesture as it saved us time in choosing a bottle. Bread was served while we waited for the starter. The food was pretty good in taste but I found the salmon dish to be a bit too salty (personal preference). Also the menu stated the salmon was topped with a poached egg but the egg seemed to have been fried. The spinach ravioli dish's cheese sauce was average. Didn't taste much parmesan in it. We also felt the food should have been served a bit warmer. For being one of the fine dining restaurants in Colombo, we found it very odd for them to have paper napkins instead of cloth serviettes. Also, we had to request for another bottle of water rather than being asked/offered as we were running low. Once again lack of attention by the server (things that can be improved with proper training). We also had to ask for the bill at the end and they had forgotten to charge for the extra bottle of water. We informed the server and he got us the revised bill. The servers were nice but as we often see in Colombo, the service was average as they don't pay attention to details. Being friendly is not sufficient for a dining experience, as there is much more to it. The lady wasn't served first either. These things must be taught by the management to improve the level of service. The higher prices are paid for the overall dining and service experience and we felt the crew didn't exhibit such attributes. Overall, it was an average experience. Bay Leaf has great potential as they have a nice ambiance and decent food but some tweaks to the service and attention to details can be improved. The paper napkins belong in the bar and not the dining area. Also, the description on the menu should be what is served. Will visit again and check it out while in Colombo.
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 4/5 s e s h a. 2 months ago on Google • 195 reviews New
    2024: We went back again about a year after the first time. The service at this place is great, no complaints at all about service. This time one of my adult daughters ordered a Ravioli Ricotta and the other daughter ordered a Fettuccine Florentine Pollo, both of them said their pasta was just OK and they didn’t eat it all and decided not to take the leftovers home. My wife and I ordered a Salami Picante 9” pizza and a Vidello 12” pizza. I was very disappointed in the pizza, it wasn’t good. I dropped the star level to 4 from the 5 I gave this place last year. I know they have some good pasta because we really enjoyed it last year. I’ll give this place one more shot and try some other pastas next time, but will never order pizza here. I really love wood fired thin crust pizza, especially Neopolitan style, but this crust was very average and not to my liking. Dilhara was the person serving us and his service was great! 2023: My wife and I were in the area and received a call from an old friend who asked if we wanted to meet here for lunch. We are so glad we decided to meet, because the food here is delicious. It’s an Italian restaurant that looks like it’s in an old Colonial house in Colombo. When the waiter gave us the menus, there was an extensive pizza menu and a another menu with pastas. I was in the mood for pizza, but when we tried to place the order he said there was a 1.5 hour wait for each pizza. When I asked why since there were hardly any people there, he told me there was a party upstairs and they were ordering a lot of pizza so that’s the reason for the delay. I was a bit disappointed at that point but decided to try a pasta dish and ordered Tagliatelle Verdi con Prosciutto which is a homemade spinach pasta tossed with honey glazed ham, mushroom, bacon, & parmesan cheese. When I tried it, I was so happy the pizza was not ordered because it was probably one of the tastiest pastas I’ve had in Sri Lanka, it was excellent. In addition the Cream of Chicken soup and Bruschetta was also really good. It was a cloudy day and not too hot so we sat outside and enjoyed the meal with a friend. The wait staff is helpful and friendly and I highly recommend this place, in fact I’ll be going back to try other items on their menu the next time we are in Sri Lanka.

  • 5/5 SANKHA W. 4 years ago on Google
    One of the best Italian restaurant in Colombo. Really good pasta and superb pizzas baked in the Wooden fired oven. Sours used for the pasta is really good. Much better varieties of topping are available for pizzas. Good varieties of vine and liquor is available for selection. The place is spacious and cosy old house converted to a restaurant with furniture to match the concept. Private dining rooms are available too.
    2 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 3/5 Eshana R. 2 years ago on Google
    Had bruschetta as a starter which was nice but nothing amazing. The spinach pasta was creamy and pretty good. Only issue was two people found stones in the food (probs not washed the mushrooms properly) but they didn’t charge us for those two plates. Came to roughly 2900 pp(with wine). Good service
    2 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Ramindu L. 8 months ago on Google • 77 reviews
    A lovely spot to have a peaceful lunch or dinner but best to place a reservation in advance Try the home made pasta options
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Pubudu F. 11 months ago on Google • 120 reviews
    Delicious food, but can be a bit expensive, when the taxes etc. are factored in and considering the portion sizes aren’t rally big enough to share. Their carbonara and the raviolis are great!

  • 5/5 Sujan k. 1 year ago on Google • 51 reviews
    Loved the atmosphere, service ane the food( though it's just a small bite). Cocktails are quite okay with a generous serving of liquor in each drink. Would be back to checkout the Italian menu.
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 2/5 Dasun N. 2 years ago on Google
    Went here after seeing some photos of the place online. But alas! The top floor the snaps were from was closed. Place was like an old bungalow-ish house renovated for the cafe. Not sure if there're seats indoors but it was boiling inside we weren't excited to stay inside anyway. There were no 2-seats couple-tables available we had to make do with a large 4-seats family-table outdoors. Thankfully it wasn't as hot as indoors since there was a ceiling fan per each table. Staff was terrible for the lack of an uglier word. No one accompanied us when we initially headed inside, then one guy — who acted like we were trespassers in their "cafe" — showed us to the table. Dude kept the same irritated attitude and showed us their menu. Cost-wise the options were on the expensive side and considering their undesirable service and atmosphere the prices just didn't feel justified. They prepared the meals taking an average time to do so, and a way-friendlier waiter brought them over. Pizza I ordered was overcooked half of its sides were literally blackened (check the pics). Rest of the meals tasted good enough and the beverages were fine as well. Can't really recommend the place for couples but it seemed alright for a family meal.
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Nigel H. 1 year ago on Google
    A comprehensive Italian menu and excellent cuisine. Relaxing atmosphere. Professional staff. Hope to come again
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 4/5 Paul and Emma's Food j. 1 year ago on Google • 54 reviews
    This restaurant is set in a beautiful old building and is very atmospheric. The service was excellent. On our first visit, the food was amazing. We shared the antipasti which was rich and opulent. The Crab pasta was full of crabby flavour. The turmeric pasta lacked turmeric but was excellent nevertheless. On our second visit I was disappointed by my sirloin steak which was ordered rare and served medium.

  • 5/5 Anna 1 year ago on Google • 44 reviews
    A lovely & quiet place to enjoy fine Italian cuisine. Wide range of dishes, beverages & desserts and nice ambience of the place. Absolutely delicious. One of my favorite places to go out with friends.

  • 4/5 Manjula N. 2 years ago on Google
    Good Italian food even though they took some time to prepare the order, Actually around 30-45 minutes, But the food tasted great, Loved it, Though some improvements could be made, I would recommend this restaurant for Italian food. They do a decent job.

  • 4/5 Raoul R. 9 months ago on Google
    Lovely setting and was a pleasant experience with the homely staff and great service! The food was great and the prices were great too!!! Thank you to Yoga and his brilliant service. Thank you🙏❤️

  • 5/5 Lasitha P. 1 year ago on Google
    In Colombo’s embassy area, The Bayleaf has been pleasing discerning guests’ palates for over a decade in this magnificent century old Colonial home. As well as the charm of the mansion with its, beautifully maintained garden the Bayleaf offers options to dine in any part of the house, on the terrace, the balcony or in private dining rooms upstairs. On the ground floor there is a retro-style bar that’s popular in the evenings. The Bayleaf has an extensive menu that might require time to study and most of the food has an Italian accent, and includes homemade pastas and thin crust Italian Pizza. The restaurant is part of popular man-about-town Harpo’s local chain.

  • 4/5 THARAN K. 1 year ago on Google
    The Bayleaf has best pizzas. Located in a best environment and has nice view from the first floor in the night time.

  • 3/5 Nanshad D. 1 year ago on Google
    Before you read the entire review: Reason for a 3 star rating was purely due to the service rendered. The servers could do with a bit of training when it comes to guest / customer relations as the door opening inwards towards the table we were sitting at hit the chair I was sitting on and quite badly too, however the server was not at all apologetic and instead asked me to move the chair when I had a 3 month old in my hand. ***** Located on Gregories road in Colombo. This beautiful and cozy restaurant has a great variety of Italian food for you to indulge yourself in. With a Cozy atmosphere this is ideal for a romantic dinner for 2 or just a lovely causal dinner with friends. There is a bar down stairs and a dining area on the ground floor as well. Once you make you way up the stairs to the 1st floor you get 4 seperate dining areas to choose from. There are three rooms out if which one has air conditioning. So if you are in the mood to be in the AC do call and make your reservations. The food is extremely flavourful and the pasta was home made. The pizza is thin crust and full of flavour as well. I would make this my go to place for pizzas and ravioli from here on out. Ratings out of 5 stars. Considering price vs portion Ravioli ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Carbonara pasta ⭐⭐⭐ Pizza ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Fried Calamari ⭐⭐⭐ Lychee martini ⭐⭐⭐ We also ordered 2 other pastas. Detailed feedback on the two dishes rated 3 stars. The carbonara was tasty as I requested for the homemade pasta to be added instead of the ready made pasta, but however a traditional carbonara would have been made with pancetta however this was not and would have expected it slices differently as they were using regular bacon. But overall tasty. The fried calamari batter was amazing, but the calamari itself was questionable as it was chewy. But portion size they can defenitly improve.

  • 5/5 Thilini N. 3 months ago on Google • 40 reviews New
    Nice place to spend time with friends. You can book a separate room. Service is good. We waited 30 minutes to get our pizzas on Friday night. Waiting time may be low on other days.

  • 5/5 Thenuja T. 1 year ago on Google
    First of all very very tasty pizza they have... this is the tastiest pizza I ever ate. Very nice and friendly service. The mood they set inside is simply awesome...

  • 4/5 Manohari R. 2 years ago on Google
    Worth for price. Lovely food their customer support is recommended. Fairly big portions we bought a family pizza with four different toppings each tastier than the other and it was more four 4 people

  • 4/5 Zainab H. 1 year ago on Google
    Pizza and fried chicken are great. Drinks are pretty good too & they serve at a range of times. Nice place, quiet vibes usually. Can get a bit noisy when crowded. Bathrooms aren't clean enough.

  • 4/5 Kayo Chang B. 3 years ago on Google
    The Bayleaf offers a wide range of pastas, pizzas, and other italian dishes. We sat outside and it was pleasant. The staff was efficient and attentive. I had the the homemade tumeric pasta, which was excellent. I didn't particularly care for the bar arra-- we were going to sit there but it smelled of stake cigarettes and not the best place for dining. It's a pretty decent place and I will go back for their food for sure.

  • 1/5 Dulanka K. 2 years ago on Google
    Very unprofessional waiters and front desks. Just came with two of my friends for a dinner at a outdoor table. I asked the front desk are there any tables available. He just said theres one in the front. But when we went there and sat on it a waiter came in and said in a rude tone it was bookd and when askd about anymore space inside he simply said no and rushed away. It was like we were chased from the place. The worst and rude customer service i have ever experienced in my life. I guess they may be welcoming ultra rich customers only 🤷🏼‍♂️. Middle finger-

  • 5/5 Tharindu K. 2 years ago on Google
    Best food.. So many options..Love it..

  • 5/5 Purinda A. 3 years ago on Google
    Tasty food. Friendly staff and good service. I mean, who wouldn't like to dine in at an authentic Sri Lankan "walawwa". Take a look at the pictures.

  • 4/5 Cham P. 3 years ago on Google
    Very delicious meal after a while grilled chicken with home made papper souce, mashed potatoes and veggies it is not so spicy and just flavors are fantastic, also grilled salmon Filet is a killer comes with poach egg on top it was well grilled. Also tried wood fire BBQ pizza it was ok not great but they do great pizzas which i tried before, service is great, potion is ok for the price they charge value for money 😎 i am overall very satisfied and not to mentioned food presentation too great

  • 3/5 Dinushika L. 2 years ago on Google
    Food at Bayleaf is really good. Wish it was same with their cocktails. Cocktails are diluted to a level where you might find yourself sipping just fruit flavored liqueur.

  • 2/5 Indika P. 4 years ago on Google
    Fairly good spacious place. A vintage house converted to a hotel. But our vegetation pizza as well as mushroom risotto not much tasty though those can be prepared very tatsty. So we may not go again near future. But place is beautiful.

  • 5/5 Priyan K. 2 years ago on Google
    Calm environment , can spend the time leasurely . Tasty foods , pizza is very tasty and served hot with special sauce . Friendly service. Prices also considerable ..

  • 5/5 Ransara F. 3 years ago on Google
    Amazing atmosphere and good food Good service Best pasta place in town Price is reasonable Ideal for dates


Call +94 112 695 920 Open on Google Maps

Amenities


  • Parking
    • ✓️ Free parking lot
    • ✓️ Plenty of parking
  • Payments
    • ✓️ Debit cards
    • ✓️ Credit cards
  • Offerings
    • ✓️ Beer
    • ✓️ Wine
    • ✓️ Coffee
    • ✓️ Alcohol
    • ✓️ Spirits
    • ✓️ Cocktails
    • ✓️ Quick bite
    • ✓️ Small plates
    • ✓️ Vegan options
    • ✓️ Organic dishes
    • ✓️ Healthy options
    • ✓️ Late-night food
    • ✓️ Happy-hour drinks
    • ✓️ Vegetarian options
  • Accessibility
    • ✓️ Wheelchair-accessible seating
    • ✓️ Wheelchair-accessible car park
    • ✓️ Wheelchair-accessible entrance
  • Dining options
    • ✓️ Lunch
    • ✓️ Brunch
    • ✓️ Dinner
    • ✓️ Dessert
    • ✓️ Seating
    • ✓️ Catering
    • ✓️ Breakfast
  • Service options
    • ✓️ Dine-in
    • ✓️ Delivery
    • ✓️ Takeaway
    • ✓️ Outdoor seating

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