Colombo guide · Where to eat
Places to eat in Colombo, with what to order and how comfortable each is for families and older travellers.
Updated
Sri Lankan food centres on rice and curry, hoppers, string hoppers, kottu, roti and coconut sambol, and much of it uses fish, meat, dried fish or Maldives fish even in vegetable dishes. Vegetarian travellers need to ask what goes into each curry and sambol. Colombo does have kitchens that make this easier: Shanmugas in Wellawatte is a vegetarian South Indian restaurant (confirm with staff that nothing with egg, meat or fish is served if you are strict), Ranbath Organic is listed by a vegan directory as fully vegan, and The Mango Tree serves North Indian food on a mixed menu. We found few places that clearly advertise Jain preparation, so Jain diners should ask each restaurant, or arrange meals with a hotel. Street snacks at Galle Face Green often include prawns or fish, so check before eating. Our verified list is short on purpose; if a listing is not here, we could not confirm it.
Menus and kitchens change. If you follow a strict diet or have an allergy, confirm with the restaurant before you order.
100/10 Sri Lanka Foundation Mawatha, Colombo
A North Indian restaurant on Sri Lanka Foundation Mawatha that a vegan guide describes as vegetarian and vegan-friendly. A convenient stop for visitors staying around Colombo 7.
341 Main Street, Colombo
A vegetarian family restaurant at 341 Main Street serving Indian food at modest prices, according to Wikivoyage. Open long hours daily on that listing.
Second Cross Street, Pettah, opposite the Red Mosque, Colombo 11
A long-fronted Indian and Iranian sweet shop on Second Cross Street in Pettah, run by an old Bohrah family according to a Colombo walking guide. It sells sweets, juices, faluda and samosas.
37 Jaya Road, Bambalapitiya
A vegetarian restaurant on Jaya Road in Bambalapitiya serving both North and South Indian food, with vegan versions of some dishes. A practical choice for Indian families staying along the Galle Road side of Colombo.
Kotahena, Colombo 13 (exact street not confirmed in our source)
A vegetarian restaurant in Kotahena serving South and North Indian dishes, with potato or paneer in place of meat. A useful stop if your day around the Fort and Kotahena side runs past lunchtime.
57 Bankshall Street, Pettah, Colombo 11
A busy local rice-and-curry restaurant on Bankshall Street in Pettah, popular with traders and market workers. The walking guide praises its quail curry and faluda.
Galle Road, Kollupitiya (guides give 417 Galle Road)
A casual Galle Road eatery that guides name for cheese kottu, parata and late-night roti. It is a meat-friendly, no-frills stop, not a quiet sit-down meal.
137 1st Cross Street, Colombo 1 (Pettah side)
A vegetarian eatery on 1st Cross Street, listed as open from early morning, offering rice hoppers, dosa and curry. HappyCow lists it as vegetarian with some vegan options.
Arcade Independence Square, 30 Bauddhaloka Mawatha, Colombo 7
A vegetarian Indian counter in the Arcade Independence Square food court in Colombo 7, listed by Yamu for biryani, parathas and dosa. Useful near Independence Memorial Hall.
1A Rajakeeya Mawatha, Colombo 7
An Indian restaurant on Rajakeeya Mawatha in Colombo 7 that a vegan guide lists as vegetarian, with some vegan items. It sits in the quieter, leafier part of the city rather than on the Galle Road strip.
Old Dutch Hospital, Colombo Fort
A seafood restaurant in the old Dutch Hospital in Colombo Fort, known for wild mud crab sold by weight. Founded in 2011 by a chef and two former Sri Lankan cricket captains.
Station Road, Wellawatte, just off Galle Road on the sea side
A modest eatery on Station Road in Wellawatte serving traditional Jaffna-style rice and curries and crab. A Tamil-food stop, not a vegetarian one, so it suits mixed-diet groups.
11 Galle Face Terrace, Kollupitiya, Colombo 3
A Japanese restaurant on Galle Face Terrace owned by chef Dharshan Munidasa, according to Wikivoyage. Two guides name the main outlet and a few dishes.
10, 1st Cross Street, Pettah, Colombo 11
A small bakery on 1st Cross Street in Pettah selling short eats, buns and iced Milo. A walking guide notes its front-row view of one of Colombo's busiest roads.
Cinnamon Grand hotel, Galle Road, Colombo 3
A Sri Lankan restaurant inside Cinnamon Grand, built as a village scene around a banyan tree. Three guides we opened name it for traditional dishes and hoppers.
4th floor, Liberty Arcade, Colombo 3
A Colombo 3 buffet of Sri Lankan dishes, with a daily-changing spread and many vegetarian choices according to one guide. Suits groups that want to sample widely.
Park Terrace, off Park Road, Colombo 5 (per directory listing; confirm)
A plant-based Sri Lankan rice-and-curry restaurant using heirloom rice and organic produce, listed as fully vegan in a vegan dining directory. It is a rare way to eat local food without fish, meat or dairy in Colombo.
191 Galle Road, Colombo 4
A vegetarian South Indian-style eating house on Galle Road in Colombo 4, known in an old Yamu roundup for Madras Meals served on a banana leaf. Check that it is still open and unchanged.
Shangri-La Colombo, 1 Galle Face, Colombo 2
A Chinese restaurant inside the Shangri-La hotel on Galle Face, named by two guides for dim sum and Cantonese, Sichuan and Dongbei dishes.
53/3 Ramakrishna Road, Wellawatte, Colombo 6
A long-running South Indian vegetarian restaurant on Ramakrishna Road in Wellawatte, known for dosas, vadas and thalis. A practical choice for Indian families who want familiar vegetarian food in Colombo.
23 5th Cross Street, Pettah, Colombo
A vegetarian restaurant on 5th Cross Street in Pettah, listed by Spinach as open daily from 7am to 10pm. Come for veg biryani and uttapam at modest prices near the Pettah markets.
Main Street, near Sea Street, Pettah, Colombo
A South Indian vegetarian restaurant on Main Street near Sea Street, with an air-conditioned dining room and a short menu of dosas, soups and snacks. Reviewers singled out the onion dosa and mushroom soup.
225 Sea Street, Pettah, Colombo 11
A South Indian eatery on Sea Street in Pettah, recommended by a Colombo walking guide for stuffed dosas, ghee roast dosa and Indian sweets. A useful lunch stop between the market lanes.
3 Sri Sambuddhathva Jayanthi Mawatha, Thummulla, Colombo 7
A vegetarian restaurant at Thummulla beside a temple, listed for South and North Indian thalis, dosas, biryani and paneer dishes. A practical lunch stop for Indian families south of the centre.
No. 155 Park Road, Colombo 5
A vegetarian Indian restaurant on Park Road, Colombo 5, serving South and North Indian dishes and a large à la carte menu. Two guides list it for thalis and Indian-Chinese starters.
2 Alfred House Road, Kollupitiya, Colombo 3
A cafe and restaurant on Alfred House Road in a building that Wikivoyage ties to the architect Geoffrey Bawa. It has a walled garden and a mixed international menu.
Colombo 3 (main outlet reported on Dharmapala Mawatha; confirm current address)
A North Indian restaurant in Colombo that opened in 2004 and is known for dishes familiar to Indian diners. A dependable pick when a family wants a sit-down Indian meal, with the caveat that the menu is not vegetarian-only.
328 Galle Road, Kollupitiya
A Jaffna-style restaurant on Galle Road in Kollupitiya, listed by Wikivoyage in its mid-range eating options.
Colombo 7 (Cinnamon Gardens); get the exact address from the restaurant
A Colombo 7 restaurant in a former family home, where two guides describe Sri Lankan meals served in clay pots. Fish head curry and a seven-vegetable curry are named.
