The best food in Colombo doesn't come with a tablecloth. It comes off a hot plate on a busy corner, out of a cart on the seafront, or from a little shop that's been doing one thing well for years. Janaka takes you round by tuk tuk, so you can cover far more ground than on foot, and stops wherever the food is good.
From LKR 9,000 (about US$28)
Street food in Colombo can feel hard to get into on your own. Menus are on the wall in Sinhala or Tamil, if there's a menu at all, and it's hard to tell the great stall from the ordinary one next to it. With Janaka you skip all that. He orders, he explains what you're eating and how locals eat it, and you just get on with tasting. A good rule in Colombo: the busiest stall is usually the freshest, and that's where you'll find him.
Every tour is different, because it depends on the time of day, the season and what you fancy. These are the kind of things you might try.
Colombo's favourite late snack: flatbread chopped on a hot griddle with vegetables, egg, chicken or cheese and spices. You'll hear the clatter of the metal blades from down the street.
Bowl-shaped pancakes made from fermented rice flour and coconut milk, crisp at the edges and soft in the middle. Try an egg hopper with a spoon of spicy sambol, and string hoppers too if you see them.
Sri Lanka's answer to a snack counter: fish buns, vegetable rotis, cutlets, rolls and patties. Point at whatever looks good.
Crunchy lentil fritters, sometimes topped with whole prawns. Isso vadai from the carts at Galle Face is a Colombo classic.
Bright orange king coconut (thambili), opened in front of you, is the best thing to drink on a hot day. Then whatever fruit is in season.
Finish with something sweet: maybe a glass of faluda, a pink rose-syrup drink with jelly and ice cream, or a local sweet from a bakery counter.
Street Food Tour
From LKR 9,000 (about US$28)
Janaka confirms the final price on WhatsApp before you book. Pay on the day, after the tour, in cash.
Vegetarian? Good news: a lot of Sri Lankan street food is vegetarian already, from dhal and vegetable rotis to hoppers and vadai. Tell Janaka in your first message (it asks you) and he'll plan around it.
If you have a serious allergy, especially to nuts, shellfish or gluten, please tell him before you book. Street food is cooked fast in small kitchens and he can't always guarantee what's in a dish, so he'll tell you honestly what's safe.
Not a fan of chilli? Say so. Most places will happily go easy on the spice, and there's always something mild.
Come hungry. Skip the big meal before.
Bring hand wipes or sanitiser. Lots of this food is eaten with your hands, the local way.
Paying: nothing up front. Pay Janaka in cash after the tour.
Tap the button. The message already says "Street Food Tour" and asks about diet or allergies; add your date and how many of you.
Janaka replies with a plan, a start time and the price.
He'll confirm with you on WhatsApp the day before.
Eat well, then pay in cash.
Hi Janaka! I'd like to book the Street Food Tour.
Date: [date]
Guests: [number]
Diet or allergies: [none / vegetarian / other]
Yes. Lots of Sri Lankan street food is vegetarian. Just tell Janaka when you book.
End at Galle Face for sunset
Colombo is at its best when the heat drops. Watch the sun go down at Galle Face with a snack in hand, then ride through the city as the lights come on.
From LKR 9,000 (about US$28)
See the sights too
The best first afternoon in Colombo. Galle Face, the old Fort, Pettah's markets and a temple or two, with the stories that go with them.
From LKR 8,000 (about US$25)
