A clean, good-value hostel on Galle Road, popular as a safe first base in Colombo.
- Budget
Why we marked it
- Famous for giant Sri Lankan lagoon crab
- Pepper, garlic chilli and curry crab
- Restored colonial Old Dutch Hospital
- Recognised among Asia’s best restaurants
Known for
Ministry of Crab, co-founded by chef Dharshan Munidasa and cricketers Mahela Jayawardena and Kumar Sangakkara, is Colombo’s most famous restaurant. It is in the Old Dutch Hospital, a restored 17th-century colonial building in Fort.
What to order
Crab, by size, from half a kilo up to the two-kilo-plus “Crabzilla”. Pepper crab, garlic chilli crab and Sri Lankan crab curry are the classics, alongside huge prawns.
Good to know
- Book well ahead; it is busy every night.
- Crab is priced by size, so it is a splurge.
- Wear something you do not mind getting messy.
Where it is
Old Dutch Hospital, Bank of Ceylon Mawatha, Colombo 1, Sri Lanka
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