From hoppers to kottu and Jaffna crab curry, a Sri Lanka food guide to the dishes worth trying and where to find them.
The clatter of two metal blades chopping kottu on a hot griddle is the sound of a Sri Lankan evening. Follow it down any busy street and you will find a small stall, a crowd of hungry locals and one of the most satisfying meals on the island.
Sri Lankan food is one of the great surprises of a trip here. Many visitors arrive expecting something similar to Indian cooking and discover a cuisine with its own character: more coconut, more fresh herbs, more seafood, more sour and tangy flavours, and a remarkable variety of vegetable dishes. Every region, community and family has its own recipes.
This Sri Lanka food guide explains how meals work, the dishes worth trying, regional and community specialities, street food, sweets, fruit and drinks, where locals actually eat, and how to enjoy the food safely and respectfully. Whether you love spice or prefer milder flavours, there is a lot to discover.
Coconut is everywhere. Freshly grated coconut is used in sambols, coconut milk forms the base of many curries, and coconut oil is the traditional cooking fat. Thick first-press milk is added at the end for richness, while thinner milk is used for simmering.
Rice is the staple, eaten at most meals. Sri Lanka grows many varieties, including red rice, white samba rice and heirloom types such as suwandel and pachchaperumal, which are becoming popular again.
Spices are central. Cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, pepper, cumin, coriander, fennel, fenugreek, turmeric and chilli are used in endless combinations. Curry leaves, pandan leaves, lemongrass and green chillies add fresh aromas.
Sourness is important. Goraka, a dried fruit also called Malabar tamarind, tamarind and lime give many dishes a tangy depth.
Maldive fish, sun-dried and cured tuna, is used in small amounts to add savoury depth to sambols and vegetable dishes, much like anchovy or fish sauce elsewhere.
Roasted curry powder is a Sri Lankan speciality. Spices are dry-roasted until dark before grinding, giving "black curries" their deep, smoky flavour.
Lunch is often the main meal of the day. A typical rice and curry meal includes a mound of rice surrounded by several small dishes: one or two vegetable curries, a lentil dhal, a meat or fish curry, a sambol, a mallum of chopped greens and something crisp, such as a papadum.
The idea is balance. You mix a little of each dish with the rice as you eat, combining creamy, spicy, sour, fresh and crunchy elements in every mouthful.
Breakfast is usually savoury. Hoppers, string hoppers, pittu, roti or kiribath are served with curry and sambol.
Dinner may be lighter, with hoppers, kottu or roti from a street stall, or leftovers from lunch.
Tea is drunk throughout the day, usually strong, with milk and plenty of sugar.
A good rice and curry spread can include ten or more dishes. Here are some you are likely to meet.
Parippu: Red lentils cooked with coconut milk, turmeric, onion and curry leaves, finished with tempered mustard seeds and dried chillies. Mild, creamy and comforting.
Polos: Young green jackfruit cooked in a dark, roasted curry until tender and meaty. A favourite vegetarian dish.
Kiri kos: Ripe jackfruit seeds or pieces cooked in coconut milk, mild and slightly sweet.
Wambatu moju: Aubergine fried until crisp, then tossed in a sweet, sour and spicy pickle with shallots and green chillies. Many visitors say it is their favourite dish.
Beetroot curry: Bright red, slightly sweet and cooked with coconut milk and spices.
Bonchi curry: Green beans cooked in coconut milk with turmeric and chilli.
Cashew curry: Tender cashew nuts simmered in coconut milk, often with green peas. Rich and luxurious.
Ala hodi: Potatoes in a mild, yellow coconut gravy.
Gotu kola sambol: Finely chopped pennywort leaves mixed with grated coconut, shallots, lime and chilli. Fresh and herbal, and believed to be good for memory.
Mallum: Finely shredded greens, such as kale-like kankun or murunga leaves, lightly stir-fried with coconut and spices.
Fish ambul thiyal: A sour fish curry from the south, cooked dry with goraka, black pepper and spices. Traditionally made to preserve fish without refrigeration.
Chicken curry: Often a deep red or dark roasted curry, with cinnamon, cardamom and curry leaves.
Pol sambol: Freshly grated coconut with red chilli, shallots, lime and Maldive fish. It goes with almost everything.
Lunu miris: A fiery paste of red onion, chilli, salt and lime, served with hoppers and kiribath.
Sri Lankans often describe curries by colour.
White curries are mild and creamy, cooked mainly with coconut milk, turmeric, onion and green chilli. Potato, dhal and many vegetable dishes are white curries.
Red curries use plenty of chilli powder, giving a bright colour and noticeable heat. Many meat and fish curries are red.
Black curries use roasted curry powder, giving a dark, smoky, intense flavour. Black pork curry and black chicken curry are famous examples.
Knowing these categories helps you order. If you prefer mild food, ask for white curries.
Hoppers, or appa, are bowl-shaped pancakes made from a fermented batter of rice flour and coconut milk. The batter is swirled in a small, curved pan, creating a thin, crispy edge and a soft, spongy centre.
Plain hoppers are served with curry and lunu miris. Egg hoppers have an egg cooked in the centre. Milk hoppers have a spoonful of thick coconut milk added. Honey hoppers are drizzled with kithul treacle for a sweet treat.
String hoppers, called indi appa in Sinhala and idiyappam in Tamil, are nests of rice noodles pressed through a mould and steamed. They are eaten at breakfast or dinner with dhal, potato curry and coconut sambol.
Pittu is a steamed cylinder of rice flour and grated coconut, served with coconut milk and curry.
Watching hoppers being made at a roadside stall in the evening, with a cook tending a row of pans over a fire, is one of the simple pleasures of Sri Lanka.
Pol roti is a thick, rustic flatbread made with flour and grated coconut, often with chopped onion and chilli. It is eaten with lunu miris or curry.
Godamba roti is a thin, stretchy flatbread, similar to paratha, folded and cooked on a griddle.
Kottu roti is Sri Lanka's favourite street food. Godamba roti is chopped into small pieces on a hot griddle with vegetables, egg, curry sauce and meat or seafood, using two metal blades in a rhythmic clatter you can hear from down the street. Variations include cheese kottu, string hopper kottu and dolphin kottu, which uses fluffy roti pieces and has nothing to do with dolphins.
Kottu is usually eaten late in the evening. Ask for it "less spicy" if you prefer.
Kiribath is rice cooked in coconut milk until thick and creamy, pressed into a flat tray and cut into diamond shapes. It is served on the first day of each month, at Sinhala and Tamil New Year and at weddings and celebrations, as a symbol of good fortune.
Kiribath is eaten with lunu miris for a savoury contrast or with jaggery and banana for something sweet. If you are invited to a celebration, you will almost certainly be offered a piece.
Short eats are small savoury snacks displayed in glass cabinets at bakeries and cafés. You are usually served a plate with a selection, and you pay only for what you eat.
Popular short eats include fish buns, triangle-shaped buns filled with spicy fish and potato; chinese rolls, breaded pancakes filled with meat or vegetables; patties, crescent-shaped pastries; cutlets, spiced fish balls; and vadai, fried lentil fritters.
Short eats are perfect with a cup of tea in the late afternoon or on a long drive.
Isso vadai: Crispy lentil fritters topped with whole prawns, sold on Galle Face Green in Colombo.
Kadala: Boiled chickpeas tempered with onion, chilli and curry leaves, sold in paper cones on beaches and trains.
Achcharu: Fruit or vegetable pickle with chilli, salt and vinegar. Pineapple, mango and ambarella are common.
Spicy green mango: Slices of unripe mango sprinkled with chilli and salt.
Roasted corn: Grilled on charcoal and brushed with chilli and lime.
Wade: Many varieties of vadai, from crunchy parippu vadai to soft ulundu vadai.
King coconut: The orange coconut sold at roadside stalls, opened with a machete for a refreshing drink.
The food of the north is one of Sri Lanka's great regional cuisines. Jaffna cooking uses roasted spice blends, plenty of seafood and ingredients from the palmyra palm.
Jaffna crab curry is the most famous dish: rich, dark, spicy and fragrant, cooked with roasted curry powder, tamarind and murunga leaves. It is messy and wonderful.
Odiyal kool is a thick seafood broth made with crab, prawns, fish, jackfruit seeds, vegetables and flour from dried palmyra roots. It is traditionally shared from a large pot.
Thosai and idli, fermented rice and lentil pancakes and cakes, are popular breakfasts, served with sambar and coconut chutney.
Palmyra products are everywhere in the north: jaggery, toddy, sweets and snacks made from the fruit and roots.
Jaffna also has a strong ice cream tradition. Local ice cream parlours have been serving sundaes and faluda for generations.
Read our Jaffna travel guide for more.
Sri Lanka's Muslim communities have their own rich food traditions.
Buriyani, the Sri Lankan version of biryani, is cooked with fragrant rice, spices and meat, often served with a boiled egg, a spicy chutney and a cooling salad.
Watalappan, a steamed custard made with coconut milk, kithul jaggery, eggs, cardamom and nutmeg, is served at Eid and weddings, and has become a favourite dessert across the island.
During Ramadan, mosques and families prepare kanji, a nourishing rice porridge with coconut milk and spices, for breaking the fast.
Halal food is widely available, especially in Colombo and coastal towns such as Beruwala.
Sri Lanka's Burgher community, descended partly from Dutch and Portuguese settlers, contributed several much-loved dishes.
Lamprais: Rice cooked in meat stock, wrapped in a banana leaf with a mixed meat curry, frikkadels, blachan and seeni sambol, then baked. The name comes from the Dutch for a packet of rice. It is a Sunday favourite in Colombo.
Frikkadels: Small spiced meatballs, breaded and fried.
Breudher: A rich Christmas bread, often eaten with cheese.
Love cake: A dense, fragrant cake made with semolina, cashew nuts, spices and rose water.
The Sri Lankan Malay community contributed dishes such as nasi goreng, achcharu pickles and, according to many, watalappan itself.
With a long coastline and many lagoons, Sri Lanka has excellent seafood. In beach towns, restaurants display the day's catch on ice in the evening. Choose your fish, prawns, crab or cuttlefish, and ask for it grilled, devilled or in a curry.
Devilled dishes are stir-fried with onions, peppers, tomato and chilli sauce, a Sri Lankan-Chinese style that is very popular.
Negombo, near the airport, is famous for its fish market and lagoon crab and prawns. On the south coast, tuna, seer fish and prawns are common. Sri Lankan mud crabs are prized across Asia for their sweet flesh.
Sri Lankan sweets are often made with rice flour, coconut and jaggery from the kithul or palmyra palm.
Kavum: Oil cakes made from rice flour and treacle, deep-fried until crisp outside and soft inside. Konda kavum have a distinctive knot on top.
Kokis: Crisp, lacy snacks made by dipping a flower-shaped mould into batter and frying.
Aluwa: Diamond-shaped sweets made from rice flour and treacle.
Bibikkan: A dense coconut and jaggery cake with spices.
Lavariya: String hoppers filled with sweet coconut and treacle.
Curd and treacle: Thick buffalo curd, set in clay pots, drizzled with kithul treacle. Look for stalls with stacks of clay pots along the road between Colombo and the south coast.
Many of these sweets appear together on the table at Sinhala and Tamil New Year in April.
Sri Lankan food changes as you travel. Following the island's regional flavours is one of the most enjoyable ways to plan a trip.
Negombo and the west coast: Lagoon crab, prawns and fish, often cooked in Catholic fishing communities with their own family recipes. The fish market on the beach is one of the busiest on the island.
Colombo: A melting pot of Sinhala, Tamil, Muslim, Burgher and Malay cooking, with everything from lamprais and buriyani to modern Sri Lankan fine dining.
The Cultural Triangle: Village food based on rice, vegetables and freshwater fish from the ancient reservoirs. Meals served on lotus leaves are a speciality of village experiences here.
Kandy and the hill country: Vegetables grown in the cooler climate, such as leeks, carrots, cabbage and beans, cooked in coconut milk. Tea is everywhere, and bakeries in Nuwara Eliya reflect the town's colonial past.
The south coast: Sour fish curries like ambul thiyal, fresh tuna, curd and treacle, and kithul products from the forests inland.
The east coast: Tamil and Muslim cooking in Batticaloa and Trincomalee, with lagoon prawns, crab and spicy fish curries.
The north: Jaffna cuisine, with roasted spice blends, crab curry, odiyal kool and palmyra sweets.
In Sri Lanka, the coconut palm is sometimes called the tree of life, because every part is used. The flesh is grated for sambols and pressed for milk. The water is drunk fresh. The oil is used for cooking and for Ayurvedic treatments. The sap is tapped for toddy and boiled into treacle and jaggery. The leaves are woven into roofs and mats, the husks turned into rope, and the shells made into bowls and spoons.
Watching a cook scrape a coconut by hand, squeeze the milk through a cloth and add it to a simmering curry helps you understand why coconut is at the heart of Sri Lankan cooking.
Sri Lanka once grew hundreds of traditional rice varieties, each suited to different soils, climates and uses. Many were replaced by high-yield types in the twentieth century, but heritage rice is making a comeback.
Look for red rice, which is nutty and filling; suwandel, a fragrant white rice once served to royalty; kalu heenati, a dark red rice traditionally given to new mothers; and pachchaperumal, a reddish rice with a distinctive taste. Some restaurants and hotels now offer heritage rice with their rice and curry.
Sri Lankan cooking is closely linked to Ayurveda, the traditional system of medicine. Many ingredients are chosen for their health benefits as well as flavour. Turmeric is used for its anti-inflammatory properties, ginger and garlic for digestion, gotu kola for memory and circulation, and bitter gourd for balancing blood sugar.
Kola kanda, a green herbal porridge made from rice, coconut milk and leaves, is a traditional breakfast believed to cleanse and strengthen the body. At Ayurveda retreats, meals are planned according to each guest's constitution. Read our Ayurveda guide.
Start the morning with string hoppers, dhal and coconut sambol at a small local eatery. Mid-morning, wander through the Pettah markets, where stalls sell spices, dried fish, fruit and vegetables. Stop for a cup of sweet milk tea and a fish bun at a bakery.
At lunch, head to a busy "hotel" for rice and curry, with a dozen small dishes. In the afternoon, try a lamprais or a slice of love cake at a Burgher bakery, or cool down with faluda.
At sunset, walk along Galle Face Green and eat isso vadai from a seaside stall. For dinner, choose a crab curry by the sea or a plate of kottu roti from a roadside stall, followed by an egg hopper for dessert. By the end of the day, you will understand why so many visitors say the food is the highlight of their trip.
Sri Lanka's markets overflow with tropical fruit.
Mango: Many varieties, from the small, sweet Karthakolomban to large, fragrant types.
Rambutan: Hairy red fruit with sweet, juicy flesh, in season around June to August.
Mangosteen: Purple fruit with delicate white segments, often called the queen of fruits.
Wood apple: A hard-shelled fruit with a strong, tangy, fermented flavour, usually made into juice or jam. An acquired taste.
Durian: Loved or hated for its powerful smell and creamy flesh.
Passion fruit, papaya, pineapple, guava, custard apple, jackfruit and many varieties of banana are also common.
Visit a local market in the morning to see what is in season, and ask vendors to let you taste.
Ceylon tea: Drunk strong, with milk and sugar, from small glasses at roadside stalls or in fine china in colonial hotels. Visit a tea factory to taste it at its source. See our tea country guide.
King coconut water: The most refreshing drink on a hot day.
Faluda: A sweet, rose-flavoured milk drink with jelly and basil seeds, popular in Colombo and Jaffna.
Ginger beer: Sri Lankan ginger beer is spicy and refreshing.
Fresh juices: Lime, passion fruit, wood apple, papaya and mango.
Toddy: A mildly alcoholic drink made from coconut or palmyra sap, fermented naturally. Try it at a toddy tavern with a local guide.
Arrack: A spirit distilled from coconut toddy, often mixed with ginger beer or soda.
Alcohol sales are usually restricted on Poya days, the monthly full moon holidays.
Sri Lanka has been famous for spices for centuries. True Ceylon cinnamon, lighter and more delicate than cassia, drew Portuguese, Dutch and British traders to the island.
Visit a spice garden in Matale, on the road between Dambulla and Kandy, to see cinnamon, cardamom, pepper, cloves, nutmeg, vanilla and turmeric growing. Guides explain how each spice is harvested and used in cooking and Ayurvedic medicine.
On the south-west coast, you can watch cinnamon peelers scrape and roll the inner bark into delicate quills. Buy fresh spices to take home, but check your home country's rules on bringing plant products.
In village kitchens, you may still see traditional tools. Clay pots, called chatti, are used for curries and give a subtle earthy flavour. The coconut scraper, a stool with a serrated blade, is used to grate fresh coconut. A flat grinding stone, the miris gala, is used to crush chillies and spices. Food is often cooked over a wood fire, which adds smokiness.
Sri Lanka has a unique naming habit: many small local restaurants are called "hotels", even though they do not offer rooms. These are often the best places for an authentic, freshly cooked rice and curry lunch.
Look for places busy with local customers. Rice and curry is usually served from around noon until the dishes run out in the afternoon. Some places serve rice packets wrapped in paper or banana leaves to take away.
In the evenings, roadside stalls serve hoppers, kottu and short eats. Bakeries sell buns, cakes and short eats throughout the day.
In Colombo and tourist areas, you will also find modern restaurants serving refined Sri Lankan cuisine, international food and specialty coffee.
Sri Lanka is one of the easiest countries in Asia for vegetarians. Many curries are vegetable-based, and dhal, jackfruit, beetroot, green bean, cashew and aubergine dishes are delicious.
Many dishes are naturally vegan, as coconut milk replaces dairy. However, Maldive fish is often added to sambols and vegetable dishes for flavour, so ask cooks to leave it out. Some curries also use ghee.
Tamil vegetarian restaurants, especially in Colombo's Wellawatte and in Jaffna, serve excellent thali-style meals.
If you have allergies, explain them clearly and ask your guide to help. Common allergens include nuts, especially cashews, shellfish, dairy, gluten in roti and bakery items, and Maldive fish. Carry a card in English, Sinhala and Tamil describing your allergy.
Eating with the right hand is normal in Sri Lanka. Locals mix rice and curry with their fingertips, forming small balls and pushing them into the mouth with the thumb. Try it; many people say food tastes better this way. Wash your hands before and after the meal. Cutlery is always available if you prefer.
Use your right hand for eating and for passing food. The left hand is traditionally considered unclean.
If invited to a home, accept a little of everything offered. Refusing food can seem impolite. Hosts will often keep refilling your plate, so leave a little food if you are full.
Say if you want food "less spicy". It is a common request and not considered rude.
Eat where the food is freshly cooked and the restaurant is busy.
Choose hot dishes over those that have been sitting out for hours.
Peel fruit yourself where possible.
Drink bottled or filtered water, and be careful with ice in very small places.
Start slowly with very spicy food, especially in the first few days.
Cooking classes: Learn to cook a full rice and curry spread in a village home or guesthouse, often starting with a market visit.
Street food tours: Explore Colombo's markets and stalls with a local guide. See our Colombo street food tour.
Spice garden visits: See spices growing in Matale.
Tea tastings: Visit a factory and taste teas from different elevations.
Toddy tapping: Watch tappers climb coconut palms using ropes strung between trees, then taste fresh toddy.
Village lunches: Share a home-cooked meal served on lotus leaves in the Cultural Triangle.
Fish market visits: Watch the morning catch come in at Negombo or on the south coast.
Our cooking class in Galle is a popular choice.
Food plays a central role in Sri Lankan celebrations. At Sinhala and Tamil New Year in April, families prepare a table of traditional sweets and kiribath, and the first meal of the year is eaten at an auspicious time.
At Vesak, in May, people set up dansal, free food stalls offering rice, curry, drinks, ice cream and sweets to anyone who passes. Joining the queue is a wonderful way to experience the generosity of the festival.
At Thai Pongal in January, Tamil families cook sweet rice until it boils over, symbolising abundance.
At Christmas, Burgher and Christian families bake breudher and love cake.
At Eid, Muslim families serve buriyani and watalappan to guests.
In Ratnapura, the centre of Sri Lanka's gem tourism, a home-cooked rice and curry lunch is a memorable way to end a morning at the mines. The region is known for its rich curries, local vegetables and kithul treacle from the surrounding forests. Our Ratnapura gem guide explains how to visit the mines and workshops.
Tea from estate factory shops, fresh and clearly labelled by region and grade.
Ceylon cinnamon quills and other spices from Matale.
Roasted curry powder, often sold in markets and supermarkets.
Kithul treacle and jaggery, if your airline and customs rules allow liquids and food.
Dried fruit, cashew nuts and coconut products.
Check your home country's rules before packing food products.
Eating only in hotel buffets. The best food is often in local restaurants.
Ordering everything "very spicy" on the first day. Build up gradually.
Missing lunch. Rice and curry is at its best at midday and may be finished by late afternoon.
Forgetting to ask about Maldive fish if you are vegetarian.
Skipping the fruit markets. Seasonal fruit is one of the island's great pleasures.
Sri Lanka has its own style of Chinese food, developed over generations by Chinese immigrants and local cooks. Dishes such as devilled chicken, fried rice with a fried egg on top, chop suey and hot butter cuttlefish are popular at family dinners and celebrations. Hot butter cuttlefish, crispy fried squid tossed with butter, chilli and spring onion, is a local favourite and well worth trying with a cold drink by the sea.
Bakeries are an important part of Sri Lankan food culture. Many people start the day with fresh bread or buns, and the familiar tune played by bakery tuk-tuks as they deliver bread through neighbourhoods in the morning and evening is a sound visitors soon recognise.
At tea time, around four in the afternoon, Sri Lankans enjoy a cup of tea with short eats, cake or biscuits. Try a slice of butter cake, a jam-filled tart or a sweet bun with your tea.
Breakfast in Sri Lanka is hearty and savoury. In homes and local eateries, you might be served string hoppers with dhal and coconut sambol, pittu with coconut milk and chicken curry, pol roti with lunu miris, or kiribath with jaggery.
Many guesthouses serve a "Sri Lankan breakfast" on request, often a spread of several dishes, fresh fruit, juice and tea. It is worth trying at least once, even if you usually prefer toast and eggs. Kola kanda, the green herbal porridge, is a healthy option in wellness-focused hotels.
Tempering, or thel dala, is a key technique in Sri Lankan cooking. Spices such as mustard seeds, cumin, fennel, dried chilli, curry leaves and sliced onion are fried quickly in hot oil until fragrant, then added to a dish at the start or end of cooking. The sizzle and aroma of curry leaves hitting hot oil is one of the most recognisable smells of a Sri Lankan kitchen.
Tempered dhal, potatoes and vegetables are simple but delicious. If you take a cooking class, tempering is one of the first skills you will learn.
Pol sambol: Grated coconut with chilli, shallot, lime and Maldive fish.
Seeni sambol: Onions cooked slowly with spices and a little sugar until sweet, sticky and dark. Often used in buns and lamprais.
Katta sambol: A fiery paste of chilli, onion, lime and Maldive fish.
Lunu miris: Red onion and chilli pounded with salt and lime.
Coconut chutney: A smooth, mild blend served with thosai and idli.
Lime pickle and date chutney: Sweet, sour and spicy accompaniments.
Sambols add brightness and heat to a meal, and every family has its own recipe.
Children usually enjoy Sri Lankan food once they find their favourites. Good choices include plain or egg hoppers, string hoppers with potato curry, fried rice, dhal, pol roti and devilled chicken with less chilli. Tropical fruit, fresh juice and ice cream are always popular. Most restaurants will happily prepare milder dishes for children.
Along the coast, toddy tappers climb coconut palms at dawn and dusk, walking between trees on ropes strung high above the ground to collect the sap. The sap ferments naturally within hours into a mildly alcoholic, slightly sour drink. Local taverns serve toddy in simple surroundings, often with spicy snacks. With a local guide, a visit can be a fun and authentic experience. Our toddy tapping village tour shows the process up close.
Kithul is a palm that grows wild in the wet forests of the south and hill country. Skilled tappers climb the tall trunks to collect sap from the flower stalks, which is then boiled slowly over a fire into a dark, smoky treacle or set into blocks of jaggery. Kithul treacle has a rich, caramel flavour and is poured over buffalo curd, hoppers and pancakes. Villages around Sinharaja and Ratnapura are known for it. Buying directly from producers supports forest communities and a traditional craft that is slowly disappearing.
Sri Lankan curd is made from buffalo milk and set in unglazed clay pots, which absorb moisture and give it a thick, creamy texture and a slightly tangy taste. Along the road between Colombo and the south coast, especially around Tissamaharama and Hambantota, you will see stalls with pots stacked high. A bowl of curd with kithul treacle is one of the simplest and most delicious desserts on the island.
Sri Lankan cooking follows the seasons. Mangoes are best in the first half of the year, rambutans and mangosteens in the middle, and many vegetables depend on the monsoon rains. During festivals and harvests, special dishes appear. Ask your guide or host what is in season, and try it. It is often the freshest and tastiest food available.
One of the most memorable food experiences in Sri Lanka is simply drinking tea where it grows. Sit on the veranda of a tea estate bungalow or a hillside café in the early morning, as mist lifts from the valleys and pluckers move along the slopes below. A pot of fresh high-grown tea, a slice of butter cake and that view are hard to beat.
Is Sri Lankan food very spicy? Often, yes. Ask for it "less spicy" and cooks will adjust.
Is it safe to eat with your hands? Yes. Wash before and after, and use your right hand.
What is the best dish for a first-timer? Rice and curry at lunchtime, followed by an egg hopper in the evening.
Is Sri Lanka good for vegetarians? Yes. It is one of the easiest countries in Asia for vegetarian travellers.
Where can I find the best local food? In busy local "hotels" at lunchtime and at roadside stalls in the evening.
Can I take spices home? Usually, yes, but check your country's customs rules.
Sri Lanka Travel Tours can add food tours, cooking classes, spice garden visits, tea tastings and village meals to any itinerary. Our driver-guides know the best local restaurants and roadside stalls, and they will help you order dishes to suit your taste.
Try our Colombo street food tour, or tell us your dates and we will plan a journey that is as delicious as it is beautiful.
Tell us what you're picturing and we'll build a trip around it.
