Five of the best Sri Lankan restaurants from short eats to fine dining
Published 14 April 2026

Since launching in 2015, this buzy, cosy restaurant has become something of a Soho institution. Although there are now three branches of Hoppers dotted around the capital there is no sense of dining in a chain eatery. The intimate, characterful room is inspired by the shack-like ‘toddy shops’ found on Sri Lanka’s coconut plantations, featuring a beautifully patterned terracotta-tiled floor, rattan ceiling and Sri Lankan poster art, all designed with enough style to avoid any hint of a themed venue. Although there’s a handy glossary printed at the bottom of the concise (and cryptic) menu, first-time visitors may be a little overwhelmed if unfamiliar with Sri Lankan cuisine. We took the advice of our server and ordered the set menu. For a hungry diner, it’s the perfect way to sample a dish from nearly every part of the repertoire (apart from the larger ‘rice and roasts’ section). Top calls included pheasant chilli fry, a seasonal riff on Hoppers' signature beef rib fry, with pieces of pheasant breast in a crisp coating, fried with red onions, mild banana chillies, hot chillies, curry powder, spices and curry leaves – a perfect representation of the kitchen’s vibrant, spicy style. Equally enjoyable was seafood kothu with its generous amounts of squid and prawns stir-fried with chopped roti, cabbage and carrot in a spicy curry sauce. Black pork kari, a kind of dry curry reminiscent of a Malaysian rendang, was a real show-stopper, intensely flavoured with a darkly roasted spice base and a unique tangy, sour and smoky note provided by goraka (a sun-dried and smoked fruit native to Sri Lanka); this came generously accompanied by dhal, sambols, raita and one of the bowl-shaped rice and coconut pancakes that gives the restaurant its name. With just eight wines on the list, the emphasis is on exotic cocktails (some made with the Sri Lankan coconut-based spirit Ceylon Arrack) and own brand beers. That said, an affordably priced carafe of Rhône rosé complemented the food perfectly.

Husband and wife team Eroshan and Aushi Meewella’s bijou Sri Lankan eatery is fun, and their generous, low-priced, two-course set lunch comes highly recommended. Squeeze into the tiny terrace fronting Kingly Street (great for people-watching) or bag one of the tables inside and tuck into that Sri Lankan lunch staple – a composite curry/rice bowl. We chose Ceylon chicken curry and 'Vaira’s jaggery beef', both served with dhal, okra, coconutty pol sambol and mango chutney on a bed of rice. Wash it all down with Sri Lanka’s favourite Lion lager, cocktails such as a chilli-laced Margarita, or something from the short European wine list.

The unfussy semi-basement is intimate, understated and functional, and there’s no disputing the valiant intent in the kitchen – Jack Lury’s Sri-Lankan/British heritage provides the jumping-off point for a repertoire of precise, produce-led westernised dishes. With just 10 seats in the tiny dining room, the chef works alone, and his meticulously produced 10-course tasting menu of snacks and small plates (the only option available) is well-balanced.

Sri-Lankan flavours – tangy, sweet and sour, with undertones of warm spices – weave through dishes such as a luxurious soup of squash, its sweet-sour flavour offset by cubes of rich, fatty hogget, or a confit egg yolk served atop a tangle of aromatic mushrooms, toasted hazelnuts and seeni sambol (caramelised onion chutney), with a tangy lime-foam finish. Ingredients are top drawer across the board: we were impressed by the quality of a sweet hand-dived scallop teamed with just a dab of cauliflower purée and lobster sauce, and by a nugget of tender, flavoursome, pink-roasted venison loin.

None of this comes cheap, and the final bill is certainly at odds with the no-frills surroundings. However, given that Lury was just eight months old when we visited, we view it as a work in progress, and we’d argue that cooking this confident is definitely worthy of consideration – it is undoubtedly Hastings’ most original restaurant. The brief wine selection is well chosen with spice in mind – and reasonably priced.

There’s a lot of love for Rambutan, and it’s repaid with interest from the moment you walk through the door of this enticing and immensely likeable restaurant by Borough Market. Chef-owner Cynthia Shanmugalingam was born in Coventry to Sri Lankan parents and her debut bricks-and-mortar gaff is a fond, personal tribute to the old country’s culinary heritage. Natural clay walls, pink-painted brickwork, a green-hued marble counter, tall tropical plants, buffed wood and rattan chairs create exactly the right mood, while sweet-natured, welcoming staff simply add to the feel-good vibe. An open kitchen does its stuff impressively, celebrating the sheer diversity of Sri Lanka's rich, hot and spicy Tamil cuisine: expect lots of curries, sambals and rotis, all underpinned by supplies of prime British produce ranging from Cornish mussels to Dingley Dell pork. As a curtain-raiser, try one of the ‘short eats’ – say, beautifully tender grilled chicken with spicy kalupol (black coconut) seasoning, accompanied by an intoxicating sweet and tangy tamarind/green chilli dip. We were also bowled over by the fried aubergine moju and a curry of red northern prawns, cooked in the shell with yet more tamarind – perfect with a moist, flaky roti. The cooking ‘crackles with inventiveness’, and if you fancy ‘getting down and dirty’, try tackling the whole Dorset crab in a Jaffna-style curry. After that, a mango soft-serve sorbet is all that’s required for cooling off. A dozen wines are supplemented by spicy cocktails, Cornish Harbour lager and kalamansi iced tea.

Discreet elegance is the Cocochine’s stock-in-trade, perceptible from the moment you step into the ground-floor dining room or ascend to the intimate chef’s counter above. While there’s a palpable sense of luxury and ease, it’s the innate sense of hospitality from the front of house staff matched with the creative, inspired and personal cooking from Sri Lankan-born chef Larry Jayasekara that makes the place memorable.

Jayasekara’s gastronomic signature is the artful incorporation of Sri Lankan nuances and seasoning into technically dazzling modern food, its roots embedded in his classical training in France and Britain. To get a glimpse, the ridiculously good-value three-course set lunch is a great intro; otherwise, it’s eight seriously impressive courses. Technique is used to enhance rather than overwhelm ingredients, and the result is a stunning showcase for prime British produce. A pick of the early courses was an enormous langoustine served over seaweed and green lentils, paired with Jerusalem artichoke purée and finished with a rich lobster bisque. Later, a dish of meltingly tender roasted sika deer with coconut sambal, chilli, beetroot soubise, a peppery nasturtium purée and a red wine jus, captured on one plate Jayasekara’s ability to tease flavours from ingredients and combine them into coherently delicious, strikingly beautiful food.

It's normal practice for fruits seasoned with chilli and salt to be sold on rail and bus journeys in Sri Lanka, and the diced pineapple with lemongrass sorbet, chilli flakes, coriander oil and lemon balm proved to be a brilliant homage. A sensational collection of some 1,400 bottles majors on prestige estates from Burgundy and Bordeaux with astonishing breadth and value elsewhere. Prices start at £33 and there are two dozen by the glass from £15. It’s worth noting, too, that the top floor is where you’ll find ‘possibly the most sensational private room in town’.