The 10 Tastings of Colombo: Street Food

• Private Tour
• Instantly Confirmed
• Carbon Neutral

Ready to taste the best food in Colombo? Satisfy your cravings for local food and culture with highlights along the way, together with a foodie host. Enjoy 10 delicious and typical tastings that range from sweet to savory as well as drinks on a tasty food tour in Colombo.

Destination

Colombo, Sri Lanka

Category

Food Tours

Duration

3 hours

Transport mode

Walking tour

Available languages

العربية, English, Sinhala, Français, Deutsch, Español, Italiano, Português, 日本語, Hindi, Tamil, Korean, Русский

Included

• Private Guide
• 10 Local Food & Drink Tastings
• Vegetarian Options Available
• All Withlocals Tours are Carbon Neutral

Excluded

• Entrance to attractions

What you can expect

Choose your local

Get to know these 3 passionate locals, each bringing unique perspectives and talents. Choose your favorite, check their availability, and book to create an unforgettable adventure tailored to you.

This is the plan

Check out the plan below to see what you'll get up to with your local host. Feel free to personalize this offer with the host of your choice.

1. Meeting point

   Meet at In front of the main entrance of the YMBA - Colombo to start your journey

   View on Maps

2. Itinerary

   This is what our experience could look like, but it’s not set in stone! Once you book, you can chat directly with your host to make small tweaks to suit your preferences.

3. 10 Tastings

   This tour includes 10 food and drink tastings. Your local host has hand-picked each one of the tastings based on their love for food, and knowledge of the city. Enjoy only the most authentic bites the city has to offer!

4. The Classics

   A food tour in Colombo would not be complete without the most typical and beloved dishes in town. Enjoy a bite of the ultimate classics, cassava chips and vegetarian rotti, and taste them in their true local flavor!

5. Locals’ Favorites

   Discover more of the local cuisine by trying some of the ultimate locals’ favorites food treats. Try unique food, typical of Colombo picked by your local host and hear why they love it so much!

6. Typical Drinks

   With drinks included as part of the tastings this real experience comes with a real local spirit! Your local host will quench your thirst with a selection of drinks like coffee, unique beverages, and alcoholic (or non-alcoholic) cocktails, wine and beer.

7. City Highlights

   This tour is more than just food, it’s a cultural experience! In between food stops, discover city highlights for a well-rounded experience that will satisfy your appetite for Colombo. From food, drinks, must-sees and local hot spots; this tour has everything on the menu!

8. Vegetarian Alternative

   Looking for a vegetarian alternative? It’s possible! The tour has been created with alternative tastings to fit your preferences. Just let your host know!

9. Special Diet or Allergies?

   If you follow a special diet or have an allergy to a specific food, let your host know! They’ll make sure to take that into consideration so you can have an enjoyable and safe experience

10. Make it yours

    Want to tweak the itinerary? Book directly & chat afterwards with your host to adjust highlights, skip stops, or make small changes to fit your preferences.

    Book risk-free: Cancel within 24 hours for a full refund.

    Need something special? Personalize your experience for more time, alternative locations or a completely tailored plan.

Flexible cancellation policy

• Feel confident booking

  Cancel within 24 hours for a full refund. Even up to 7 days before your experience, you’ll receive a refund, minus the service fee.

• Change of plans?

  Reschedule your experience to a date and time that works best for you.

• Loved by travelers worldwide

  Simple and flexible – your plans, your way.

Reviews from guests

eric

(About local Deegoda)

19 February 2025

Very nice tour lead by Degoda. It was a food tour but he mixt it with some cultural things . He is always full of energy and seems to know everybody in the street and market,then you are welcome everywhere by warm smiles.Exciting tour

Laurel

(About local Priyantha)

3 February 2025

This food market tour with Priyantha was excellent and exactly what I was looking for. We walked through the Pettah neighborhood and market and stopped along the way to try something or look at a cultural site. Priyantha was a great guide and would definitely recommend for others!Fantastic Local Tour

Rose

(About local Muditha)

12 January 2025

Thank you Muditha for an incredible tour. We had a large group (8) and you managed to make it work perfectly for us, navigating the busy streets and entertaining us with fascinating stories and information about the delicious food we were tasting. I'd highly recommend this tour to anyone who is interested - Muditha is amazing! An amazing Tour!

Shani

(About local Priyantha)

11 January 2025

We recently had the absolute pleasure of taking a street food and city tour in Colombo with the incredible Priyantha, and it was an experience we’ll never forget! Despite a rocky start—entirely my fault due to my mistake on the meeting location—Priyantha was incredibly patient, waiting for us to arrive without a hint of frustration. From that moment on, the adventure truly began. Priyantha guided us through Colombo’s bustling streets, introducing us to a variety of mouth-watering local street foods. Every stop was thoughtfully chosen, and we enjoyed delicious samosas and perfectly fried fish cutlets, among other tasty bites. Each dish brought something new and exciting to our palates, and Priyantha’s knowledge of the city’s culinary and cultural landscape added so much depth to the experience. What made this tour stand out was how it gave us the confidence to explore Colombo’s street food scene on our own afterward. Thanks to Priyantha, we felt empowered to discover new flavours throughout our journey across Sri Lanka. Even our 12-year-old had a fantastic time and walked away with a newfound love (and mild obsession) for accharu! If you’re looking for more than just great food—something that immerses you in the heart of Colombo’s culture and leaves you eager to explore more—this tour is a must. Priyantha’s warmth, expertise, and enthusiasm made it an unforgettable experience, and we highly recommend him to anyone visiting Colombo. Thank you, Priyantha, for a deliciously memorable start to our Sri Lankan adventure!Unforgettable Colombo St Food Adventure

Sophie

(About local Muditha)

5 October 2024

Muditha was very accommodating, even when we went to the wrong start location! He was extremely friendly and all the food stops were very tasty. Thank you Muditha!

Ros

(About local Muditha)

1 October 2024

Muditha changed the time of our tour from 5.00pm to 4.00pm giving the reason that it was Saturday and some of the food places would be closed. We suspected he was going out with friends after and he confirmed that. The 3 hour tour was concluded in 1 and a half hours with very little to eat . It was very disappointing and no way was it worth what we had paid . We have done many great food tours in cities all over the world and this was the worst.Worst Food tour ever

Emma 🇦🇺 Australia

(About local Muditha)

12 September 2024

Muditha was a truly excellent, kind and welcoming guide! The food tour took us to so many different locations along the Main Street and Pettah Market areas and all were locations I probably wouldn’t have known to stop at and try and all the food was absolutely excellent. The food was all authentic and plentiful - come hungry. Muditha shared so much knowledge and I feel we have left the tour with a new friend! Absolutely would recommend for earlier in Your trip to get a good feel for Sri Lanka! An amazing afternoon

Simon🇦🇺 Australia

(About local Muditha)

7 August 2024

My wife and I spent a wonderful afternoon afternoon early evening, with Muditha Learning a great deal about Sri Lankan food and customs. Muditha He’s friendly knowledgeable and is a champion of Sri Lankan culture. Thank you MudithaMarvellous Muditha

Andres🇨🇭 Switzerland

(About local Priyantha)

31 July 2024

Priyantha was a great guide who showed as a bit through town and local street food. You will get a sense of what locals eat on the go and he also shared about local history and customs. He is a great person too! 100% recommendedGreat first tour in Colombo

Tony🇦🇺 Australia

(About local Deegoda)

15 July 2024

There was no Deegoda. Confusion reigned

Helen 🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

(About local Priyantha)

23 June 2024

Very disappointing. The host did not meet us as planned, nor did he respond to the messages for over 2 hours. By that time I had reported him to ask for a refund, which blocks the chat. He did offer to meet the next day, however that was the return flight date. The previous day we reported for the tour not realising we had the wrong date. On this day, 22nd June an Agent called Andrea responded. Andrea was excellent when realising we got the date wrong. Sadly on 23rd the agent did not respond. I expect a full refund. Very disappointing - no tour.

Sylvie🇬🇧 United Kingdom

(About local Priyantha)

8 June 2024

This time with Priyantha was brilliant - on our first day in Sri Lanka, Priyantha introduced us to many, many of the delicious vegan options available for us in this beautiful country, sharing good conversation about what and how to order, and how things fit into the culture, which put us in an excellent position for the two weeks of our holiday that followed, and we used his good advice often. Priyantha is a great host, and this was a fun wander to places we would never have tried or even known about. Awesome intro to vegan tastes of Sri Lanka

Matilda🇦🇺 Australia

(About local Priyantha)

16 April 2024

I was really looking forward to my food tour based on precious reviews, but unfortunately due to the public holiday for New Year many places were closed. Despite this Priyantha tried to find as many tasting options as possible but we ended up finishing quite early (after starting late) so I was a bit disappointed. I knew booking this as a solo traveller would make it more expensive but it is absolutely not with the price and I wouldn't do this tour again.

Anna

(About local Priyantha)

4 April 2024

priyantha was a great guide! He took me around the local market and the local food stalls and we tried lots of different foods such as spicy pickled fruits, fried foods (like samosa etc), lots of amazing fresh fruits, Sri lankan milkshakes/juices and rice and curry at the end. It was a lot of food so I took some with me which made for a great snack on the train the next day. He was knowledgeable about food and Sri Lankan history and culture in general so it was great to have this to start my 3 week trip. He said now I can have the confidence to go to the local shops and stalls myself around my whole trip and it’s true, it helped me understand more about what is what, and how to order and eat certain foods. The only thing I would say is that because I was on my own it was rather expensive. I understood this before I booked, so it wasn’t a surprise, but I think it is something to bare in mind as the food itself is cheap but you pay for the knowledge and expertise and the experience of getting to understand about the local food. A great way to start my Sri Lankan trip

Liz🇦🇺 Australia

(About local Muditha)

31 March 2024

We met Muditha at the time and place designated and then off we went to explore . Muditha checked if we had allergies and our preferred spice level so we felt we were in safe hands . Over the next few hours we tried different snacks , fruits, drinks, lollies, soup and a popular dinner dish , we loved most of them . If we were alone we never would have tasted any of these local treats . If you are a foodie I highly recommend this tour . Fun food experience at tge market

Ashley🇺🇸 United States

(About local Priyantha)

27 March 2024

Priyantha was great with our 9 and 11 year olds on a hot day! The tour was a great way to start our Sri Lanka adventure by learning about local foods.Fun family outing

Cameron🇦🇺 Australia

(About local Muditha)

6 March 2024

Great experience with Muditha. Nice move checking with us what spice level we can handle (1-10). If you you say 10 buckle up. Fantastic tour, thanks again MudithaTasty Tour

Sarah🇺🇸 United States

(About local Muditha)

25 February 2024

Muditha was a great guide. We tried a variety of food and drinks and enjoyed learning about the market and street food.Lots of fun

Paul🇸🇪 Sweden

(About local Priyantha)

25 February 2024

Could not recommend this day highly enough. From start to finish the food was delicious and Priyantha was very good company and such a wonderful guide. Doing this food tour made us feel like we got to know the real Shar Lanka a little better Thank you Priyantha!!!A very enjoyable day out!

Maurice

(About local Priyantha)

31 January 2024

the tour was wonderfull on our last day in sri lanka. the tour was adapted on that an could ask anything what we want. would highly recommend a streetfoodtour with PriyanthaPriyantha excellent guide

njmjtcwyxk🇨🇦 Canada

(About local Priyantha)

13 January 2024

Priyantha was an amazing guide and was very knowledgeable. The food tour was amazing. We got to try so many dishes which were all delicious!Amazing food tour and guide

Virginia🇨🇭 Switzerland

(About local Priyantha)

10 January 2024

Priyantha was incredibly knowledgeable, friendly, and interesting as a guide. We tried lots of amazing food and really got the local experience. Highly recommend!!Amazing Experience with Priyantha

Sonya🇦🇺 Australia

(About local Priyantha)

29 December 2023

We did the 10 tastings tour of Colombo with Priyantha. We really enjoyed walking around the central part of the city and trying lots of the different street foods. We also visited the outdoor market, which was a feast for the senses and we tried lots of different fruits. We finished with some rice and curry, biriyani and Kothu roti, which was delicious. Priyantha was very friendly and explained lots of interesting facts about Sri Lanka, Colombo and Sri Lankan food. Friendly, informative, tasty

Harri🇫🇮 Finland

(About local Muditha)

28 October 2023

Sampled some local fruits and sweets, few ”street foods”.Not much of street food

Jennifer🇦🇺 Australia

(About local Priyantha)

31 August 2023

We had a fantastic Tastings of Colombo: Street Food walk with Priyantha. Was a great way to get to know about local food and to wander the streets and markets of the Pettah area. Priyantha was very knowledgeable and friendly, answering even our non food related questions! I would definitely recommend this tour and Priyantha as your guide of choice.Colombo Street Food

Andrea🇦🇺 Australia

(About local Priyantha)

2 August 2023

This tour was an excellent way to learn about all the different types of a Sri Lankan food we should eat on our trip. Priyantha is a friendly, genuine and engaging host who takes great pride in his country’s food. For three hours we grazed our way around the streets and markets of Pettah, trying all sorts of different sweet and savoury snacks, as well as Sri Lankan fruits. Priyantha taught us about the different ways Sri Lankans prepare and use various ingredients and explained the importance of different flavours in Sri Lankan cuisine, and he also told us some interesting things about the history of the area. We finished at a typical local restaurant for a delicious lunch of lamprais (rice in banana leaf) and a variety of curries. Priyantha is knowledgeable, passionate and funny - a great combination! I highly recommend this tour if you want to learn about Sri Lankan food. Fantastic intro to Sri Lankan food

cathy🇺🇸 United States

(About local Priyantha)

11 May 2023

We had a fantastic tour with Priyantha. He took us to so many amazing places for the best local food! Curry rice, shrimp and crab cakes, cassava chips, amazing fruit experience and more. Plus his knowledge of Colombo and Sri Lankan history and culture really enhanced the tour. Highly recommended!Excellent local experience

Larissa🇩🇪 Germany

(About local Muditha)

18 March 2023

We had such a great time with Muditha! He knows the best places in town and is very knowledgabel regarding all food and culture related topics. Especially for the beginning of a Sri Lanka trip this is the best thing you can do! Thanks again Muditha, it was a pleasure!

Alexis🇬🇧 United Kingdom

(About local Muditha)

28 December 2022

Muditha hosted a wonderful food tour. It is a great way to see Pettah market and try foods you probably haven’t tasted in Sri Lanka. Thank you for the experience!Great food tour with Muditha

Coline🇧🇪 Belgium

(About local Muditha)

13 November 2022

We had a great experience with Muditha. The communication before the tour was super clear and the tour was super interesting. We did this tour at the end of our trip and still discovered a lot of things that we hadn't had the opportunity to discover. Muditha takes great care and explained everything to us with passion. We recommend this tour 1000%Great experience

Valentina🇧🇪 Belgium

(About local Siva)

26 April 2022

Siva has been a great guide and took us around for an amazing food experience in Colombo. He travelled a long way to be with us and even during a very rainy day he managed to create a lovely experience for us. We definitely reccomend Siva for this tour!A great morning with Siva!

Florian🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

(About local Muditha)

31 March 2022

Muditha is an awesome guide And very knowledgeable. The food tour was very diverse, we had juices, sodas, different kind of fruits and snacks, sweet and savory food - it was awesome and we were very full afterwards. We can highly recommend the food tour with Muditha. Awesome food tour

Unknown

(About local Muditha)

28 March 2022

We’ve tried lots of street delicacies and they were all great! Most importantly, Muditha is an amazing guide with his super friendly attitude! Best in town!

Nicolas🇹🇷 Turkey

(About local Muditha)

28 March 2022

The food tour itself was great - good introduction to Sri Lankan street food, concise, and informative. But the highlight was definitely Muditha's company. He was eager to inform and was genuinely interested in knowing us and helping us enjoy our stay in Sri Lanka during the tour and beyond. Super recommended. Great food. Wonderful company

Unknown

(About local Muditha)

3 March 2022

We booked the Colombo Foodtour with Muditha and had a great time. Muditha is very outgoing and provided us with a lot of details about Sri Lanka. We tried many different dishes which were all new to us and also learned that Sri Lankans love sweet dishes/drinks. We can recommend this tour. Thanks again, Muditha!Great Food Tour

Jordan🇬🇧 United Kingdom

(About local Muditha)

11 February 2022

Muditha was a fantastic guide who along with introducing us to Sri Lankan food also gave us a historical guide along the route. Not much walking involved. Would definitely recommend An introduction to Sri Lankan Food

Siobhan🇨🇦 Canada

(About local Muditha)

16 January 2022

I had such a nice afternoon strolling around downtown Colombo and chatting with Muditha. He was very generous with his insights into the changes that Sri Lanka has been through and the challenges that it is facing today, with interesting and informed views on social/culture, environmental, economic, and political trends. He was very sensitive to what my stomach may or may not be able to handle, while still making sure I got to taste authentic Sri Lankan street food. I would love to meet again if I'm back in Sri Lanka (and hope that next time he will bring his little pup, Muffin), and will certainly direct my friends his way! A great afternoon with a wonderful guide!

Luke

(About local Muditha)

19 December 2021

Showed up half an hour late and he didn’t realize it was a holiday so almost everywhere he took us was closed. We ended up just having a bunch of sweets and sugar drinks with only a couple regular things. The area we were in was empty and after eating so many sweets it hurt our stomachs. Honestly, this tour shouldn’t have been offered on a holiday because it was not a good day to do it. The food was not at all worth the 59 euros and the area was boring. I will say that our guide was very kind, spoke great English, and he did teach us a lot. He did try to make up for being late and everything being closed, but it just didn’t make up for the poor food choices and poor area.He is nice, but tour not very good

Krystel🇬🇧 United Kingdom

(About local Muditha)

15 November 2021

Apparently it was the first time that Muditha made the tour since the pandemic and i’m glad it was with me :) he introduced me to delicious Sri Lankan food and it was great to spend time with him, talk about the culture, the country etc. Loved the tour and I learned a lot! Thank you! :))Delicious discoveries :)

Helen🇦🇺 Australia

(About local Muditha)

29 March 2020

Tour was everything we hoped it would be. There was a bit of extra drama with police queries at the start due to start of COVID-19 shutdowns (we obviously looked suspicious while we were waiting, we got there early). Once we were past that we had a truly authentic street food experience tasting a wide variety of food/drink (savoury and sweet) eaten by everyday Sri Lankan’s as we took a stroll around the streets of Colombo. Actual walking distance not very far but district very diverse. Muditha has studied in US so his English is faultless and he provides intelligent insights into Sri Lankan culture and heritage. Definitely choose this tour.Fantastic guide, fantastic street food

Sophie🇩🇪 Germany

(About local Siva)

8 March 2020

I did a very nice streetfood tour with Siva through Pettah and Fort, we visited the big fruit and vegetable market as well as small local shops and restaurants and tried all the tasty Sri Lankan Streetfood. Siva is amazing, very friendly and helpfull and tells you a lot about Colombo, the market and all the food. Very nice tour

Marija🇨🇭 Switzerland

(About local Siva)

25 February 2020

I had a great tour with Siva. He has shown me many places which for sure I wouldn’t have been able to discover myself and all of them delicious. A piece of advice: you might want to bring your Tupperware boxes as it is a looooot of food - I had the tour for lunch, leftover for dinner and still some leftovers! Siva was very attentive and making sure I got a good experience, for example, when the place had run out of sambol for string hoppers, he arranged some other things, including the most amazing flat bread - the best I had since very very long time. He also helped me with an extra task of finding a coconut scraper in the local market for me to be able to cook a delicious Sri Lankan meal for my friends back home. All in all : I can recollect very much a food tour with Siva. Thanks Siva for this great experience! Discovering many local and authentic food places

Geoff🇬🇧 United Kingdom

(About local Muditha)

24 February 2020

Muditha was great. Friendly, charming, helpful and informative. He took us to several locations and made sure we enjoyed some authentic local food that we would not have been brave enough to try on our ownTasty insight into Colombo

Jill🇺🇸 United States

(About local Siva)

22 February 2020

I’m so happy I booked a street food tour with Shiva! He took me around for some great local bites in the neighborhood. I wanted to try everything and was stuffed by the end. My favorite was the samosa from a small shop I would have never found alone. I am pretty confident that I would have never had an experience like this if I wasn’t walking around with a local. Great food and great conversation. I enjoyed his company so much we planned to keep in touch. Book the food tour with Shiva and you’ll great a great little taste of Colombo and it’s bustling streets! Great local experience

iskandee

(About local Muditha)

3 February 2020

We are only back from our trip now, have not been able to respond, so here! Yes we had a great time sampling food and snacks with Muditha, great conversations and no language 'barrier' so!

Christian🇨🇭 Switzerland

(About local Siva)

19 January 2020

We have booked with tour with Siva and it was a great experience! We walked around, stopped at different stands and tasted different local things like king coconut, spicy fruit, Sri Lankan porridge and also stopped in a restaurant for hoppers. Siva explained a lot about the food, but also gave a us information on historic buidlings. Siva is a very nice and open minded person and it was big pleasure to have this tour with him! We highly recommend to book this tour with him. Tour in Colombo with Siva

Giselle🇨🇦 Canada

(About local Muditha)

15 January 2020

We were in Colombo for about 3 days before we met Muditha for our food tour. It was great to be able to have an introduction to more local foods and locations. The stop for Koto Roti was amazing - and loved getting to know where things can be purchased. We went into areas that you wouldn't know to go - unless you were with a local. Having Muditha to take us around to the few places was great. He was also very informed about Colombo and Sri Lanka. Our tour ended a little early because of rain - however Muditha was kind enough to give my daughter and myself a ride back to our hotel. Would highly recommend Muditha as a tour guide - and it's a great tour if you like to try the local fare - a little off the beaten path! Thanks Muditha!Great food tour and experience

Christian

(About local Muditha)

6 January 2020

Muditha was very knowledgeable with the history and culture which made the tour fun and engaging. His international education provides insight for us tourists to appreciates the country’s rich history and culture. Fantastic walking tour!

Anja🇳🇱 Netherlands

(About local Muditha)

4 January 2020

He is a very friendly guy who let us taste different food items from Sri Lanka, and telling the background of it. A nice way to get acquainted with the Sri Lankaans food habits and lifestyle in general. And also did he help us a lot with buying the train tickets to Anaradhapura. By the way, Muditha's english is great. Pick Muditha as your guide. You will have a great time.Friendly, amical and very knowledgable guide

Sarah🇬🇧 United Kingdom

(About local Muditha)

8 October 2019

We had a brilliant tour with Muditha, and are so pleased we booked with him. We tried a wide range of delicious food - we were certainly full after! Muditha was an excellent guide, his English was perfect and he was able to tell us a lot about the history of Colombo. It was a great way to see more of the city and find out more about its food and culture. We would hugely recommend this tour - thank you Muditha for a wonderful evening!Fantastic -perfect way to discover Colombo