Described as the “finest island of its size” by Marco Polo, Sri Lankan food and drinks certainly lives up to the words of this intrepid explorer. Its people are warm, the food is exotic and its landscape is astounding, making it a melting pot of culture beckoning you to travel, explore and experience paradise like never before.

Once an important part of the maritime Silk Route, for centuries its shores have been visited in search of what the ground offers here. Its legendary spices – cinnamon, clove, and pepper ¬– over which colonial nations have done battle and conquered over, still remain prized today. Matale, in the central hills, with its cool, damp climate is the nation’s spice capital. Learn the story of Ceylon spices and their many uses with a visit to one of the numerous family-owned spice gardens here.

From spicy street food and traditional dishes to its top-end restaurants serving cuisine from around the world, Sri Lanka presents a true gastronomic journey. As signature street food, the ubiquitous kottu-rotti takes top spot. If ever you hear a rhythmic clacking of metal on metal, that would be your cue that you have found this spicy stir-fry of rotti, vegetables, and meats. But nothing screams Sri Lankan cuisine more than string hoppers. Essentially a thin, steamed noodle cake and taken with spicy accompaniments, your trip wouldn’t be complete without having sampled it. The seafood here is a specialty, and for the gourmand in you, many top-notch restaurants, mostly in the capital Colombo, will not disappoint.

Written by Jonathan Roelofsz for Travel Lanka Compass

Your bucket list of must-try Sri Lankan food and drinks

  • Milk rice & katta sambol
  • Kottu roti
  • Pol rotti with lunu miris
  • Hoppers (plain & egg)
  • String hoppers with pol sambol & polos curry
  • Pittu & kiri kodhi
  • Ambulthiyal
  • Buffalo curd & kithul treacle
  • Kola mallum – made with gotukola, nivithi, kangkung or kathurumurunga leaves
  • Kola kanda

Fruits

  • Pineapple
  • Mangosteen
  • Jaffna mango
  • King coconut

Sweets

  • Kavum
  • Mung kavum
  • Pani walalu
  • Aluwa
  • Arsmi
  • Weli thalapa
  • Bibikkam
  • Aggala