Quick answer
The best food in Kandy is everyday Sri Lankan cooking eaten at the right time. Have rice and curry between 12 and 2, when canteens near the market and lake serve six to ten curries on one plate for a few US dollars. Try short eats from a bakery mid-morning, and hoppers or kottu after 6 in the evening. Kandy is known for traditional sweets such as kavum and kokis and for kithul treacle with curd. Restaurants with lake views serve dependable food at higher prices.
Key takeaways
- Rice and curry in Kandy is a lunch dish, served from about 12 to 2 in the afternoon.
- A rice-and-curry lunch at a local canteen in Kandy costs roughly US$2 to US$4.
- Hoppers and kottu are evening foods in Kandy, appearing from about 6 at night.
- Kandy and the surrounding hills are a centre for kithul treacle and jaggery, tapped from the fishtail palm.
- Alcohol is not sold in Kandy's shops, bars or most restaurants on poya days.
How Kandy eats through the day
Kandy eats to a rhythm set by work and school. Breakfast is early and substantial: string hoppers with dhal and coconut sambol, milk rice, or bread with curry. By 10 the bakeries are selling short eats to office workers.
Lunch is the main meal in Kandy and almost always rice and curry. Dinner is lighter and later, built around hoppers, kottu, fried rice or leftover curry with bread. Many small eating houses close by 9 at night, earlier than visitors expect.
- →6.30 to 9.00: string hoppers, milk rice, roti.
- →10.00 to 11.30: short eats and tea.
- →12.00 to 2.00: rice and curry.
- →6.00 to 9.00: hoppers, kottu and fried rice.
Rice and curry at lunch
Rice and curry in Kandy is best eaten where the turnover is highest. The canteens and "hotels" around the market, the bus stands and Dalada Veediya cook fresh each morning and sell out by mid-afternoon. A plate brings rice with dhal, three or four vegetables, a sambol and a choice of fish, chicken or egg.
The hill country gives Kandy's rice and curry its own character. Expect jackfruit, breadfruit, beans, beetroot, pumpkin and bitter gourd, with river fish less common than sea fish brought up from the coast. Eating with the right hand is normal, and spoons are available.
Short eats, bakeries and street food
Short eats are the savoury snacks of Sri Lanka, and Kandy's old bakeries do them well. A plate arrives at your table piled high, and you pay only for what you take. Fish buns, vegetable roti, cutlets and patties are the staples.
Street food in Kandy clusters around the market, the clock tower and the lake in the late afternoon. Vendors sell isso vadai, a lentil fritter topped with prawns, boiled chickpeas with coconut, fresh pineapple with chilli and salt, and king coconut.
- →Fish bun (maalu paan): a triangular bun with spiced fish and potato.
- →Vegetable roti: a folded flatbread parcel with curried filling.
- →Cutlets: breaded, deep-fried balls of fish and potato.
- →Isso vadai: crisp lentil cakes with whole prawns.
Hoppers, kottu and dinner
Evening food in Kandy starts with hoppers, bowl-shaped pancakes of fermented rice batter with crisp edges. Egg hoppers have a soft egg in the centre. They are cooked to order and eaten with lunu miris, a paste of chilli and onion.
Kottu is the other evening staple in Kandy. Chopped flatbread is fried on a hot plate with vegetables, egg and meat, and the rhythmic clatter of the blades carries down the street. Visitors wanting a quieter dinner will find hotel dining rooms and a few restaurants above the lake.
Kandyan sweets and hill-country flavours
Kandyan sweets are part of the region's identity and appear at every festival. Kavum are deep-fried cakes of rice flour and treacle, kokis are crisp rosettes, and aluwa is a diamond of rice flour, treacle and cashew. Sweet shops near the temple sell them all year.
Kithul treacle is the flavour of the Kandy hills. It is tapped from the flower of the fishtail palm and boiled to a dark syrup, then poured over buffalo curd or set into jaggery. Real kithul is expensive and often adulterated with sugar, so buy from a trusted shop.
- →Kavum, kokis and aluwa: festival sweets, sold near the temple.
- →Curd and treacle: the classic dessert.
- →Kithul jaggery: eaten in small pieces with plain tea.
- →Wood apple juice and fresh lime: the best soft drinks.
Costs, safety and dietary needs
Eating in Kandy is inexpensive outside hotels. Local meals cost US$2 to US$4, a restaurant main course US$6 to US$12, and a hotel buffet US$15 to US$25. Service charge and tax are added in formal restaurants.
Food safety in Kandy is mostly a matter of choosing busy places at the right hour. Eat rice and curry at lunch, not reheated in the evening, drink bottled or filtered water and peel fruit. Lankan Stays & Trails points travellers towards a handful of local kitchens we use ourselves.
- →Vegetarians: plentiful choice; ask for no Maldive fish in sambols.
- →Halal: widely available, especially in Muslim-run eating houses.
- →Spice: ask for "less spicy" and it will be adjusted.
- →Alcohol: licensed hotels and a few restaurants; none on poya days.
Frequently asked questions
What food is Kandy famous for?
Kandy is known for traditional sweets such as kavum, kokis and aluwa, for kithul treacle and jaggery from the surrounding hills, and for hearty hill-country rice and curry with jackfruit and local vegetables. It has no single signature dish in the way some coastal towns do.
Where can I eat rice and curry in Kandy?
The most authentic rice and curry in Kandy is served at lunch in the busy canteens around the central market, the clock tower and Dalada Veediya. Arrive between 12 and 1.30. Many hotels also serve a rice-and-curry buffet at midday for a higher price.
Is street food safe to eat in Kandy?
Street food in Kandy is generally safe if it is cooked in front of you and served hot. Choose stalls with a steady queue of local customers. Be more cautious with cut fruit that has been sitting out and with anything containing unboiled water.
Are there vegetarian restaurants in Kandy?
Vegetarians eat easily in Kandy. Rice and curry is mostly vegetable-based, and several South Indian-style restaurants in the centre serve dosa, idli and thali meals with no meat or fish. Vegans should ask about ghee and curd in Indian dishes.
What time do restaurants close in Kandy?
Local eating houses in Kandy often close by 8.30 or 9 in the evening, and bakeries earlier. Hotel restaurants and the handful of visitor-oriented restaurants around the lake stay open until about 10. Late-night options are limited.
Can you drink alcohol in Kandy?
Alcohol is available in Kandy at licensed hotels, a small number of bars and restaurants, and wine stores with restricted hours. It is not sold anywhere on poya days. Drinking in public near the temple is both illegal and offensive to local feeling.