A Rough Guide to Restaurants in Colombo

168 Restaurant (Chinese) - Really trendy and popular with the locals. Definitely a premier place to eat Chinese. As with all Chinese food in Sri Lanka it is made quite hot. The sweet and sour pork is fantastic.
4/5
Il Ponte (Italian) – The only place in Colombo you can get a pizza that comes close to Italian. Avoid Pizza Hut (utterly hopeless). Domino’s is a preferred option. Il Ponte is located in the Hilton, but is actually across the road.
4/5
1894 (Fusion - Fine Dining) – Since it’s fine dining it is very expensive. Targets rich business people and expatriates who are staying at the Galle Face. Nonetheless, the quality of the food is what you would expect for the price.
5/5
Royal Thai (Thai) – As the LP says, it’s the best place for Thai in Colombo. With that comes a hefty price. The waiting staff are some of the best I have encountered (in Sri Lanka and otherwise). Décor is great as well.
5/5
Navratna (North Indian) – Good north Indian food and quite well priced. The bonus is that a house band regularly comes here to play. As a consequence it has a very nice atmosphere.
4/5
Seaspray (Buffet – Seafood) – Pretty average food, but a nice view of the sea. It is buffet only as far as I know.
3/5
Chesa Swiss (Western) – A great place to go if you desire some legitimate western food. This place is run by some Swiss expatriates so they know how to please travelers from the west. Surprisingly inexpensive given how classy the restaurant is.
4/5
Mango Tree (North Indian) – This restaurant is very popular with the local community and also seems to be a premier hang out for expats. However, I found the food very average. Navaratna is my preferred option.
3/5
Siam House (Thai) – Rather a hit and miss affair. I’ve come here and sworn by the food, but other times I left very dissatisfied.
3/5
Barefoot Café (Western) – A nice enough place that sells yummy sandwiches and milkshakes. However it is unjustifiably overpriced and you may find you have to wait a long time to get served.
2/5
The Gallery Café (Western) – When I went it was full of foreigners. It is very expensive and the food is pretty good. The entrance area is really neat so that is a bonus. Pretty ambivalent about this cafe.
3/5
Paradise Road Café (Western) – Milkshakes are amazing – I swear by them. The rest of the food is pretty good. The gnocchi is really tasty. Might pay to give the hamburger a miss though.
4/5
Greenlands (South Indian) – My preferred South Indian option. Cheap and quick food. The staff aren’t always super friendly or anything and the place is a bit run down, but it’s a cool place.
4/5
Saraswathie (South Indian) – I’m in two minds about here: the staff are friendly and congenial and the food is pretty tasty, but its also rough as anything and not for the weak stomached. Not convinced about the hygiene either. Cheap as free.
3/5
Golden Mile (Seafood) – This restaurant has bad 80’s music on endless rotation. But it’s not all bad: the food is okay and well priced and the view is great. With such a huge menu the dishes aren’t always ideal.
3/5
Mount Lavinia Hotel (Various) - Has one of the best views of Colombo. The quality of the food depends on when you come. In my opinion the lunch option can be pretty disappointing, but dinner is usually nice. Can be expensive.
3/5
Sirisandha (Sinhala) – It’s just a small hotel, but this place has the best biriyani and kotthu I’ve found. It’s also very, very cheap. Located on the corner of Kohuwala junction.
4/5
Delifrance (French) – Very average fare and quite expensive. Good if you’re dying for a sandwich. The coffee is (my wife tells me)( hopeless).
2/5
Café Lavinia / Il Gelato (Baked goods / Ice Cream) – Il Gelato (there is a branch on Duplication Road and Odel) has the best ice cream I’ve had in a long time – better even than when I was in New Zealand. Coffee is good I’m told.
5/5
Crescat Boulevard Foodcourt (various) – Indian is great. My wife tells me that the Chinese is pretty good. On the whole the whole place is quite cheap and is good for lunch on the run.
4/5
Saffron (North Indian) – One of the best Indian restaurants in town. Highly recommended. The décor is also fantastic. Staff are very friendly and considerate. Can eb expensive, but a good choice for Indian.

5/5

11 Scams I Have Encountered

Here are a bunch of scams that I have experienced since I've been in Colombo. They all have to do with drivers (usually Trishaw drivers).

1. “No change!” – The driver, upon arrival at your destination, tells you he has no change. This will happen even if the difference is only 30-40 rupees. As a consequence, you have to: (a) find someone else who can supply change or (b) – what the driver is hoping you will do – give him a big tip. As a rule, unless the driver is an absolute state of poverty (unlikely if he has gas in his trishaw), the ‘no change’ ploy is usually legitimate rip-off material. It makes sense if a driver cannot give change for a 1000 rupee note, but he should have 10 or 20 rupee bills available for sure.

2. “200 Rupee for Gas please” – You suddenly stop at a gas station (a “petrol shed” as they are called in Sri Lanka). This is not an unusual occurrence. But instead of fueling up straight away, the driver asks for you to give him (usually) 200 rupees to pay for the gas (because he has no change of course! – see above). This is fine if you remember to deduct the gas money from your final payment. However, the driver is banking on you forgetting, and as a consequence becomes 200 rupees richer (it’s easy to forget when you are in a rush, and the driver will gauge the urgency of your trip. And if you really are in a rush stopping for petrol will just add to your consternation increasing the likelihood of you forgetting).

3. The Great Cultural Triangle Scam – This happened to us in Anuradhapura. We prearranged a tour of the sacred area with the guest house ('The Grand', it was called). We were quoted by a staff member that the whole affair would cost 2200 rupees for the day (including entrance ticket – or so we thought). This was a very good price so we agreed. The next day, the actual driver informs us that we don’t need the ticket because he can sneak us past all the checkpoints (the guards are all his mates). The 2200 rupees is actually a direct payment to him. Alternatively, you can pay 2200 rupees for the ticket alone and 1200 rupees (so he loses out a bunch of money if you follow the official, non-corrupt route). He is banking on you being a greedy bastard and as a consequent he will make a lot of money. There are two problems for you: (a) if you get busted you’ll get in a world of trouble with the police, (b) if you go to cultural sites outside of Anuradhapura you will still have to pay for the ticket. It is possible for the customer to 'benefit' from this scam, but I'm against it because I'd rather the money I pay go towards prservation of the historic site instead of an unscrupulous three-wheel driver. Plus you are not directly promoting corruption.

4. “I have to go back as well!” – The driver, after dropping you tries to overcharge you because he ‘needs to drive back as well.’ This is, obviously, nonsense, since you are only paying for when you are in the vehicle. You’re not paying for his transport! The cheeky bastards!

5. “It’s a one-way street” – A very common scam in Colombo. The driver – either before or after the trip – tells you that there is an extra charge because he had to go along a one way street (i.e. the journey was delayed because the council has abruptly changed the road flow causing you to have to double back). This is a difficult scam to police since sometimes the driver is telling the truth. Often, however, the driver is lying and is relying on your lack of knowledge about Colombo roads. In such cases, the journey is very short or doesn’t even go along a one-way road.

6. “I need money for board” – This happened to me once when we hired a van to take us to Galle. The company charged us quite a lot for the whole adventure (about 10,000 rupees if I recall properly), but in spite of this, when we arrived at the city the driver insisted that we pay an extra 1000 rupees for his accommodation. In our case the driver claimed that he thought our hotel would supply driver accommodation (in Sri Lanka, they usually do, but it is not necessary so he should have been prepared for the possibility that there might not be any available). There is nothing wrong with paying his board, but (a) the extra payment should have been arranged through the company prior to departure, and (b) the driver could easily have pocketed the money and stayed at a friends house (it happens). I happen to believe that on such occasions the company should pay the drivers accommodation bills - not the customers who are essentially paying extra for something they didn't know about whne the contract was established.

7. The Old Extraneous Route Trick – Pretty simple scam that happens nearly everywhere in the world. The driver – taking advantage of your lack of knowledge of local geography – takes you on a merry trip through the city, finally arriving at your destination. Of course, he’ll charge you extra for the privilege of his involuntary tour. Actually, this happens less than you might think in Sri Lanka. Generally, the driver can rip you off just as easily by taking you on a direct route and just overcharging you. For this reason, this trick works best in metered vehicles.

8. “There’s a bomb in [wherever you are going]!” – This can only happen in Colombo I swear. The driver picks you up, and half way to the destination suddenly remembers that the police are hunting a bomber in the area. This trick works best if there is an unexplained police and military presence and snarled up traffic (both things that happen in Colombo all the time). The driver then suggests an alternative destination (of his choosing, ho ho) which invariably involves him getting a commission or kick-back. This happened to us once, although in our case we just went home instead. The driver will probably charge you something on top for being a sap (“I helped you out, give me a tip, etc.”). When you subsequently discover there was no bomb scare in the area you want to find the driver and hurt him badly.

9. “This is my friend.” – An oldie but a goodie. Either: (a) you return after an excursion (say, visiting a temple, the zoo, whatever) and find that your driver has an extra ‘passenger’ or (b) he stops on the way to your destination to pick up ‘a friend’. Whatever the variation, the driver’s friend is trying to bum a ride. They are both relying on the fact that, as a tourist you are either hopelessly naïve, easily pushed around or dumb. Obviously you shouldn’t pay for anyone else’s ride and what is more – it could be potentially dangerous (doubly so if you are a lone woman since the drivers and their stupid friends are all male). In such a ciircumstance find another driver, or at the very least refuse to ride with strangers.

10. “The fuel prices have increased” – Basically, the driver tries to convince you that there has been an increase in fuel prices so he must increase the cost of the fare. It’s possible that this claim is true, but there is no way you can verify it. Even if it is true it would be a very, very negligible change in cost – especially for a three wheel (they run very cheaply for short distances). Chances are he is relying on you not following local fuel price hikes (and who would?). In any case, this is almost certainly a primo rip-off.

11. “I know where that place is…” – Not so much a scam, but just an annoyance. You hail a trishaw, and tell the driver where you want to go. He seems hesitant, but finally insists that he knows the destination (in Colombo, this can happen even for major places – like the museum or whatnot. It is amazing the lack of knowledge some trishaw drivers have about their own city. This is worse in India I found). Half way to your destination, you find that your driver actually has no idea where he is going and is stopping every few minutes for directions. This is: (a) a waste of time for you and (b) potentially a waste of money since the driver might try and charge you more of the hassle. In the end it takes twice as long to reach your destination. It's especially annoying when you're making a trip under the midday sun.

The travel books insist that most drivesr are honest, but that there are a few rotten apples. Good for them, but as for me, I've found that most drivers are dishonest and will try and rip you off as a matter of course. This is okay if you're just visiting and willing to shell out a few extra rupees, but if your travelling light or - as in my case - actually living in the country, it can try your nerves. A lot of drivers seem to believe that: (a) as a foreigner you are a chump that they can exploit (of course, most people are not chumps, but like any foreigner, we simply rely on the possibility that people are being honest), and (b) you are disgustingly rich, so have no qualms about lightening your wallet. FYI - I've seen plenty of locals get ripped off by morally challenged drivers, so it's not just travellers that are targets.
The bottom line is that it is pretty hard to resist getting ripped off. Aside from all these various tricks, drivers will just overcharge you anyway because you are a foreigner. Plus, even if you argue over the price, chances are it will not be worth the hassle. They can be very, very persistent. Paying them extra is the best way to get rid of these unscrupulous characters sometimes. God they are cheeky bastards.