Food · Colombo · Sri Lanka
What to eat in Colombo
The dishes, drinks and food experiences that define Colombo, and where locals actually eat them.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: AKS.9955, CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answer
Start with Rice and curry, Hoppers and Kottu roti. Grab isso vadai, roasted corn and king coconut from the stalls and eat on the seawall as the sun goes down. Rice and curry is mainly a lunchtime dish; hoppers and kottu are evening foods.
Key facts
- Signature dish
- Rice and curry
- Vegetarian-friendly picks
- 6
- Tipping
- A 10% service charge is usually added to bills in restaurants and hotels; extra tips for…
- Food experiences
- 4
12 foods to try
Dish
1.Rice and curry
Sri Lanka's everyday meal: rice with a spread of curries — dhal, jackfruit, beetroot, fish or chicken — plus pol sambol (coconut relish) and mallung (shredded greens).
Where: Lunchtime 'hotels' (local eateries) across the city, many serving buffet-style until early afternoon.
Breakfast · Vegetarian
2.Hoppers (Appa)
Bowl-shaped fermented rice-and-coconut pancakes with crisp edges; an egg hopper has an egg cooked in the middle. String hoppers are steamed nests of rice noodles eaten with curry.
Where: Evening hopper stalls and local restaurants; many places make them only for breakfast and dinner.
Street food
3.Kottu roti
Chopped flatbread stir-fried on a griddle with vegetables, egg, curry sauce and meat, made with a rhythmic clatter of metal blades that you hear before you see.
Where: Late-night kottu shops along Galle Road in Kollupitiya and Wellawatte.
Dish
4.Lamprais
A Dutch Burgher dish of rice cooked in stock, meat curry, frikkadels (meatballs), blachan and eggplant, wrapped in a banana leaf and baked.
Where: Burgher-run bakeries and caterers; it is often ordered a day ahead.
Street food
5.Isso vadai
Crunchy lentil fritters topped with whole prawns, served with sliced onion and chilli sauce. Eating them at sunset is a Colombo ritual.
Where: Food carts on Galle Face Green from late afternoon.
Dish
6.Crab curry
Sri Lankan mud crab cooked in a rich, peppery curry or with garlic chilli sauce; the island's lagoon crabs are prized across Asia.
Where: Ministry of Crab in the Old Dutch Hospital and seafood restaurants in Mount Lavinia and Negombo.
Snack
7.Short eats
Trays of fish buns, vegetable rotis, cutlets and patties placed on the table; you pay only for what you eat.
Where: Bakeries and tea shops throughout the city, especially at breakfast and teatime.
Breakfast · Vegetarian
8.Kiribath
Rice cooked in coconut milk and set into diamond-shaped slices, eaten with spicy lunu miris onion relish; served on the first day of each month and at New Year.
Where: Breakfast menus at local eateries and hotel buffets.
Dessert · Vegetarian
9.Wattalappam
A steamed custard of coconut milk, kithul jaggery, eggs and cardamom, brought by the Malay community and popular at Muslim celebrations.
Where: Sri Lankan restaurants and Muslim eateries, especially around Slave Island and Pettah.
Dessert · Vegetarian
10.Curd and treacle
Thick buffalo-milk curd set in clay pots, drizzled with kithul treacle made from the sap of the fishtail palm.
Where: Restaurants serving Sri Lankan desserts and roadside sellers on routes south of the city.
Drink · Vegetarian
11.Ceylon tea
Sri Lanka's black teas from the highlands around Nuwara Eliya, Kandy and Uva, drunk strong with milk and sugar or plain.
Where: Tea lounges in Colombo 7 and colonial hotels such as the Galle Face Hotel; tea shops sell loose leaf to take home.
Drink · Vegetarian
12.King coconut (Thambili)
The orange-skinned king coconut, native to Sri Lanka, is sweeter than green coconut water and is sold chilled and opened with a machete.
Where: Roadside stalls everywhere, including along Galle Face Green.
Food experiences
Sunset street food on Galle Face
Grab isso vadai, roasted corn and king coconut from the stalls and eat on the seawall as the sun goes down.
Crab dinner
Lagoon crab in pepper or curry sauce at the Old Dutch Hospital or a Mount Lavinia beach restaurant.
Rice-and-curry lunch
Join office workers at a local lunch spot for a plate piled with half a dozen curries.
Hopper night
Watch hoppers swirled in small wok-like pans at an evening stall and eat them hot with lunu miris and curry.
Quick bites and street food
- Hoppers — Evening hopper stalls and local restaurants; many places make them only for breakfast and dinner.
- Kottu roti — Late-night kottu shops along Galle Road in Kollupitiya and Wellawatte.
- Isso vadai — Food carts on Galle Face Green from late afternoon.
- Short eats — Bakeries and tea shops throughout the city, especially at breakfast and teatime.
- Kiribath — Breakfast menus at local eateries and hotel buffets.
Vegetarian options
Of the 12 foods in this guide, 6 are usually vegetarian: Hoppers, Kiribath, Wattalappam, Curd and treacle, Ceylon tea and King coconut. Check preparation with staff, as stocks and fats vary.
Eating out: tips and etiquette
- Rice and curry is mainly a lunchtime dish; hoppers and kottu are evening foods.
- Sri Lankan food is spicy; ask for 'less spicy' and keep plain rice or curd nearby.
- Alcohol is generally not sold on Poya (full-moon) days, which are public holidays.
- Eating with your right hand is normal at local restaurants; washbasins are provided.
- A 10% service charge is usually added in restaurants that cater to visitors.
Tipping
A 10% service charge is usually added to bills in restaurants and hotels; extra tips for good service are appreciated. Tip drivers and guides at the end of a tour, and round up tuk-tuk fares if service is good.
| Phrase | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Ayubowan | Sinhala greeting: may you live long |
| Vanakkam | Tamil greeting |
| Istuti | Thank you (Sinhala) |
| Nandri | Thank you (Tamil) |
| Meeka kiyada? | How much is this? (Sinhala) |
Questions travellers ask
+What food is Colombo famous for?
Rice and curry, Hoppers, Kottu roti and Lamprais. Sri Lanka's everyday meal: rice with a spread of curries — dhal, jackfruit, beetroot, fish or chicken — plus pol sambol (coconut relish) and mallung (shredded greens).
+Is Colombo good for vegetarians?
Several local staples are meat-free, including Hoppers, Kiribath and Wattalappam.
+Do you tip in restaurants in Colombo?
A 10% service charge is usually added to bills in restaurants and hotels; extra tips for good service are appreciated. Tip drivers and guides at the end of a tour, and round up tuk-tuk fares if service is good.