Although it’s a tourist town, there are lots of great restaurants and cafes with both western and traditional Ella food. Here’s what to try eat and where to find it in Ella.
Ella reminds me of many tourist villages around the world like Banos in Ecuador or Koh Phangan in Thailand.
Locals wisely have curated a walkable downtown area meant to make eating and drinking in Ella as easy as possible in between day trips into the tea estates and hiking trails
Here you’ll find lots of western options but if you look hard enough there’s also traditional Sri Lankan food for very good prices.
If you’re interested in trying what locals eat, this region has fertile soil, cooler temperatures and makes it a fantastic place to grow produce.
Below I’ve included 5 traditional Sri Lankan foods in Ella you should try in Ella followed by a list of the best restaurants.
We stayed in Ella for 7 nights and tried to eat somewhere new every meal.
5 Traditional Ella Foods You’ll Love
Kiri Bath with Lunu Miris
This traditional dish of coconut milk rice, often served during festive occasions, can be found in Ella. My guesthouse served an amazing free breakfast and when I tried it I fell in love.
It’s a simple recipe of coconut milk and rice. Sometimes salt may be added but that is it.
The rice is boiled in coconut milk and typically paired with a spicy sambol known as lunu miris. It’s a mix of chili, onions and Maldives fish.
Although I usually pass on white rice this sambol made kiri bath my favorite breakfast in Sri Lanka. I love the complex spicy, salty, tangy flavors in this sambol.
Kottu Roti
From the moment you touch down in Colombo until you leave, kottu roti will always be a block or two at most away.
I still hear the clinking of the knives chopping to make the shredded flatbread.
This is a very popular food in Ella because it’s inexpensive and roti bread is so filling. Backpackers love it because it’s usually not too spicy and they can add vegetables, meat or cheese
To be honest, after weeks of traveling in Sri Lanka I grew tired of this as it’s a heavy dish. I think there are other Sri Lankan foods that are better.
Rice and Curry
There is a reason the name of this dish begins with rice, it’s the focal point. Sri Lankans love rice.
And if you want to eat in a local spot and try traditional Ella food then you must eat rice and curry.
It’s a healthy portion of rice (I usually ask for 1/2 rice) along with a number of sides like dal, vegetables and sambols.
You can choose to add chicken, shrimp, egg omelet or other proteins but I find the base meal to be more than enough.
Lamprais
One of the dishes from the Dutch Burghers, it is another rice and curry dish but the ingredients are baked in a banana leaf. It’s not actually Dutch but they adapted this specialty from Indonesian food.
Opening it is such a delight as rice is cooked in a savory broth that often uses local Ceylon cinnamon and cardamom or cloves.
Lamprais options may include local chicken or beef but if you’ve never had jackfruit this is the time to try it. This Sri Lankan fruit can be eaten fresh but it’s also used in so many savory dishes and you’d swear it was meat.
You can often find it in local cafes or small eateries, although it’s not as commonly available as it is in cities like Colombo.
Still, it’s a unique dish that reflects Sri Lanka’s colonial history mixed with local ingredients.
Egg Hoppers
A famous Sri Lankan street food, although Ella doesn’t really have a street food scene as it’s so small.
Egg hoppers are bowl-shaped, crispy pancakes made from fermented rice flour and coconut milk.
In Ella, you can find them at local cafes. They are served as a quick breakfast or snack, topped with a soft-cooked egg in the center and paired with spicy sambols or curry.
Best Cafes & Restaurants in Ella
When we travel we like to eat local food. But after several weeks in Sri Lanka we did try some of the western restaurants in Ella.
Here are our favourites and a couple I wish we’d had time for.
Wimala Restaurant
My #1 recommendation for Sri Lankan food in Ella. It’s a narrow restaurant that we peeked into and found locals eating so we knew it would be good.
I found many of the other Sri Lankan spots were catering to western tastes and charging more. But here it’s a real local restaurant with locals eating so expect spice and flavor at local prices.
I had the rice and curry lunch for 650 LKR and it was amazing. This is the base plate and if you want to add proteins there is a variety to choose from.
You can eat on the main floor but they also have two floors above that give you great views of the town like many of the more expensive restaurants on the strip.
Dosa Cafe
My favourite international restaurant was this Indian spot which has an Indian rice and curry lunch option with four curries, papadam and sambol.
My vegetarian rice and curry had chickpeas and shredded beets, greens and amazing sambol for 900 LKR.
It was hands down one of the best meals. Sri Lankan food can feel heavy at times if you’re always eating kottu roti and I needed the brightness of the beet and the fiber in the dal and chickpeas.
One Love
An absolutely massive restaurant that is filled to the brim on weekends. It’s a vibe with lots of cozy corners. And for that reason I was very leery about eating there.
We sat on the top/3rd floor and shared a margarita pizza and garlic bread. And while the garlic bread was a pricey disappointment, the pizza was amazing.
They have a wood fired stove on the floor and you can see them making the pizza.
It was so good we went back the next night. I don’t know if it was because we were on the 2nd floor, maybe they don’t use the wood fired oven, but it wasn’t as good.
I still like the spot, just stick to the third floor.
Matey Hut
Just as you enter the tourist hub of Ella this rustic restaurant is on a steep cliff overlooking the road.
Matey Hut has been around for a while as it’s recommended by many for its restaurant and cooking class.
It was a close second for favorite Sri Lanka next to Wimala as they both serve traditional food. But you’ll find more tourists here.
Rocky Cafe
Winner of friendliest service in Ella! We initially came here for coffee and then came back for the strong wifi.
The servers here are so nice and accommodating. On our second visit one of the teas wasn’t available so they made something similar on the spot for us.
Just a cafe with really great people, drinks and the food looked good.
Fish & Chips Restaurant and Rotti Hut Ella
I don’t like to admit it but I’m a bit of a food snob when traveling. Well actually not snobby to locals, but to tourists who need to eat food from home on holidays.
And so I almost felt embarrassed to go into a restaurant that said fish and chips while in Sri Lanka. But we were hungry and it was a holiday weekend so every place was full. So why not!
And actually this place is pretty nice. Service was wonderful and the food was inexpensive. We sat up top and I thought my kebab was great.
So I guess the lesson is that I need to be less snobby.
The Barn
When we first arrived in Ella we just needed to drop our bags and take a moment and it was at The Barn.
We didn’t eat a formal meal but we had coffee, tea and giant cookies that were amazing. A few nights later we ordered take out at western prices but it was worth it.
The spot also has fast wifi, something quite rare in Sri Lanka.
Rainbow Cafe
Another cafe in Ella tucked away from the street making the best use of its small space with a few tables on each floor.
Each time we tried to visit it was full! But I did scan people’s table and the food looks amazing and I heard the coffee is fantastic.
It’s no traditional Sri Lankan, but if you need a good boost of fruits and vegetables this is the place.
Cafe Chill
This place is a vibe. It’s perfect for people on holiday, who want to have a few drinks in a beautiful place and don’t mind tourist prices. It’s open until 2am and has a DJ at night.
We didn’t go but I like that it’s locally owned and has been around since 2009 with solid Google reviews.
And they do also serve traditional Ella food as well including string hoppers or coconut roti for breakfast and dinner options include lamprais, rice and curry along with devilled fish.
To compare the rice and curry to Wimala and Dosa Cafe, it’s 1650 LKR which is not bad at all considering it’s a vibey restaurant.