Freshness and flavour: Authentic local cuisine at its finest
Sri Lankan
Cuisine
As an island nation, Sri Lanka has a coastline of 1,770 km, so it’s not surprising that marine fisheries are of great social and economic importance. Galle looks out towards the Laccadive Sea, with the Indian Ocean to the South, the Bay of Bengal to the North-West and the Arabian Sea to the North-East.
Our spicy cuisine varies from mild to fiery, with a unique and subtle combination of flavours thanks to our fresh curry leaves (karapincha) and expert blending of herbs and spices including chili, turmeric, cloves, mustard seeds, fenugreek, cinnamon, and cardamom. Rice is served with different curries, and you can detect some South Indian influences in the cuisine, but it is definitely not ‘the same as Indian food’.
Staples include coconut and rice, and you can find these together in the creamy Sri Lankan milk rice (Kiribath), served on special occasions as a cake cut into diamond-shaped pieces. Coconut milk is widely used in cooking, and healthy coconut oil makes this a cuisine suitable for vegans as well as seafood and meat-eaters.
Dining with us
We serve mainly traditional Sri Lankan cuisine with a variety of authentic dishes to choose from in main meals, beverages and evening tea, including our own estate-grown.
We source all our fruits, vegetables and herbs from the resort gardens or buy from local suppliers to make sure we offer you the freshest, highest-quality dishes possible. You’ll love our coconut and red rice dishes scented with lemongrass and perfectly blended spices, and our chef’s signature dishes. Sample a gentle Sri Lankan palm-sap toddy, or accompany the meal with wine or beer.
If you prefer western food or have special dietary needs, just let us know, and we’ll make that available.
Treat it as a holiday or a cultural experience. Be waited on, or get involved. You might like to join a cooking class in Galle at the Little Fort, or just take a sneak peek into our kitchen to see what the chef is doing with the herbs and vegetables you picked, right there in the Ilukketiya garden.
Venturing further afield
If you want to relax and unwind, you may like to just take it easy at the resort, enjoying the pool and eating outside. But there’s no shortage of ‘must try’ dishes in Sri Lanka. If you want to go into Galle, you’ll find Tamil, Burgher, and Muslim dishes.
If you like cinnamon, you’ll be blown away by the delicate taste of real Sri Lankan cinnamon, Cinnamomum verum, and you can even visit the trees themselves and watch the harvesting process.
