A taste of Sri Lankan Culture at Culture Colombo.

By Nadia De Mel

Climbing up the little staircase towards the entrance of the restaurant, we had a feeling of comfort and ease as we looked up at the beautiful, simplistic decoration surrounding the entrance and the exterior of the restaurant.

As soon as we opened the door, we were greeted and assisted by a staff member and escorted to our seats at the ‘Lotus Heaven’ room in the restaurant.

We noticed that the restaurant had a few seating areas which had their own beautiful, colourful and unique theme. They go as Lotus Heaven, Tangy Paradise and Tropical Den.

Each seating area had beautifully designed and decorated interiors that are totally #instagramworthy.

While we were getting comfortable in our seats, we noticed that the restaurant was playing Sinhalese music in the background in order to give the customers an authentic Sri Lankan dining experience.

Beverages

We were offered two beverages by the team at Culture Colombo. The first beverage was King Coconut Lime and the second was ‘Homemade Ginger Beer’.

Homemade Ginger Beer

The Homemade Ginger Beer was not too strong and was quite refreshing. It definitely tasted like Ginger beer you could make at home as it maintained its natural flavour with no additional fizz. However, it was served at a cool temperature whereas we would have preferred it a little more chilled.

Price: LKR300/-

King Coconut & Lime

I personally loved the King Coconut & Lime and highly recommend it to our readers. The Coconut water and lime flavours blend together really well. It was both delicious and refreshing.

Amongst the 2 beverages the restaurant also offers a variety of fresh fruit juices along with Tamarind Juice and Goraka Juice.

They also offer soft drinks, Chai Tea, Lemon Iced Tea, Iced Milo, Iced Coffee and Tea & Coffee pots

The price range starts at LKR250/- and could go up to LKR450/-

The Mains

Mixed Seafood Dry Curry Bowl with Roast Bread

Before I get into the details of this dish let me just tell you that this was a personal favourite. The seafood dried bowl came in a mati walande (clay pot) and had a mix of crabs, prawns and cuttlefish with a spicy Sri Lankan curry. The dish came with a portion of fresh Pol Sambol (Spicy Coconut Sambol) We were served 2 loaves of roast paan (roast bread) cut in half and toasted with butter. The roast paan was fresh, hot and crispy and was the perfect way to indulge in this wonderful dried bowl.

Even though you have to get your hands dirty to enjoy this dish, I highly recommend it.

Price: LKR 2290 (for 2 people)

Price: LKR4550 (for 4 people)

They also have a number of seafood and chicken dry curry bowls to choose from.

Mutton Bamboo biriyani

In case you haven’t already seen this famous dish on social media, Bamboo biryani has long-grained rice cooked to perfection with authentic spices and your favourite meat inside a bamboo branch, which promises to give a punch to your taste buds.

We had the Mutton Bamboo Biriyani and we really enjoyed it. The rice was cooked well and was mixed with a variety of spices to give you the strong flavour of an authentic biriyani dish. The mutton was in bite-size pieces, soft and cooked to perfection.

The biriyani was served with a portion of Mango chutney, raita and green peas. The Mango chutney was tangy and sweet but the sweetness doesn’t overpower the strong flavour in the Biriyanim rather it blends well with the spiciness.

Price: LKR 1550

Chicken Cheesy Nai Miris Kottu (with Yellow Curry)

The Kottu was served hot-hot with a Yellow Curry (Kiri Hodi) to accompany the dish. The Nai Miris kottu was topped up with a bit of cheese that added to the dish’s overall flavour. It was spicy but a Sri Lankan would consider the spicy level as normal. Personally, I wouldn’t recommend mixing the Yellow Curry with the Kottu. However, the team mentioned that the yellow curry was for customers who found the Nai Miris dish too spicy.

Price: LKR 940

Dessert

Watalappan

Is it ever really a complete Sri Lankan dining experience without some Watalappan? This dessert was delicious and a must-have if you are dropping by for a meal.

Price: LKR 550

The restaurant offers a variety of rice dishes, vegetable and meat curries and other kid-friendly dishes to suit your palate.

If you are looking to have some delicious, authentic Sri Lankan food or bring some of your foreign friends or family, we highly recommend you drop by Culture Colombo.

They truly offer you the entire Sri Lankan dining experience, from the location, the music playing in the background to their mouth-watering dishes.

View their whole menu below.