Culture Colombo

An authentic Sri Lankan conceptual experience!

Culture Colombo, less than two weeks old has become wildly popular for its authentic Sri Lankan cuisine, and even though the prices are quite steep, the dining experience is totally worth it!
Walking into the restaurant, we absolutely loved the instrumental Lankan music playing in the background. The restaurant is super spacious; they have indoor and outdoor seating, and also rooms which you can reserve for occasions seating up to 20 to 30 people.

The waiters were accommodating, attentive and well versed with the menu, prompt with recommendations. They also ask you if you’d rather eat using cutlery or by hand, in which case they provide you with gloves and an apron so that things do not get messy.

Needless to say, we adored their concept and how they incorporated true Lankan nature into each aspect of the restaurant.

Drinks

King Coconut Lime – LKR 250

Looking like the perfect hangover remedy, this drink was refreshing and exactly what we needed after a long, tiring day. The lime didn’t overpower the king coconut and just the right amount was added into it.

Homemade Ginger Beer – LKR 300

With a strong flavour of ginger, this beverage was revitalizing. There was lime stirred into this too and it was basically a tastier, healthier, and fancier version of your regular bottled ginger beer.

Mains

Chicken Bamboo Biriyani – LKR 795

Probably their most popular dish in such a short time, the chicken biriyani is stuffed in and served from a bamboo, and was warm and yummy. This here is your ultimate comfort food and they are not stingy with the chicken! The dish also includes sides of chutney made in-house (SO good!), raita, green peas and cashew curry, and a poached egg.

Chicken Cheese Kottu – LKR 690

For quite a hefty portion, this dish was well worth the price. It comes with chicken gravy but the kottu works extremely well without it as well. Consisting of chunks of chicken and veggies embedding in gooey, stringy cheese this chicken cheese kottu should definitely be on your radar after a night out, or just for pure indulgence because this was the winning dish of our meal!

Mixed Seafood Dry Bowl (Half) – LKR 2690

Amongst their signature dishes were the Mati Walande Dry Curries, out of which we chose the Mixed Seafood Dry Bowl. The carb choices for this dish are roast paan or rice (we opted for rice), and you get a side of onion sambol as well. Even though the portion was meant for 2 pax (the full portion costs LKR 4990 for 4 pax), 3 of us had generous quantities of the dry curry, yet there were leftovers! Therefore, though the price was steep, considering the fact that this dish included copious amounts of cuttlefish, crab, prawn and two different types of fish, it was reasonable. This dish is not meant for the faint hearted, because it’s super spicy, but Culture Colombo thrives once again with their tangy or spicy option. So, to all those truly Lankan souls out there, this one is for you!

Elu Mas Yapanaya Kramayata (Jaffna Style) – LKR 950

In addition to everything we ordered, we decided the Northern Province should make an appearance in our meal and opted for the Jaffna Style Mutton Curry. Flavoursome and hitting very close to home, this curry worked well with our basmati rice from the Mixed Seafood Dry Bowl. There was quite a strong taste of burnt onions, but we decided to overlook that due to the soft, slow-cooked mutton cubes. The Jaffna spices gave this dish that extra oomph and it was quite tasty.

Dessert

Watalappam – LKR 400

I had been craving some good watalappam for some time and Culture Colombo really satisfied my cravings! Soft, with just the right amount of sweetness stemming from the jaggery, Culture Colombo does great watalappam and it will leave you wanting more!

Everything considered, Culture Colombo has paid close attention to local preferences and has also put itself on the map for tourists who visit Sri Lanka to get a glimpse of our culture, not only due to their authentic food but also the aesthetics of their architecture.

Have you been to Culture Colombo yet? Let us know in the comments.

#PulseTip – Try the Chicken Cheese Kottu and Watalappam!