Sri Lanka is a country full of more than just tea. Before visiting, we were unaware just how diverse and flavourful Sri Lankan food truly is! Their unique blends of spices, using copious amounts of cinnamon and black pepper, make the cuisine something to write home about.
Being the capital and largest city in the country, Colombo is full of incredible Sri Lankan food to try. Walk along any local street and you’re sure to find incredible aromas wafting through the air leading to some mouth-watering foods. The problem always is, where do you begin?
This list of the top 10 Sri Lankan foods to eat in Colombo will get you going on your food adventure to try the best foods in the city. Complete with some of the best local shops, by the end of reading, you’ll no longer be wondering what the most popular food from Sri Lanka is. So, let’s dive in and explore the top 10 best foods to eat in Colombo!
Hoppers
Wondering what a typical Sri Lankan breakfast is? You’ve found it!
Some of the most iconic foods in Sri Lanka can be found on the street, especially at breakfast time.
Hoppers are the most typical breakfast in Sri Lankan and can be found everywhere throughout the country. These little pancakes are made from a batter of fermented rice flour, coconut milk, coconut water and sugar. Hoppers are cooked in a small, high sided pan similar to a little wok. The batter is swirled around to cover the pan, causing them to be thin and crispy on the sides, and thick and springy at the bottom.
Hoppers can be enjoyed any number of different ways. You can get them plain, with egg, chicken, whatever other proteins they’re offering, or even sometimes veggies!
One of the most popular hoppers are egg hoppers. A freshly cracked egg is added into the wok and cooked, sometimes kept runny, other times broken all over your hopper as they aggressively swirl the egg in the wok. They’re sprinkled with cracked black pepper and eaten with a spicy sambol that’s served on the side.
These savoury bowl-shaped Sri Lankan pancakes are one of the most traditional Sri Lankan foods found all over the country. As a result, they make for the perfect quick bite, and always at a good price.
Name: Rich Foods Hotel
Address: 115 1st Cross St, Colombo, Sri Lanka
what3words: ///animated.junior.weary
Price: Rs.150
Kottu Roti
After hoppers, kottu roti is the most famous Sri Lankan food you’ll come across.
This traditional Sri Lankan dish is made of chopped up godamba roti, veggies, egg, spices, curry sauce and your choice of protein. Chicken, cheese, beef and mutton are some of the most popular options to add into your kottu roti. Often times, your kottu is even served with a separate bowl of curry sauce to add extra flavour in as your heart desires.
Kottu roti is like a big, hot carb-filled hug. It’s bursting with spicy curry flavour and just oh-so-comforting because of the massive amount of godamba roti.
Watching this dish get made is just as much fun as eating it. Kottu roti is prepared and cooked on a large, hot iron skillet. The kottu maker wields two large metal blades, chopping and mixing together all the roti, veggies, meat and spices. Each cook creates their own tune with their slicing and chopping, making every kottu you order a different experience.
Kottu rotti is found as a quick street food meal and is one of the most popular foods from Sri Lanka. Luckily enough, due to the banging and clanging required to make the dish, you’ll easily find a kottu shop wherever you go by just listening for it along the street.
Name: Nana’s Chef
Address: Galle Face Green, Colombo, Sri Lanka
what3words: ///case.rainwater.challenge
Price: Rs.750
Ulundu Vadai
Vade are a popular short eat, meaning small snack, often eaten on the go in Sri Lanka. They’re a fried fritter that can be made in a variety of different ways, shapes and forms.
Ulundu vadai are one of the most popular vade in Colombo. The fritter is made up of ground dhal lentils and spices which are combined to form a batter that’s deep fried.
You’ll usually see them in a doughnut shape, with a nice crispy outside and soft doughy inside.
Oftentimes, they’ll be served with sambar (lentil and vegetable stew) and pol sambal (coconut chutney). Whether you’re having one on the side of a dish or on their own, ulundu vadai are great little savoury donuts for any occasion.
Name: Shri Vani Vilas
Address: 256 & 258 M. J. M. Lafeer Mawatha, Colombo, Sri Lanka
what3words: ///loom.sweetener.steers
Price: Rs.145
Idiyappa
Another popular breakfast food throughout Sri Lanka is idiyappa, or string hoppers. This noodle-like dish is made from a dough of rice flour that’s pressed through an idiyappa, a contraption with holes that forms the dough into its noodle shape. The noodles are formed into a nest on a metal mat, then steamed until cooked through.
String hoppers themselves are quite mild in flavour, what really kicks them up a notch are the sides served with them. Coconut sambol, dhal curry and coconut milk curry are some of the most popular and tasty sides to have with your idiyappa.
The key to eating them is to grab your string hopper with your hands and get down and dirty! Dip them into your curry or pour your curry straight on them, the messier the tastier.
Name: Shri Vani Vilas
Address: 256 & 258 M. J. M. Lafeer Mawatha, Colombo, Sri Lanka
what3words: ///loom.sweetener.steers
Price: Rs.32
Curd and Treacle
Who can resist fresh, sour yoghurt served in a clay pot?
One of the richest traditional Sri Lankan foods you can find is mee kiri. This buffalo milk cream curd is drizzled with local kithul treacle, a syrup made from liquid jaggery (unrefined cane sugar).
The curd is similar to yoghurt, but extremely creamy, a little bit sour and much lighter. Buffalo milk is the milk of choice for mee kiri. The high fat and protein content of the buffalo milk gives a higher yield of curd, as well as a creamier texture than cow’s milk.
Kithul treacle, on the other hand, is made locally in Sri Lanka from a fairly unrefined sugar called jaggery that’s popular throughout Asia and Africa. This sugar is high in molasses and rich in flavour. The combination of the sweet kithul treacle with the slightly sour buffalo milk yoghurt balances the mee kiri out perfectly.
Apart from the delicious flavour, the best part has to be eating it out of the clay pot that it’s made in. A tradition that is kept to this day. This is a can’t miss Sri Lankan food that you’ve got to try when in Colombo.
Name: Hondahitha – The Curd Shop
Address: 135E Dutugemunu St, Colombo, Sri Lanka
what3words: ///domain.trying.crunches
Price: Rs.150
Crab
Sri Lanka is known worldwide for its fresh, high quality, local seafood.
A famous food in Colombo is the lagoon mud crab, served in a multitude of different ways for different tastes. The most unique flavours can be found in the Negombo crab curry made with local Singhalese flavours. A combination of ginger, garlic, green chillies, curry leaves, cloves, cardamon and the famous Ceylon cinnamon is used. These incredible spices are fried up with coconut milk and veggies.
Rich, spicy, and incredibly flavourful, the Negombo crab curry is a curry unlike any other. Add in the succulent lagoon crab and it’s a flavour explosion.
Name: Culture Colombo
Address: 25 Kensington Garden, Colombo, Sri Lanka
what3words: ///recording.observers.majors
Price: Rs.2,250
Isso Vade
Isso vade is an iconic street food that’s purely unique to Colombo. It’s recognized as a bright orange lentil fritter that’s beautifully topped with shrimp or prawns. This is the ultimate local street food snack to have in Colombo.
While you’re there, you have to try the kakuluwo vade to go with it. A crunchy and savoury soft shell crab fritter that’s no less tasty and just as orange. Do yourself a favour and get a few of each.
The best place to enjoy this savoury street food? Galle Face Green just as the sun is setting.
Arrive before sundown and you’ll slowly see dozens of vendors setting up their isso vade carts. Tell the seller which ones you want and how many, and they’ll re-fry them up in hot oil for you. They’ll be served to you on paper, slathered with curry sauce and onions. You might need some extra napkins because these can get messy!
Isso vade are the perfect kind of snack to enjoy in the evening, surrounded by locals enjoying the sea breeze and taking in the gorgeous sun setting over the ocean. As one of the most famous foods in Colombo, this is a can’t miss experience.
Name: Galle Face Green Isso Vade Vendor
Address: Galle Face Green, Colombo, Sri Lanka
what3words: ///tadpoles.examiner.hostels
Price: Rs.100-250
Lamprais
Lamprais is a very traditional and authentic Sri Lankan recipe that you won’t find on just any restaurant’s menu. The recipe is quite labour intensive and first made by Burghers, descendants of Dutch colonials.
The dish involves a main meat and some flavourful accompanying sides. Lamprais usually consists of a combination of boiled eggs, eggplant, meat curry, frikkadels, seeni sambol and even a short eat or two, such as vade. The star of lamprais is by far the spiced rice. It’s boiled in a spiced stock that imparts incredible flavours of cinnamon, cardamon and other spices.
Everything that goes into the dish is first cooked separately. Finally, all the rice, curries and sides are wrapped together in a banana leaf and slowly baked.
No two recipes for lamprais are the same. So, each time you order from somewhere new, what you find inside will always be a pleasant surprise. It’s like unwrapping a delicious present every time!
Name: Green Cabin
Address: No 88 Chatham St, Colombo, Sri Lanka
what3words: ///inspects.enrolling.proudest
Price: Rs.930
Hot Butter Cuttlefish
Sri Lankan cuisine has evolved over the centuries, with influences from many different cultures over the years. As much of the rest of the world, it hasn’t escaped the rich inclusion of Chinese cuisine into its own.
One such flavourful Sri Lankan food born out of this fusion is hot butter cuttlefish (HBC). Oh yes, it’s exactly what it sounds like!
First, freshly prepared cuttlefish is seasoned, battered and deep fried. In the meantime, a Chinese inspired chilli paste infused with butter is cooked in a wok with shrimp paste. Last, the cuttlefish is thrown into the wok and tossed in the paste along with onion, carrots, chillies, and a decent helping of black sesame seeds. The result is a richly spicy dish, full of intense flavour and crispy cuttlefish goodness.
With Sri Lanka being an island country surrounded by ocean, there’s an abundance of seafood to be eaten and enjoyed. The use of cuttlefish in such a dish is a perfect example of the complexity and variety of Sri Lanka cuisine.
Name: House Vandervort
Address: 14 Windsor Ave, Colombo, Sri Lanka
what3words: ///politics.blackbird.isolating
Price: Rs.1,290
Falooda
Falooda is a popular dessert drink in Sri Lanka, and a very unique one at that! Sri Lankan rose syrup is layered with milk, ice cream, basil seeds, jelly, and sometimes even vermicelli.
The flavours sound interesting to say the least, but take our word for it, it’s tasty. Falooda is light and refreshing on a hot Sri Lankan day. Even the addition of basil seeds gives it a nice crunchy texture as you sip through the layers. The rose syrup does make it taste very floral, so if you aren’t someone who likes flowery flavours, this one may not be for you.
Name: Juice Station
Address: 258 Main Street, Colombo, Sri Lanka
what3words: ///yarn.finalists.fixture
Price: Rs.250
The incredible Sri Lankan food of Colombo
The variety of foods to eat in Colombo, Sri Lanka is out of this world. Take a walk along any street and you’ll uncover numerous places selling fresh cooked foods waiting to be tasted. As with any country, the best way to taste your way through Colombo is to wander and explore. Some of our best meals have been found when we were least expecting it.
Maybe you’ll even find a few hidden gems while heading to one of the places we’ve suggested. If so, make sure to let us know! We’re always on the lookout for tasty new spots selling the best Sri Lankan food.
We hope this list of the top 10 foods to eat in Colombo will get you going on your own food adventure around the city. Enjoy and happy eating!
