Joanna James
Colombo is packed with cafés and fine dining restaurants that serve mouthwatering foods from all over the world. Here's a list of the 10 best spots to try out.
Designed to look like a Maharaja's palace, Agra, located by the verdant outskirts of Colombo's Independence Square parkland, is an absolute delight in every sense. The tasteful decorations transport you to another time and place, and the fantastic Indian cuisine served here is not soon forgotten. The exotic menu is packed with dishes from every part of the Indian peninsula with a touch of western desserts.
The 1864 restaurant belongs to the Galle Face Hotel. The architecture of the restaurant was created in 1864, thus the name of the restaurant, with many of its historic features still intact. 1864 serves up delicious seafood, continental and Sri Lanka dishes and desserts along with some fantastic beverages including mocktails and fresh fruit juices.
Ministry of Crab, located within the renovated Dutch Hospital complex, serves magnificent crabs cooked in mouthwatering recipes. The crabs can be ordered up in 10 different sizes ranging from small half kilo ones all the way to the colossal crabzilla, which is 2 kilograms in weight!
Ikoi Tei is also located in Dutch Hospital and serves some truly heavenly Japanese cuisine. The menu contains both traditional and contemporary Japanese dishes with exceptionally prepared sushi. Their spicy tuna roll, in particular, is to die for!
Established by the famous Sri Lanka tea brand, Dilmah, Dilmah T-lounge is a place to sit back, relax and experience the wonder of tea both in drink and in gastronomy. The charming lounge offers toothsome snacks including crepes, waffles and toasties that are, uniquely, infused in various types of tea. Their tea menu is rather extravagant and has everything from simple black tea to Dilmah's own unusual and exotic concoctions.
Nihonbashi is another fantastic Japanese restaurant in Colombo. The restaurant has a more authentic Japanese feel to it and is decorated with bamboo walls and rock gardens! The menu is quite extensive, containing everything from sushi and maki to crab and meat dishes to wasabi ice cream and kanten jelly for dessert! Guests can choose to sit either at their 6 person tables, in the more intimate dining rooms or under the bamboo canopy of their Yakitori Garden.
Heladiv Tea Club, located opposite Ikoi Tei, is charming, intimate café that serves some delicious snacks and a variety of wonderful teas, coffees and desserts. The spot has a particular scrumptious breakfast menu and also serves up some exquisite mocktails and cocktails too.
The Baked offers one of Sri Lanka's best high tea experiences. The café has a wide variety of truly delectable finger foods that will leave you wanting more until you eventually are too full to even stand, with something for every kind of craving from sweet to savoury to spicy or sour.
Pebbles is a place of elegant, modern, minimalism. Located next to the upcoming One Galle Face mixed-use complex, overlooking Colombo's Galle Face Green, Pebbles receives a very lively and vibrant group of people, all looking to relax and have a great time – the presence of TVs that are always tuned to the sports channel and a pool table, helps. Their menu offers fantastic pastries, pizzas, salads, baked cakes and sandwiches as well as a wide selection of beverages including smoothies and mocktails.
In Colombo, things to see and do, in some form or another, involves taking in the view of the magnificent Indian Ocean. At the Ocean Seafood Restaurant, you can enjoy both a spectacular view of the ocean and treat yourself to some of the best seafood to be had in the city! The fine dining restaurant does live-cooking and serves dishes of lobsters, crab, oysters, salmon and more with lavish combos of rice, noodles and vegetables.
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