Restaurants & Cafés · 28 of the best in Sri Lanka
Upali’s by Nawaloka
Sri Lankan classics, all day
About Upali’s by Nawaloka
A Colombo family’s former home is now one of the best places to learn Sri Lankan cooking, from rice-and-curry sets to fish-head curry. Here is what to order.
A family home
Upali’s was founded in 2013 by Upali Dharmadasa in his family’s former home in Colombo 7. Portraits of his parents, H. K. Dharmadasa and Meelin, hang in the restaurant, and the idea is to make you feel at home: simply Sri Lankan food, cooked from recipes passed down through generations.
Learning the cuisine
For a visitor, Upali’s is one of the easiest places in Colombo to understand Sri Lankan food. The lunch set is the classic way in: two kinds of rice with three vegetable curries, coconut sambol, papadam, dried fish and gravy. From there you can explore curries of meat and seafood, and plenty of vegetarian dishes.
Sri Lankan home cooking in a family home, under the portraits of the founder’s parents.
Dishes to try
Try the hathmaluwa, a seven-vegetable curry the restaurant describes as a recipe about 2,000 years old; Upali’s baduma, a crisp fried mix of banana flower, peanuts and noodles with curry leaves and chilli; and maalu oluwa, fish-head curry in a light coconut gravy with okra, pineapple and aubergine. Roti parata with chicken or tomato gravy makes a good lighter meal.
Who it suits
It suits first-time visitors, families and anyone who wants proper Sri Lankan cooking without ceremony. It is busy with Colombo families, which is a good sign. Ask the staff how spicy a dish is, and they will steer you.
Practical tips
Upali’s is at 65 C.W.W. Kannangara Mawatha, Colombo 7, near Viharamahadevi Park and the National Museum, and is open every day from 8 am to 11 pm. Takeaway and delivery are available. It is a good lunch stop on a museum morning.
Our advice: go at lunchtime, order the set with a hathmaluwa on the side, and finish with a walk in nearby Viharamahadevi Park.
Why it's on our list
- Sri Lankan classics in a family home
- Hathmaluwa, the seven-vegetable curry
- Rice-and-curry lunch sets
- Open from breakfast to late
Opening hours, prices and seasonal openings change, so please check with Upali’s by Nawaloka before you go.
Plan your visit
- Where 65 C.W.W. Kannangara Mawatha, Colombo 7.
- Hours Daily 08:00–23:00.
- Order The lunch set, hathmaluwa, baduma, maalu oluwa.
- Nearby Viharamahadevi Park and the National Museum.