The best food & restaurants spots in Southern Province, grouped by district — every listing rated 4 stars or higher on Google.
★ 5.0 1,500 Google reviews
Crepes, Desserts · Budget · Galle
The Galle Fort branch of Sri Lanka's award-winning creperie chain, serving sweet and savoury crepes, waffles and shakes to crowds strolling the ramparts.
Galle Fort, Galle
Official website ↗★ 4.9 2,500 Google reviews
Poke bowls, Japanese fusion · Mid · Galle
A small Hospital Street spot that has become Galle Fort's hottest table, building customisable poke bowls from Japanese rice, fresh local tuna and Sri Lankan ingredients. Signature orders include the tuna poke bowl and salmon crispy rice.
24 Hospital Street, Galle Fort, Galle
★ 4.9 1,700 Google reviews
Cafe, Sri Lankan, Desserts · Budget · Galle
A charming upstairs cafe above a Lighthouse Street chocolate shop, near-perfectly rated for its kottu, burgers, teas and celebrated cheesecake, with warm service and Fort views.
Lighthouse Street, Galle Fort, Galle
★ 4.8 2,100 Google reviews
International, Cocktail Bar · Fine · Galle
A chic restaurant and cocktail bar inside a restored colonial bungalow in the heart of the Dutch Fort, serving international plates and creative cocktails in a candle-lit courtyard. One of the Fort's highest-rated dining rooms.
5 Church Cross Street, Galle Fort, Galle 80212
Official website ↗★ 4.8 1,475 Google reviews
Cafe, International · Mid · Unawatuna
A laid-back surf lounge steps from Unawatuna beach serving smoothie bowls, wood-fired pizza and fresh juices to a young crowd of surfers and travellers. Among the best-rated hangouts on the bay.
Welle Dewalaya Road, Unawatuna
★ 4.7 1,321 Google reviews
Seafood, International · Mid · Unawatuna
An upscale beachfront restaurant instantly recognisable by its white umbrellas on Unawatuna's sand, serving fresh seafood platters and international dishes with the waves as a soundtrack.
274/5 Pillagoda, Unawatuna Beach, Unawatuna
★ 4.7 1,300 Google reviews
Gelato, Desserts · Budget · Galle
An artisanal gelateria in Galle Fort churning small-batch gelato and sorbets from Sri Lankan fruit, chocolate and spices — the essential rampart-walk treat.
Galle Fort, Galle
★ 4.7 1,247 Google reviews
Deli, Cafe, Breakfast · Mid · Unawatuna
A popular deli-cafe on Devala Road doing big breakfasts, gourmet sandwiches, proper coffee and homemade cakes — the go-to brunch spot in Unawatuna.
147 Devala Road, Unawatuna
★ 4.7 696 Google reviews
Sri Lankan · Budget · Galle
A tiny family-run gem on Parawa Street famous for its ten-curry Sri Lankan feast, cooked fresh daily by the owner's family. Cooking classes and warm hospitality make it a Fort favourite.
5 Parawa Street, Galle Fort, Galle
★ 4.7 477 Google reviews
Sri Lankan · Budget · Unawatuna
A family-run Unawatuna restaurant serving traditional Sri Lankan rice and curry with plenty of vegetarian curries, plus popular hands-on cooking classes.
120 Yaddehimulla Road, Unawatuna
★ 4.6 1,500 Google reviews
Sri Lankan · Budget · Galle
An authentic Sri Lankan restaurant just outside the Fort, loved for its traditional clay-pot rice and curry spreads, hoppers and generous vegetarian options at local prices.
Wakwella Road, Galle
★ 4.6 979 Google reviews
Italian, Pasta · Mid · Galle
A cosy Italian kitchen at the corner of Leyn Baan and Cross Street making fresh ravioli, tagliatelle and gnocchi daily, finished with proper tiramisu and panna cotta.
Leyn Baan Street, Galle Fort, Galle
★ 4.6 828 Google reviews
Middle Eastern, Moroccan · Mid · Galle
A halal Middle Eastern restaurant on Church Street inside Galle Fort, celebrated for mezze platters, smoky kebabs and slow-cooked Moroccan tagines, with strong vegetarian mezze options.
40 Church Street, Galle Fort, Galle
★ 4.5 3,200 Google reviews
Cafe, Seafood, Sri Lankan · Mid · Galle
Galle Fort's best-known cafe, housed in a 17th-century Dutch building on Pedlar Street and open since 2004 as the first cafe inside the UNESCO site. Muslim-owned and halal, with seafood, Sri Lankan curries, sandwiches and gelato.
92 Pedlar Street, Galle Fort, Galle
★ 4.5 1,637 Google reviews
International, Sri Lankan · Mid · Unawatuna
A leafy garden restaurant off Yaddehimulla Road mixing Sri Lankan curries with international comfort food and cocktails, a relaxed evening favourite away from the beach crowds.
Yaddehimulla Road, Unawatuna 80000
★ 4.3 2,168 Google reviews
Pizza, Seafood · Mid · Unawatuna
A famous beachfront institution at Dalawella known for wood-fired pizza, fresh seafood and sunset views over the palm-fringed swimming lagoon near Unawatuna.
Dalawella Beach, Matara Road, Unawatuna
★ 4.3 906 Google reviews
Seafood, Asian, European · Mid · Galle
A reputable Galle Fort seafood house between Middle and Lighthouse Streets, plating generous Asian and European-style seafood in a modern, elegant setting.
34 Middle Street, Galle Fort, Galle
★ 4.1 1,300 Google reviews
Seafood, Sri Lankan · Mid · Galle
A rampart-side restaurant in Galle Fort where diners watch the sunset over the Indian Ocean with seafood platters, Sri Lankan curries and cold drinks.
Galle Fort, Galle
★ 4.9 332 Google reviews
Sri Lankan · Budget · Tissamaharama
Hidden-gem family eatery on the Hambantota road praised for generous portions of cheese kottu, fried rice, garlic chicken and devilled prawns at very fair prices. The curry spreads include dhal, eggplant and other vegetable dishes.
16/2 Hambantota Road, Tissamaharama
★ 4.7 1,540 Google reviews
Sri Lankan, Buffet · Budget · Tissamaharama
Charming wood-fire kitchen overlooking rice paddies on the Hambantota road, where a Sri Lankan buffet of curries is cooked in front of guests over open flames. The top-rated dinner stop for Yala safari travellers, with plenty of vegetable curries.
No 100 Hambantota Road, Tissamaharama 82600
★ 4.7 200 Google reviews
Sri Lankan, Chinese · Budget · Tissamaharama
Relaxed cafe-restaurant on Palliyawatta Road known for kottu, chopsuey rice, seafood dishes and cold beer, backed by first-class service. A dependable, budget-friendly dinner spot near the Tissa lake.
27 Palliyawatta Road, Tissamaharama
★ 4.7 144 Google reviews
Seafood, Crab · Mid · Tissamaharama
Specialist seafood house in Tissamaharama built around lagoon crab, prawns and fresh fish cooked in Sri Lankan style. A newer arrival that has quickly earned top ratings from safari-bound diners.
Tissamaharama
★ 4.6 1,649 Google reviews
Pizza, Seafood, Asian Fusion · Mid · Tissamaharama
Modern, spotless restaurant on Tissa's main street serving pizza, seafood platters and Asian fusion plates, with air-conditioned indoor seating. Opens before dawn for safari breakfasts and caters well to vegetarians and vegans.
Main Street, Tissamaharama
★ 4.6 261 Google reviews
Sri Lankan, Seafood · Budget · Tissamaharama
Informal roadside restaurant on the Kataragama road that locals and travellers rate for its lemon prawns, fresh seafood and rice-and-curry spreads of up to nine separate dishes. Simple setting, big flavours, honest prices.
Kataragama Road, Punchi Akurugoda, Tissamaharama 82600
★ 5.0 1,300 Google reviews
Crepes, Desserts · Budget · Matara
The Matara branch of Sri Lanka's award-winning crepe chain, flipping sweet and savoury crepes, waffles and milkshakes for a young local crowd near the beachfront.
Matara
Official website ↗★ 4.9 1,887 Google reviews
Seafood, Barbecue · Mid · Mirissa
A buzzing beachfront grill on Mirissa's sand where the evening seafood display — jumbo prawns, lobster and whole fish — is barbecued to order as the sun goes down.
Mirissa Beach, Mirissa
★ 4.9 1,646 Google reviews
Japanese, Sushi · Mid · Mirissa
A tiny Japanese kitchen in Mirissa serving remarkably good sushi, ramen and donburi made with the morning's tuna catch — one of the highest-rated restaurants in town.
Mirissa
★ 4.8 1,327 Google reviews
Italian, Pizza · Mid · Mirissa
An Italian-run pizzeria at Udupila Junction turning out authentic wood-fired pizzas and fresh pasta that many travellers rate the best Italian food on Sri Lanka's south coast.
Udupila Road, Mirissa
★ 4.7 3,381 Google reviews
Sri Lankan, Rotis · Budget · Mirissa
A humble family-run roti shop on a quiet lane in Mirissa that grew into a Lonely Planet-listed legend, famous for kottu, avocado-and-cheese rotis, chocolate-banana rotis and its popular cooking classes.
Udupila Road, Mirissa
Official website ↗★ 4.5 478 Google reviews
Sri Lankan, Vegetarian · Budget · Matara
A bustling open-air food court where local women cook traditional Sri Lankan fare — hoppers, string hoppers, pittu and herbal porridges — at unbeatable prices. A genuine taste of the south.
Matara
★ 4.4 1,700 Google reviews
International, Fusion · Mid · Matara
A vintage European-themed restaurant inside Matara's Dutch Fort, loved for gourmet burgers, pasta kottu, seafood Mongolian rice and good coffee. The top-rated table in Matara town.
Dutch Fort, Matara