After dark
Bush Dinner
Out under open sky
A long dinner under open sky
When the heat of the day has gone, a long table is laid and the BBQ is lit. Lanterns, neem trees overhead, and the quiet of Yala after dark. We set it in Arana’s garden and poolside, out on our private land by the Palatupana salterns where leopard, elephant and bear still pass, or down on Kirinda beach. Arranged for guests staying with us.
The setting is yours. By the pool and the garden under old neem trees, open to the evening air. Or out on our fourteen acres opposite the salterns, wild land that leopards, sloth bears, elephants and deer move through. Or a BBQ on Kirinda beach, the same long spread by the water. There is no performance to it. Lanterns are placed, food is brought, and time slows.
The kitchen sends out a spread built on the same ethos as everything else at Arana: Sri Lankan at its root, considered, and made from what is freshest. A bush dinner is not a fixed menu; it is made around the evening and the guests.
How it works
- Where
- Arana’s garden and poolside under neem, our private fourteen-acre land by the Palatupana salterns, or Kirinda beach. Your choice, set with the team.
- When
- After dark, by arrangement. Times are set with the team at check-in.
- For
- Guests staying at Arana. Not a public walk-in dining experience.
- What is served
- A long dinner: curries, sides, and sweets from Arana’s kitchen. Tailored to the evening.
The garden at night
When the property goes quiet
By evening, Arana's garden takes on a different quality. The light changes. The neem trees hold the dark differently than they hold the afternoon sun. It is the same ground you walked earlier in the day, and yet it is not.
After dark it feels like the heart of the jungle. Lanterns and a low fire, the dark settling in around you, and the stars overhead. Quiet, scenic, and yours alone.
Arrange your evening
A table in the garden, after dark
Tell us your dates and we will set the dinner around them: the right evening, the garden ready, the lanterns lit.