Restaurants

We have used the following symbols to give an idea of the price for a three-course meal for one, including wine, cover and service:

$$$ over $12 $$ $6–12 $ below $6

Colombo

Barefoot Cafe $ 704 Galle Road, Colombo 3, tel: 011-258 9305. Set in the beautiful courtyard at the back of Colombo’s finest shop, this little urban oasis offers unpretentious but well-prepared café-standards including sandwiches, pasta dishes and good daily specials, as well as juices, milkshakes and moreish puddings. Daily until 7pm (Sun until 5pm).

Chesa Swiss $$$ 3 Deal Place, Colombo 3, tel: 011-257 3433. Swiss-owned restaurant in a lovely colonial villa whose consistently good food draws a faithful expat clientele. Classic Swiss dishes (fondues, rosti, barley soup) share menu space with prime Australian steaks, seafood and vegetarian dishes. Only open in the evening.

Cricket Club Cafe $$ 34 Queens Road, Colombo 3, tel: 011-250 1384. One of Colombo’s most popular eating and drinking haunts, this cricket-themed café has walls plastered with photos, scorecards and signed bats, and a simple but tasty selection of burgers, stir fries, pasta dishes, steaks and daily specials. The cosy little pub-style bar gets lively with expats and tourists after dark.

Curry Leaf $$$ Hilton Hotel, 2 Sir Chittampalam A. Gardiner Mawatha, Colombo 2, tel: 011-249 2492. The jungle village decor at this outdoor restaurant may be a bit cheesy, but the nightly Sri Lankan buffet is one of the city’s best places to introduce yourself to the island’s culinary delights, from string hoppers to wattalapan, plus oodles of rice and curry. Only open in the evening.

Gallery Café $$ 2 Alfred House Road, Colombo 3, tel: 011-258 2162. This ultra-chic courtyard café is set in a wonderfully stylish building designed by Geoffrey Bawa, who used to have his office here. There is decent food from an international menu, or just go for a coffee and the chance to rub shoulders with Colombo’s smart set.

Greenlands $ Shrubbery Gardens,Colombo 4. A Colombo institution, this perennially popular restaurant serves up generous portions of top-notch South Indian vegetarian cooking at giveaway prices. The menu features dosas, iddlis and vadais galore, and if you’ve still got room afterwards there is a huge glass cabinet filled with colourful South Indian sweets at the entrance.

The Mango Tree $$ 82 Dharmapala Mawatha, tel: 011-7620 620. One of the best Indian restaurants in town, drawing a loyal local clientele thanks to its wide-ranging and well-prepared selection of north Indian-style meat, seafood and vegetarian dishes, including hearty tandooris, tikkas and kebabs.

Tao $$$ Cinnamon Grand Hotel, 77 Galle Road, Colombo 3, tel: 011-249 7369. In a memorable location amidst the palm-studded gardens of the Cinnamon Grand, Tao is one of Colombo’s culinary highlights, with inventive meat and seafood fusion cuisine mixing Asian and European influences. Open evenings only.

The West Coast

Bijou $$ 44 Porutota Road, Negombo, tel: 031-531 9577. Swiss-owned restaurant with a homely pine interior and an excellently prepared selection of Swiss and central European dishes (fondues, steaks and pasta), as well as some of the best seafood in Negombo.

Lords $$$ Porutota Road, Negombo. Sleek modern bar-restaurant with stylish decor and a beautifully presented selection of international cuisine ranging from fish and chips to more unusual offerings such as cashew nut and raisin curry.

Refresh $$ 384 Galle Road, Hikkaduwa, tel: 091-227 5783. Attractive beachside restaurant with perhaps the fattest menu on the island, featuring a vast array of local and international cuisine – anything from gazpacho to gado-gado.

Sands $$$ The Beach Hotel, Negombo, tel: 031-234 5720. The beachside restaurant at Negombo’s top hotel provides a romantic setting for a range of excellently prepared international dishes, including a good selection of authentic Sri Lankan curries.

The South Coast

Galle Fort Hotel $$$ 28 Church Street, Galle Fort, tel: 091-223 2870. The food at this stunning hotel is some of the best non-Sri Lankan cooking you will find on the island, with the emphasis on fresh seafood and light, delicately flavoured Australian-style Southeast Asian food. Try either the lavish evening set menus (around $35 for 4–5 courses) or the more casual lunch and snack menu. Sit down with a coffee on the beautiful street-facing veranda.

Kingfisher $ Unawatuna. The best of the long string of informal café-restaurants lined up along Unawatuna beach, with beautiful views of the waves from its neat little terrace, excellent international food and a hypnotic chill-out soundtrack.

The Sun House $$$ 18 Upper Dickson Road, tel: 091-438 0275. Even if you are not staying here, it’s worth the walk up the hill for an evening meal at this superb little boutique hotel. The setting in an old colonial villa is incomparably romantic, and the food, featuring a daily-changing set menu of three-course dinners showcasing the very best of Sri Lankan and Indian Ocean cuisine is likely to be amongst the very best you will find on the island. Book before 1pm for dinner.

Kandy

Devon Restaurant $ 11 Dalada Vidiya. The decor at this functional modern restaurant won’t win any awards but the food is cheap, tasty and unpretentious. Choose from an extensive menu featuring burianis, lamprais, noodles, devilled dishes and lots more, as well as tasty hoppers for breakfast.

The Pub $$ 36 Dalada Vidiya. Right in the middle of town, with seating either in the modern interior or outside on the superb little terrace above the street (arrive early to secure a table). Food touristy but reasonably well prepared, with international dishes ranging from pasta and pork chops through to seafood and curries.

The Hill Country

The Hill Club $$$ Off Grand Hotel Road, tel: 052-222 2653. Sample a real taste of the colonial life of yesteryear. The food itself is pretty average, but the real attraction is the time-warped colonial aura of the evening meal, served by white-gloved waiters in the chintzy dining room. It’s all strangely compelling and decidedly formal. Men are only admitted if clad in the obligatory jacket and tie (though these are available free at the club if you don’t have your own).

King Prawn $$ Glendower Hotel, Grand Hotel Road, tel: 052-222 2501. The food at this cosy little restaurant is about as authentic as Chinese cooking gets in Sri Lanka, although still with enough spice to keep the hill-country chills at bay.

Old Course Restaurant $$$ St Andrew’s Hotel, 10 St Andrew’s Drive, tel: 052-222 3031. The atmospheric oak-panelled restaurant at Nuwara Eliya’s smartest hotel offers a homely setting for top-notch local and international cuisine, accompanied by one of the island’s biggest wine lists.

The East

Siam View Hotel $ Arugam Bay, tel: 063-224 8195. This popular guesthouse is home to a wooden Thai-style restaurant complete with genuine resident Thai chef who prepares a range of spicy curries and other southeast Asian dishes. This restaurant is a surprising but very welcome feature of the remote east-coast surfers’ village of Arugam Bay.