After Sri Lanka resident Lydia Swinscoe picked up an old Lonely Planet guidebook, published decades before TikTok became a trip-planner, she was curious to see how many of the Sri Lankan capital’s historic restaurants had survived—so she sought out every single one.
Sitting on the sofa inside Number 11, the old Colombo home of one of Sri Lanka’s most prolific architects, Geoffrey Bawa, I noticed a small stack of books resting on the nearby coffee table. Dark outside, a heavy monsoonal downpour created a meditative effect; it was the perfect environment for a cozy night in.
Since I was staying overnight as a guest, I’d settled on pizza for dinner which was en route from my favorite Italian restaurant, Rocco’s. Flicking through the book pile, I lingered on a well-thumbed Lonely Planet guidebook, showing coconut palms silhouetted against a crimson-colored cover. As a keen backpacker in my early 20s, there wasn’t a trip I embarked upon without a trusty LP inside my backpack—yet, after living in Sri Lanka for over two years, I’d neglected to check one out for the country I now call home.
When I noticed the book’s 2001 publication date, I was intrigued by how Colombo had morphed and changed over the past quarter of a century. I joyfully read the entire city section, making notes and paying particular attention to restaurant recommendations—food is how I love to connect with a place when I travel.
And then, I wondered: Which establishments had outlived the digital era?
Over the past couple of years, I’d already witnessed firsthand how the capital seems to morph and transform overnight; cloud-piercing buildings spring up monthly, and businesses come and go like the ocean waves crashing onto the city promenade, Galle Face Green.
Of the 41 restaurants listed, I recognized a handful immediately. Plenty were places I’d already eaten at, like the long-standing Barefoot Garden Café still “set in a pretty courtyard next to a gallery and bookshop”; another Geoffrey Bawa design, The Gallery Café; Shanti Vihar—where I enjoyed a masala dosa (advertised for 13 cents back in 2001)—and Sea Spray (now named King of the Mambo) and housed inside the majestic Galle Face Hotel. And still doing their thing 25 years later.
ther entries, like Sri Lankan restaurant Palmyrah, are actually doing better. Adored not only by visitors to Colombo, but locals too, it remains a firm favorite of Colomboite and restaurateur Anitra Ratnayake: “The food is completely different from what I grew up eating at home, and that’s what makes it special to me.”
I was amazed that so many, 17 in fact, had not only stood the test of time, but continued to thrive—not to be taken for granted given the civil war from 1983 to 2009, the devastating tsunami that claimed over 35,000 lives in 2004, a global pandemic, and Sri Lanka’s entire economic collapse of 2022.
Others, however, like the Pagoda Tea Room in a stunning old creation known as the De Mel Building in the fort area of town, had closed down completely. But after sitting empty for a good few years, this historic café, once used as a backdrop in Duran Duran’s Hungry Like the Wolf video, has also since been transformed into Radicle, an exciting art gallery and specialty coffee shop.
This new lease of life has put the building on the radar of a younger generation, allowing it to shine once more, thanks to its Instagrammable blue spirulina matcha lattes and Japanese-style egg sandos, that see a whole jammy egg encased in light-as-a-cloud milk bread. These visuals and aesthetics also highlight a fundamental shift, that photogenic dishes now rule when it comes to the guidebooks of today: TikTok and Instagram.
Similarly, relaxed low-key café The Commons, in the upscale Colombo 7 neighborhood, is described in the 2001 Lonely Planet as being frequented by “a trendy crowd”—and it’s still run by Sri Lankan DJ-turned-restaurateur Harpo Gooneratne, who believes its success is firmly down to its “loyal clients, consistency, and brilliant staff.”
During my visit, I was impressed by the spot’s colossal menu, which features everything from traditional Sri Lankan string hoppers (nests of steamed rice noodles) to Mongolian rice and the pancakes with maple syrup that are mentioned in the guidebook.
It’s another story further south. Walking past stands selling bright orange thimbali (king coconut) and freshly made aloe vera juice, sits Beach Wadiya, a low-key beachfront structure that I reached by crossing rusting railway tracks.
Having been mostly destroyed by the tsunami, the place is a shadow of its former self—I learned Princess Anne had frequented the place at one point—and sees far fewer visitors than when it was a Colombo hotspot in 2001. Back then, according to LP, the crab with vegetables (USD$1.11), fried fish (57 cents) and photoboards of people—many famous (i.e. cricketers), others drunk, some both—who have visited the restaurant” were the main drawcards.
Just south of Fort, not far from the tourist-frequented old Dutch Hospital, in a slightly hidden part of Colombo 2, next to Secretariat Railway Station and an abandoned cinema, Seafish exudes a similar faded vibe. Inside, empty during my visit, I flicked through the bright blue menu listing seafood specialties of fried cuttlefish in spicy batter and grilled seer fish before noticing a single photo of the original staff, framed and hung on the wall, emblazoned with ‘1969’, its opening year.
Looking at the image, I couldn’t help but feel a little nostalgic that I didn’t get to experience the restaurant’s heyday, when it was known to serve “excellent seafood” or meet the pioneering family behind the city’s oldest seafood restaurant, before new management took over.
“We used to love going to the Bavarian when we were kids,” says [restauranteur Shanil] Dayawansa, reminiscing on the German-inspired dishes he enjoyed alongside his brothers and parents.
Other entries, like Sri Lankan restaurant Palmyrah, are actually doing better. Adored not only by visitors to Colombo, but locals too, it remains a firm favorite of Colomboite and restaurateur Anitra Ratnayake, who loves their mutton paal poriyal (a dry-fried tender mutton dish). It’s “one of those dishes that really reminds you just how diverse Sri Lankan cuisine can be,” she tells me over dinner.
I have to agree. Specializing in Jaffna cuisine, which has close ties to Tamil Nadu in India, Palmyrah serves some of the best pittu (a steamed cylinder of rice and grated coconut) and spicy crab curry I’ve had outside of the northern region. Ratnayake often takes visiting friends there to show them a different side of Sri Lankan cuisine: “The food is completely different from what I grew up eating at home, and that’s what makes it special to me,” she shares from her Park Street Mews restaurant, Biling.
Having opened at the start of 2026, Biling—named after a small sour green fruit that’s kind-of gone out of fashion—is one of the city’s newest restaurants, serving family favorites with an elevated twist. I quickly fell in love with the place after sampling its biling seeni sambol tarts (biling-infused caramelized onion tarts) and Appi’s Kalu Pol Pork (pork belly served with burnt coconut sauce).
Opposite the Galle Face Hotel, The Bavarian, a nondescript place from the outside, “does all things German”, says the guidebook. “You may wish to make your visit coincide with the happy hour (7 to 8pm) to sample the draft German beer and German wines”, it advises—information I embrace to this day, since happy hour continues, weekdays only, but extended from 5 to 7pm.
Hearty plates of sausages, mash, and schnitzels offer the comforting flavors of home for foreign Europeans living in the city (myself included)—while also providing a taste of European fare for locals like Shanil Dayawansa, who happens to run one of the city’s hottest restaurants, GINI.
While outdoor garden restaurant, GINI has fast become known for its innovative takes on classic Sri Lankan fare like grilled Mullaitivu tiger prawns with coconut arrack sauce and fried Moratuwa oysters topped with pickled red chili, The Bavarian is a world away with its dark wood interiors and old-school charm.
“We used to love going to the Bavarian when we were kids,” says Dayawansa, reminiscing on the German-inspired dishes he enjoyed alongside his brothers and parents.
Like The Bavarian, The Cricket Club Café, with its cricket memorabilia-filled interiors, was described 25 years ago as “one of the most popular places to meet, drink and eat.” Having since moved locations from Queen’s Road to Flower Road, I was delighted to find an array of pies on the menu, each named after a famous cricketer (the David Shepherd is a winner), and enjoyed it surrounded by a handful of tables of local diners and holidaymakers.
Similarly, Ginza Hohsen, the first authentic Japanese restaurant in Sri Lanka that, according to the 2001 Lonely Planet, used to be housed inside the Hilton Hotel, continues to flourish. Today, it takes up a large space right opposite Port City—a colossal ‘lifestyle hub’ where shiny, brand-new apartment blocks are planned to be built in droves—and serves up fresh sushi, sashimi, and udon appealing to Japanese, Chinese, and Taiwanese tourists, according to staff. But unlike 25 years ago, it’s not flying solo: There’s now plenty more competition for good Japanese food in Colombo.
Anithra Basnayake, creative director at Dr. Hallock’s Bar and Lounge and one of the country’s few female mixologists, remembers going to Ginza inside the Hilton as a teenager, and but today, she particularly rates Yoroko as one of her new favorite Japanese restaurants for its “beautifully executed, authentic food and varied options of sake.”
Whether these restaurants will be here in another 25 years remains to be seen, but it’s guaranteed that Colombo will continue to change, and new businesses will open where old favorites once stood.
It’s a similar story for Chinese cuisine. Consultant chef and social media critic Rashen John has worked with plenty of Colombo restaurants, one of which was The Emperor’s Wok in the Hilton Hotel, “back when it was the most popular Chinese restaurant in Sri Lanka,” he tells me. “Most of the chefs had started as dishies, and learnt traditional techniques from the original Chinese chefs who built the place. They’d bang out hundreds of dim sums a day, using old Chinese weighing scales and Chinese cleavers to get everything consistent.”
The Emperor’s Wok is remains popular, still within the Hilton Hotel, and, for reasons of nostalgia, is still John’s favorite spot for Chinese food, amongst the sea of 60-plus Chinese restaurants in Colombo.
Perhaps the most interesting evolution is that of Green Cabin, a fifth-generation restaurant that’s been serving Sri Lankan tea and dishes since 1884. After visiting the “bit of an institution” Galle Road branch listed in the guidebook—where the recommended vegetable pastries now cost 48 cents (LKR160 rupees) versus the 13 cents (LKR 12 rupees) of 2001—I dug a little deeper and discovered the brand dates all the way back to 1884, when it was known as Ceylon Tea Kiosk.
Starting out on the jetty of Colombo harbor by a group of British planters, Ceylon Tea Kiosk moved locations a few times before becoming known as the aforementioned Pagoda Tea Rooms in the Fort area of town. It didn’t take long before Ceylonese entrepreneur Thomas Rodrigo took over the business and soon after, another named Green Cabin. While Pagoda Tea Rooms is no more, the merging of these two companies resulted in Green Cabin’s current iteration, its 12 branches led by Chirath Devasurendra (Rodrigo’s great-great-grandson) with a strong social media presence.
That’s when I realized that evolving was the key. Many businesses have survived simply by moving with the times—some by embracing social media, some by appealing not only to tourists but to locals, too. Whether these restaurants will be here in another 25 years remains to be seen, but it’s guaranteed that Colombo will continue to change, and new businesses will open where old favorites once stood. Yet beneath the city’s constant reinvention lies a remarkable hardiness: These places have all endured decades of upheaval, and perhaps that’s the most remarkable thing of all.
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Lydia Swinscoe is a nomadic travel writer who contributes to numeous titles, including The Sunday Times, Condé Nast Traveller, The Guardian, Service 95, BBC Travel, ELLE, Marie Claire and The Independent. She is currently based in Sri Lanka, where she delights in the arts, culinary and architectural scenes of this tropical island.
