Vegan Guide to Sri Lanka
OCTOBER 2022: Due to COVID we were unable to travel for nearly two years, which means it’s been impossible to update our vegan travel guides. Therefore we cannot be sure if the below restaurants are still open, so please contact them directly to check. As travel has now restarted we will be updating guides accordingly, but in the meantime please check out the excellent HappyCow, which you can find via the link at the bottom of this vegan guide.
Published January 2015
Sri Lanka is an island that has something for everyone including historical sights, natural wonders, history and of course the abundance of great tasting vegan food, our Vegan Guide to Sri Lanka is based on a 2 month visit during November and December 2014 and a couple of short visits since. First thing to note is that compared to the rest of South East Asia, Sri Lanka isn’t cheap – budget accommodation prices have rocketed over the past few years but standards havent really followed, meaning that when trying to travel on a budget, you don’t really get a lot of bang for your buck. The tourist hotspots have gone a little crazy, charging prices that are way too high considering what you can still find in more local places.
Secondly, be warned; a trip to Sri Lanka requires a sharp mind, some persistent haggling skills and a fair amount of patience to navigate each day. Always ask and agree the price before doing anything. Go armed with particularly low expectations regarding service in the South where you’re at risk of some of the worst service (and food) that you may have every experienced… However, don’t let this put you off, with some good research and tips from fellow travellers there really are some ‘jewels in the crown’ that are not to be missed.
Negombo
You may find yourself in Negombo as it’s close to the airport and a fairly good hub to get to other places in the country by local bus or private van, it’s not the prettiest of beach resorts but the beach is clean and there are a few reasonable restaurants too (although you’ll have to sift through all the overpriced, sub standard restaurants to find a decent meal). For a great budget option check out Summerside Residence, which is just next to Negombo canal, behind the beach road. It’s a short walk away from the top of the beach road but worth it for the peace and quiet and quality. We stayed here twice, once on our own and once with our friends (including their 6 year old) and it proved to be a great place for families too as has a small pool. For luxury and the chance to eat an amazing cashew nut curry as well as some of the best hoppers we had in the whole of Sri Lanka (and we ate a lot) check in to Jetwing Beach, it’s great value for the standard of luxury you get, plus there’s a nice pool and a wonderful eco-garden.
Eat at Sahasara Restaurant where the vegan rice and curry is 600 RS per person and is nothing short of awesome. Plus the manager there is such a genuinely nice person, it’s worth a visit just to experience his joyfulness. Enjoy a Lion Beer (or two) at Rodeo bar or Coco Beach. Rodeo is a busy spot, packed with people with a lively atmosphere, it was actually the first place we sat down and bought a beer at during our first visit to Sri Lanka in 1999 (look closely and you can still see the scribbles on the walls from that era!) it’s expanded a bit but not really changed and makes for a fun night out. Coco Beach is a newer addition but has the advantage of being right on the beach, It’s a lovely place to watch the sunset and meet with friends before heading out for dinner.
8km up the road is the beautiful Ging Oya Lodge where you can while away the hours next to the pool, go kayaking up the river and watch out for wildlife in this nature lovers hideaway, we first visited in 1999 and it’s still as beautiful as ever and well worth spending a few days when you arrive in Sri Lanka.
Colombo
We went to see a cricket match (England v Sri Lanka) while we were in town and we highly recommend it. Even if you aren’t a cricket fan, you’ll be blown away by the Sri Lankan love for this sport and the energy, atmosphere and general craziness is an experience not to be missed (note: buy snacks to take in as there’s no vegan food in the ground, although there is lots of beer). We opted to stay in ‘Lean Luxury’ at Cinnamon Red; the rooftop pool and great breakfast buffet serving Sri Lankan favourites was definitely worth the stay.
We ate in a wonderful pizza place called Oro 1889. They only make pizzas, meaning that they have perfected this art and the end product is nothing short of amazing, we’re talking authentic, wonderful creations here, cooked for only 90 seconds in a blistering 500 degrees wood fired oven. You won’t be disappointed, you will be impressed. For local cheap eats go to the no frills Indo Ceylon Cafe (284 Galle Road). It’s all vegetarian and they serve all the usual Sri Lankan goodies like rotti kottu, dosai and dahl, string hoppers and kiri hodi, plus an abundance of short eats.
Dambulla
The town itself doesn’t have much going on but the cave temples at Dambulla are impressive and are definitely worth a visit with their beautiful painted ceilings and walls, and literally hundreds of different sized Buddha statues. We found good, no frills, local food in the White House Hotel on the main street near the clock tower (explain clearly to them about being vegan) and we stayed in a little guesthouse behind the main street which was basic but cheap (no vegan food there so you’ll need to walk around into town to eat).
Sigirya
At $25 entry per person this isn’t a great budget sight seeing option but if you’re in Sri Lanka you really should go and climb this great rock, even in the crowds (and the rain) it’s impressive. The 1200 steps aren’t as hard as you think they might be – we did it with a group of us including a 6 year old, 2 teenagers and a few averagely fit grown ups, in the rain and we all survived! The view is spectacular and the sheer scale of it is seriously impressive.
To recover from the steps in style, go luxury and stay at Heritance Kandalama or Jetwing Vil Uyana which both offer superb levels of luxury and some pretty damn tasty vegan food.
Kandy
Kandy is a lovely place to wander around with its tranquil lake, bustling streets and hillside views. Local vegan eats? then head to Kandy Garden Cafe where you can fill up on string hoppers until your heart’s content (we did and our heart’s were indeed content). Drinks with a view? the bar with two names – ‘Bamboo Garden’ or ‘Slightly Chilled’ has a great happy hour, tasty food and nice vibe. Super vegan treats? head to The Soya Centre for vegan soft serve ice cream (yes, you read that right!) and other soy based snacks. They’ve been serving vegan ice creams (in vegan cones) since 1989 and are lovely people to boot, these ice creams were so good we have to confess to going back for seconds, even though the portions were generous.
Trincomalee
Head to the East coast for some of Sri Lanka’s loveliest beaches at Upavelli and Nilavelli. It’s a great place to hire a scooter as the roads aren’t too busy (like in the South) but do be aware for goats jumping out at you or dogs laying in the road (still not sure why they do this). You’ll see temples, local life galore and meet some of the friendliest folk in the country, and for a controversial bit of sight seeing read our post ‘Cheapest Elephant Safari in Sri Lanka.’
In Trincomalee we ate at Anna Poorani (a pure veg place next to the temple) filling up on cheap Sri Lankan eats while the locals looked on a little bemused, they also sell vegan orange flavoured oreos which were delicious and which we’ve never seen anywhere else again! Up the road in Upavelli we ate at a few of the local restaurants along the main road, our favourite being the strangely named Arriabiata, where they make a decent homemade rice and curry for 400 RS.
Take a bus ride (and your life in your own hands) to Nilavelli and indulge in some vegan luxury at Anilana Nilavelli. The vegan food here was seriously amazng, drawing on Ayurvedic principles and the very best local ingredients and knowledge, Chef Joe and his team produce some stunning (and really healthy) vegan Sri Lankan food.
Unawatuna
On our first visit in 1998 Unawatuna was a sleepy little backpackers beach; things have changed as Unawatuna is now a tourist hotspot for all sorts of travellers, the beach is lined with beds and umbrellas, the sand has shifted to one side of the once beautiful horseshoe bay, there’s lights and music and shops everywhere. We had fun as we hung out with good friends and family but it will probably be our last visit to somewhere we once considered paradise… If you feel drawn to visiting though, the rice and curry at Coral Light on the beach is always vegan and great value for Unawattuna at 300 RS. Jina’s Vegetarian Restaurant is worth a visit – the food is great and there are loads of vegan options, but the wait is long and we’re not exaggerating here – on average a meal there would take about 2 hours, but the falafels especially are worth the wait!
Mirissa
The final stop on our 2 month tour was Mirissa, which similar to Unawatuna has changed beyond all recognition since we were last there in 1998. Again, we were with friends & family so we had lots of fun, but to be honest it’s not for us anymore as was way too busy. Generally the restaurants along the beach don’t care about the food they are serving, they just want to serve as many customers as possible. In fact when questioning the poor food and poor service (again) the owner of one restaurant when told “It seems like you just don’t care” answered “no, I don’t care”…
However with some perseverance, and determination to enjoy a decent meal, we found 2 gems that should certainly be on anyones list who visits Mirissa. The first was a tiny family run restaurant called Dimali Inn on Galle Rd – superb home cooked vegan curries which we ordered in advance due to their being 9 of us. The family are lovely and they welcomed us with open arms and that typical Sri Lankan friendliness that is difficult to find in the tourist hell that is Mirissa. Our final meal was at Palm Villa which is an oasis away from the madness of Mirissa, we enjoyed a delicious Sri Lankan curry whilst watching the sunset on our final day in this wonderful country. If we did go back this is where we would stay – we loved it!
Vegan Friendly Luxury Hotels and Resorts in Sri Lanka
Check out these ‘tried and tested’ vegan friendly luxury hotels and resorts in Sri Lanka that one of our team has stayed at. Each of them understood our request for plant based food and ensured that our experience as vegan guests was very enjoyable. We would always recommend contacting your hotel or resort in advance to advise them of your dietary choice, and then to follow this up upon check in by asking to speak with either the restaurant manager or member of the F&B team.
Yum yum yum! Very useful, indeed! I love your vegan guides…and who would’ve thought you could get good vegan pizza and falafel in Sri Lanka?!
thanks Sam, the pizza and the falafel were welcome changes to all the curry which although delicious, varied and vegan after 2 months we craved something different:)
Needless to say that I’d love to try every single dish pictured and mentioned in this post! Yummy! 🙂
very yummy indeed 🙂
Interesting to read about your experiences. We actually found Sri Lanka incredibly good value, after 3 months we averaged about £16-17 a day for two people. Obviously we weren’t sleeping in luxury but we definitely ate and did everything we wanted to do. Out of interest did you eat in mainly tourist orientated eateries? Particularly in the South we saw the prices were quite high but all of the local places were incredibly cheap. Actually after 3 months the only bad food experience we had was the one time we ate in a touristy restaurant. All of the other times we followed the local crowd and were nothing but impressed, particularly in the North. All of the Tamil restaurants were great for vegans so they were always are go to spots!
thanks for your comment Josh. we have visted many times and eaten in all styles of restaurants from simple street food to fine dining, we love the cuisine and it is very adaptable for vegans for sure! many of our trips were when the North and East were still out of bounds and whilst recent trips have seen us head to the East coast we still haven’t been to Jaffna and the North, next time!!!
Now I remember what I learned about the Soya Ice Cream in Kandy.. 🙂 There are more options now. Kandy has a “Fried Ice Cream” Parlor with vegan options. But one new place I would recommend is “Gannoruwa Agricultural Complex – Kandy”. They promote the use of everything grown locally and it’s 100% vegan and has a huge variety of food options. Sri Lankan, South Indian, North India, and sweets.
Agricultural Complex is government funded and is found near Peradeniya which is near Kanda and usually on the way from Colombo to Kanday. Really worth checking out.
Thank you for your comment and this information Ivy, it is very much appreciated. We know Peradeniya and have taken a local bus there a few times! I’m sure the same local bus would take us past Gannoruwa Agricultural Complex so will check it out when we visit next.