An anniversary or proposal dinner on the south coast

A special dinner on the beach needs three things settled in advance: the table, the hour and one person at the restaurant who knows the plan. On the south coast of Sri Lanka the sun sets between about 17:45 and 18:30 all year, so everything is timed backwards from there, and you should write to the restaurant at least a few days before.

What should you ask the restaurant?

Ask in writing, so that nothing rests on a phone line or a memory. These are the questions that matter, here or anywhere on the coast.

• Which table, exactly? "On the beach" can mean ten different places. Ask for the first row on the sand, and ask what is beside it.
• How private is it? A table set apart, or simply the end of the row? Will there be other guests, music, an event that night?
• What happens if it rains? Is there a covered table as lovely as the open one?
• What is the light after dark? It is night twenty minutes after sunset. Candles, lanterns, or a lamp you did not want?
• Can the fish be chosen ahead? A whole fish for two should be picked in the morning.
• Can they hold a secret? For a proposal, one named person should know the plan, the moment and the signal.
• Flowers, a cake, a photographer? Ask what the restaurant arranges itself and what you must bring.
• What do you toast with? Not every place serves alcohol. We do not.
• Is there a deposit, and how do you get home?

How do you time it with the sunset?

Work backwards from the sun.

• Two hours before sunset: arrive. Around 16:00. A sunbed, a swim, a first drink.
• One hour before: the soft light. From about 17:00 the bay turns gold. This is the hour for photographs, and for a walk along the water.
• The last twenty minutes: the moment. If there is a question to ask, ask it now, while there is still light to see a face by. Not at the table with a waiter approaching, and not after dark.
• Sunset: sit down. The table is ready, the oil lamps and candles are lit, and the fish goes on the grill. A whole one takes 25 to 40 minutes.

Sunset is about 17:45 to 18:00 from October to December, about 18:05 to 18:20 from January to May, up to about 18:30 from June to August, and about 18:00 to 18:15 in September.

Which months are kindest?

On the south coast the calm season runs from about December to April. The south-west monsoon, from about May to September, brings more rain and wind. A dinner on the sand is possible all year, but in the rainy months have a second plan.

What does the evening look like at Ohana?

We have an evening made for two, and an anniversary only needs a little more said in advance. The sun sets over the sea in front of us. The very last moment, when it touches the water, is hidden from our beach, but most of the sunset is in view, and the sky does the rest.

• Two sunbeds from 16:00, on our own private stretch of beach.
• The aperitivo. Two mocktails, Papadam Nachos and two Baja fish tacos while the sun goes down.
• A candlelit table in the first row, on the sand.
• Red Snapper for Two, 15,900 LKR on the menu. A whole red snapper of about a kilo, cooked on the bone with garlic and thyme, with a gotukola salad, fries, rice, a coconut curry gravy, our sauces and papadam.
• Grilled Pineapple to share, in cinnamon sugar with vanilla ice cream.
• Filtered water, soft music, no hurry.

This is the Sunset & Dinner pass. What it holds, and how to ask for it, is on the page for our sunset dinner on the beach in Dikwella, and with the others on our passes page.

You can also build your own. For something sweet to share, the Royal Fruit Platter, 7,900 LKR, is a tray of mango, papaya, pineapple, watermelon and banana with passion fruit, and the Ohana Brownie, 2,400 LKR, comes warm with vanilla ice cream.

There is no bottle to pop: we serve no alcohol. People toast with a Twilight Fizz, 1,500 LKR, which turns from blue to violet when you squeeze the lime: the colour of the sky you have just watched.

What can we set up for you?

Write to us and tell us what the evening is. This is what people ask for most:

• The table. A place in the first row is part of the evening. For a proposal or an anniversary we can also set a table apart from the others.
• Flowers and decoration. We can put flowers or petals on the table, for an extra charge. The oil lamps and candles are already part of the evening.
• A cake or a message on the dessert. The kitchen makes a cake to order, or writes your message on the plate. Tell us when you book, so there is time.
• A photographer. We know a photographer we can put you in touch with, or one of us takes the pictures at the moment itself.
• The secret. Write the plan to us on WhatsApp, +94 76 016 4768: the moment, the signal, and anything we should not say at the table.
• Rain. If it rains, we move you under a roof: the lounge, the upstairs terrace or one of the covered tables in the garden.
• Booking. Reserve by noon at the latest so the fish is chosen for you, on our booking page or on WhatsApp. For a special evening, write a few days before. We ask for a deposit only on days when we are full.

Two things we can never arrange, and we say so. With some luck turtle hatchlings are released to the sea at Ohana or beside it, between 17:00 and 19:00 with our lights off, but it cannot be promised or booked. And on Sundays the free Bonfire Circle begins on the sand at 6 PM: lovely to join, but choose another day if you want a quieter beach.

One last thing. A surprise for your partner should never be a surprise for the kitchen: tell somebody.

For the day around the dinner, read romantic things to do in Dikwella. For how an ordinary evening goes here, there is sunset dinner on the beach in Dikwella.

Good to know

• Ohana is at Turtle Beach, Dikwella, less than five minutes by road from Hiriketiya, and open every day.
• Sunset is between about 17:45 and 18:30 all year. Come at 16:00.
• Lunch and dinner are served until 21:00. Prices are in LKR, plus a 10% service charge.
• No alcohol is served. There are mocktails, iced teas and king coconut water.
• Reserve by noon when you can, and earlier for a special evening.