It’s sad but true: typical Sri Lankan food doesn’t suit everyone, especially if you don’t like dishes to be spicy or seasoned with lots of spices. But even if you don’t, you’ll still find you have lots of restaurants to choose from in Sri Lanka, and hotels are firmly focused on their international guests.
And if you do like spices and spiciness, there are countless excellent restaurants in Sri Lanka to enjoy, both inside and outside the hotels. Below are some of the best known and most highly recommended places. We’ve also included local dishes to try, so you can get a feel of what the food in Sri Lanka is like.
Typical Sri Lankan dishes
Local food (link to a corresponding URL) is full of dishes with intense flavours and it can be found in any one of Sri Lanka’s many restaurants. These recipes almost always feature rice, coconut, chilli, cashew nuts, and spices.
Snacks and appetizers that can be ordered at restaurants in Sri Lanka or picked up at street stalls include pakora (chickpea flour fritters with vegetables), samosas stuffed with various fillings, and ulundu vadai (fried doughnuts made from lentil batter).
Curry is definitely the national dish and the most common main course. It’s prepared in many different ways with different types of protein, from vegetable curry such as dhal (made with lentils) to meat curries made with chicken, lamb or fish. Kottu is also extremely popular and is made with vegetables, different types of meat, egg, and pieces of roti (Sri Lanka’s typical bread), which is all chopped up and sautéed together. Biryani has Arab roots and is typically eaten in parts of Sri Lanka with a large Muslim community.
Sri Lanka also has plenty of wonderful desserts and confectionery, many of which have been inherited from European colonists on the island, such as kokis (fried rosette biscuits made from rice flour and coconut milk.) You can also enjoy fabulous puddings and cakes, such as whali talapa, aasmi and bibbikan, which are seasoned with vegetable juice and spices.
Where to eat out in Sri Lanka: Anuradhapura
Anuradhapura (link to a corresponding URL) was once the capital of Sri Lanka and is one of the best places in the country to enjoy a great meal out. Here are a few of the restaurants that are most highly rated by travellers and food experts:
Rangiri (111 Dharmapala Mawatha)
Serves a wide variety of local dishes with a firm emphasis on curries, fried rice, and kottu. Rangiri is a simple restaurant but diners will enjoy high quality dishes and prices are fairly reasonable. The restaurant is outside the historic centre.
Seedevi Family Restaurant (Jayanthi Mawatha)
This is one of the most highly rated restaurants in Anuradhapura thanks to its wide range of Asian dishes (from Sri Lanka, India, and China) and other international food. It’s a large, attractively decorated restaurant that is a perfect choice if you’d like to make sure everyone in your group will find something they like, spicy or not.
Ambula Anuradhapura (Jayanthi Mawatha)
First impressions of this restaurant are spot on: it’s a lovely place that serves colourful, fragrant and eye-catching food. You’ll know you made the right choice in coming here once you taste the flavour and high quality of its dishes. It’s a buffet-style restaurant but frequently changes what is on offer.
Rasa Gedara (Maithiripala Senanayake Mawatha)
Its owners describe it as the “house of flavours” and dishes are certainly intense and authentic. It serves local cuisine that you choose from a generous buffet, and there are numerous vegetarian options.
Golden Mango Indian Restaurant (A12)
This is the perfect choice for people who love food from the north of India. It has a further two branches in Panadura and Dambulla and serves a great selection of curries; its tropical fruit shakes are also really popular. The restaurant services local and Chinese food alongside its Indian specialities.
Where to eat out in Sri Lanka: Kandy
Kandy (link to a corresponding URL) is one of the most beautiful cities in Sri Lanka. It’s visited by thousands of people each year who enjoy its fantastic restaurants, a few of which are recommended below:
Mandiya (Pushpadana complex, DS Senanayake Veediya)
Show cooking, high-quality produce, authentic dishes, and great prices are just some of the reasons this restaurant in Sri Lanka has made it onto our list. This small restaurant is in a popular shopping centre.
Sri Krishna Dosai (14 A9)
Dosas are the star dish on the menu and are a type of taco made from roti, typical Sri Lankan bread, which is stuffed with vegetables. In fact, this restaurant is fantastic for vegetarians and anyone who loves their greens. Portions are very generous, especially the combos, and dishes have plenty of flavour.
Café 1886 by Salgado Bakers (68 E L Senanayake Veediya)
This is the Kandy branch of one of the oldest restaurants in Sri Lanka; the original is in Colombo and dates from the end of the 19th century. It specialises in typical food but popular international dishes are also available, and it has created exciting fusions such as pasta served with curry and other surprising local sauces.
Kumbuka Kandy (Deveni Rajasinghe Mawatha)
This charming restaurant in Sri Lanka is next to the river that runs through the city, close to the Peradeniya Royal Gardens, and is set among verdant plants. Coming here as the sun goes down to sit outdoors and sample its specialities is a fantastic way to spend an evening in Kandy.
Where to eat out in Sri Lanka: Nuwara Eliya
Nuwara Eliya (link to a corresponding URL) is surrounded by nature and is an excellent place to enjoy Sri Lankan restaurants that serve diverse and authentic food. Here are some of them:
Themparaduru (Upper Lake Rd)
Has a friendly, international vibe with specialities that are a mixture of traditional Sri Lankan food and dishes from neighbouring India. There’s also space on the menu for popular dishes from further afar, such as pizzas and hamburgers. This is a great spot if you’d like to have a beer, cocktail, or other alcoholic drink.
Dushan’s Home Kitchen (XQG7+JP2, Bandaranaike Mawatha)
The best thing about this restaurant in Sri Lanka, especially if you aren’t keen on spicy food, is that you can sample classic traditional dishes that are adapted to suit international tourists. Food is freshly prepared when it’s ordered so dishes can take a while to arrive, but the wait is worth it.
Salmiya (122 PBC)
A great spot if you’d like to take a break from the intense flavours of Sri Lankan food. This is a traditional Italian-style restaurant that specialises in pizzas, but you won’t find a European pizzeria with as many, often surprising, combinations of ingredients. A fun restaurant that also serves pasta.
Hela Bojun Hala (XQC8+4WX, PBC Hwy)
This restaurant is run by a women’s association and is close to the fruit and vegetable market where you’ll find numerous stalls serving typical Sri Lankan food. Hela Bojun Hala is a great place to start the day with an authentic vegetable-based Sri Lankan breakfast ‒ they don’t use milk from animals or eggs ‒ and everything is delicious.
Restaurants in Barceló hotels
Spanish hotel group Barceló has two fabulous hotels in Sri Lanka that serve delicious food.
The most recent to open is the Hotel Occidental Eden Beruwala, a five-star hotel set on the beach with 158 rooms. It has three restaurants and bars, including the Garden of Eden where guests can enjoy a fantastic buffet-style breakfast. You can also choose to enjoy a private, romantic dinner on the beach with butler service.
Meanwhile, four-star Hotel Occidental Paradise Dambulla has 67 rooms and a stunning natural setting. Its extensive facilities include a large outdoor pool, the magnificent Ayu Balinese Spa, and two restaurants. The large Orchid restaurant is highly recommended and serves a wide variety of carefully prepared Sri Lankan and international dishes that guests can enjoy seated outdoors. And if you feel like Western food, the Pizzeria al Forno restaurant has something for everyone.
