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Best Restaurants in Sri Lanka (2026)

Places to eat at every budget, from street food and casual local spots to established restaurants and fine dining.

10 places · Updated October 27, 2026

Our top 3 restaurants in Sri Lanka

  1. Ministry of Crab Sri Lankan crab and seafood, FortDharshan Munidasa's crab restaurant in the Old Dutch Hospital, co-founded with cricketers Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara and serving wild-caught Sri Lankan mud crab.
  2. Nihonbashi Japanese, Port CityDharshan Munidasa's Japanese restaurant, founded in 1995 and the first Sri Lankan restaurant on Asia's 50 Best list, now on Chaithya Road at Port City.
  3. Upali’s Sri Lankan, Cinnamon GardensA traditional Sri Lankan restaurant opened in 2013 in its founder's former family home in Colombo 7, known for rice and curry, hathmaluwa and fish head curry.

Restaurant

1. Ministry of Crab

Sri Lankan crab and seafood$$$$Fort

Dharshan Munidasa's crab restaurant in the Old Dutch Hospital, co-founded with cricketers Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara and serving wild-caught Sri Lankan mud crab.

View details — Ministry of Crab

Restaurant

2. Nihonbashi

Japanese$$$$Port City

Dharshan Munidasa's Japanese restaurant, founded in 1995 and the first Sri Lankan restaurant on Asia's 50 Best list, now on Chaithya Road at Port City.

View details — Nihonbashi

Restaurant

3. Upali’s

Sri Lankan$$Cinnamon Gardens

A traditional Sri Lankan restaurant opened in 2013 in its founder's former family home in Colombo 7, known for rice and curry, hathmaluwa and fish head curry.

View details — Upali’s

Restaurant

4. The Gallery Café

Sri Lankan and international$$$Kollupitiya

A Paradise Road restaurant opened in 1998 in Geoffrey Bawa's former offices, serving local and international dishes beside a gallery of changing exhibitions.

View details — The Gallery Café

Restaurant

5. Nuga Gama

Sri Lankan village cooking$$$Kollupitiya

Cinnamon Grand's village-style restaurant, where local cooks known as ammes prepare traditional Sri Lankan island dishes in a village-style setting in the city centre.

View details — Nuga Gama

Restaurant

6. Avartana

Progressive South Indian$$$$Galle Face

ITC Hotels' progressive South Indian fine-dining restaurant at ITC Ratnadipa, open for dinner and described as reinventing southern Indian cuisine with local flair.

View details — Avartana

Restaurant

7. Loon Tao

Chinese seafood$$$Mount Lavinia

A beachside Chinese seafood restaurant at Mount Lavinia that reopened in 2025 after a long closure, with 350 seats, private rooms and live music every evening.

View details — Loon Tao

Restaurant

8. Isso

Sri Lankan prawn and seafood$$Kollupitiya

A home-grown Sri Lankan seafood restaurant founded in 2016 and built around sea-caught prawns, with its flagship on Ananda Coomaraswamy Mawatha in Colombo 3.

View details — Isso

Restaurant

10. Shang Palace

Chinese$$$$Galle Face

Shangri-La Colombo's Chinese restaurant, cooking Dongbei, Szechuan and Cantonese dishes, with a yum cha brunch of dim sum and barbecue on weekends and holidays.

View details — Shang Palace