Kolamba East - Sri Lankan Restaurant Liverpool Street — Restaurant in London

Rating: ★★★★★

Nestled in the vibrant streets of East London, Kolamba East stands as a refreshing addition to the city’s rich culinary scene, offering an authentic Sri Lankan dining experience that beautifully contrasts with more familiar Indian cuisine. While both Indian and Sri Lankan food share some common spices and culinary techniques, Kolamba East masterfully highlights the distinct differences that make Sri Lankan food a standout on its own.

What sets Kolamba apart is the deep complexity of its dishes, full of layers that reveal themselves with every bite. Unlike Indian cuisine, which often emphasizes heavier sauces and rich gravies, Sri Lankan cuisine, as served at Kolamba East, is more delicate yet bursting with an astonishing balance of flavours—sweet, sour, spicy, and tangy. The food here is full of life, light yet complex.

Take, for instance, the Kukul Mas Curry, a Sri Lankan chicken curry that showcases the bold use of cinnamon, coconut milk, and curry leaves. It’s subtly spiced, relying on the harmony of ingredients rather than heat alone. Meanwhile, the Hoppers (bowl-shaped pancakes made from fermented rice flour and coconut milk) offer a textural delight—crispy at the edges and soft in the centre, perfect for soaking up curries and sambols, like the fiery Pol Sambol, made from grated coconut, chilli, and lime.

Where Indian cuisine might rely on rich, creamy bases and an abundance of breads like naan, Kolamba's offerings are lighter on the stomach but no less satisfying. You can feel the freshness in every dish—the use of seafood, coconut, and fragrant herbs like pandan make the food shine in a way that’s distinct from its Indian counterparts.

The Spirit of East London’s History

Beyond the food, Kolamba East is steeped in a deeper narrative of place. Located in the heart of East London, a historically multicultural hub, Kolamba sits within a community that has long been a melting pot of global influences. The area, once a thriving dockland, has been home to waves of immigrants from around the world, including Sri Lanka and South Asia, who brought their unique food cultures with them.

Today, Kolamba East is part of a new wave of restaurants that reflect this dynamic spirit of the East End. The restaurant's décor reflects a blend of modernity and heritage, with tropical plants, wooden accents, and a contemporary take on Sri Lankan art that transport diners to the bustling streets of Colombo. It's an homage to the rich cultural tapestry of both Sri Lanka and London’s East End, which have historically welcomed diverse communities to leave their culinary mark.

The staff at Kolamba East are a delight—knowledgeable and passionate about the food, ready to guide you through the menu if you’re unfamiliar with Sri Lankan dishes. The ambiance is laid-back yet stylish, with a warm, inviting atmosphere that feels like a gateway to a Sri Lankan home.

Kolamba East isn’t just a restaurant—it’s a love letter to Sri Lankan culture and a testament to the evolving identity of East London. For those accustomed to Indian cuisine, this is an exciting opportunity to dive into something both familiar and refreshingly different. The complex layers of flavours, the thoughtful service, and the rich history embedded in its location make Kolamba East a must-visit. Five stars,...

We visited as a group of 6 on a Wednesday evening. Although located within a deserted street with nothing else around it, I was pleasantly surprised upon arrival as the decor has been very nicely done, and the whole place feels distinctly more upmarket and trendy versus their original location in Soho. It was also surprisingly busy for a weekday.

While there was a £55 set menu on offer for our group, we opted to go a la carte. We tried the papadums, soft shell crab, lamb chops, jaggery beef, tamarind chicken curry, sea bream curry, pineapple curry as well as a round of egg hoppers, a few pol rotis and some rice. The portions are relatively small and we did double up on most items under the guidance of our waiter. The food was very good and just like the Soho original they did not hold back on the chillies! The 4 of us in the group who originate from this part of the world very much enjoyed the spices, but it was a struggle for the other 2! Note that the menu did not indicate which items were spicier. Favourite items on the night were the soft shell crab and the jaggery beef. We did try the CPB (choc biscuit pudding) for dessert and was quite disappointed in their deconstructed take on it, especially having tried the normal version which is far superior in my view.

Service was friendly but very slow. In fairness they did have a gas supply cut at one point which halted their kitchen activities for 15 min or so, but even after allowing for this I think the pacing was too slow. Funnily enough I had the exact same experience in Soho, and in both cases the meals extended beyond 3 hours. The bill for the 6 of us came to a £522, of which £180 was spent on drinks. This felt quite reasonable.

In conclusion, this place offers some authentic and untamed Sri Lankan cuisine, and the food itself is probably near the top of the pack within the small but growing selection of Sri Lankan restaurants in central London. They do need to sharpen up their service however. Compared against the aforementioned group this was easily the slowest of the lot, even if discounting for the gas interruption. Hopefully just teething issues in this recently opened venue, albeit I am a bit wary after my similar experience in their other location. That said, I would give them another chance as the food was pretty good.

Edit: a second visit in November 2024 resulted in notably quicker and more friendly service, however I was surprised to see a major reduction in spice levels, apparently on the back of customer feedback. I was less impressed by the toned down version of their menu and would suggest they ask customers upfront about their preferences and prepare the food...

My husband spent all week leading up to this booking saying "I can't wait to have Sri Lankan food" and he certainly wasn't disappointed by this meal. We visited Kolamba on a Saturday evening with friends and their nine month old baby. The restaurant was very accommodating of the baby, with staff fussing over her and reacting positively when she was doing baby things (e.g. putting her hand on a waiter as he stood by the table). The service throughout our visit was top notch and the restaurant itself is beautiful – we felt a bit underdressed on arrival as the vibe is very upmarket - however we were made to feel very welcome and comfortable by the team. We were also guided on the best way to order for our party size and really appreciated the patience of the wait staff while we got our heads around the options (it’s not complicated, we were just navigating our table’s mixed diets). We sampled a range of dishes. Highlights for me were the beef whole rib, the soft shell crab and spinach daal. I’m told the roasted pineapple was also excellent, but I couldn’t personally try this due to allergies. The jackfruit biryani wasn’t as expected – I thought this would be a rice dish – but was also very nice. I googled ‘CBP’ from the dessert menu and ordered this based on the online description, but what Kolamba served up was something quite different, more akin to a chocolate tart. This was still nice, though I’m not a fan of coconut and it wasn’t stated on the menu that the dish was served with coconut shavings and coconut gelato. Drinks wise, the mango ice tea mocktail was perfect. Our total between four came to just shy of £200, so really reasonable given how much we consumed and less than I thought it would be given the setting. I’d highly recommend Kolamba for dates, family meals or like we were, catching up...