The New Colombo Restaurants Worth Getting Excited About Right Now

The Colombo restaurant scene has always had energy but what is happening right now feels different. A new generation of Sri Lankan chefs, many of them returning from stints abroad, are opening places that are rooted in local ingredients and technique while being entirely confident in their own identity. These are not fusion restaurants trying to please an international palate. They are Sri Lankan restaurants that happen to be exceptionally well-executed.

Nuga on Flower Road opened early this year and has already established itself as the most interesting new opening in Colombo 3. The menu changes weekly based on what is available at the market. The room is small, the tables are close, and the cooking has the kind of attention and precision that you feel in the first bite. The cashew curry alone is worth a visit. Reservations are essential and fill quickly.

On the Havelock Town side, a bar-restaurant called Current has opened in a converted shophouse with a natural wine list and a bar snack menu of devilled Sri Lankan bites that functions as both drinking food and a genuine meal. The space is beautiful in the way that good conversions always are: the old bones of the building visible, the new additions respectful of what was there. This is where Colombo's creative and hospitality industry crowd goes after work.

In the Fort, the Dutch Hospital precinct continues to evolve. Two new additions have opened in the past few months: a tasting menu restaurant from a Colombo chef who spent several years in Singapore, and a bakery-cafe producing the finest croissants currently available in Sri Lanka alongside excellent filter coffee. Both are busy from opening. Both deserve the attention they are getting.