Location: Polonnaruwa
Top Restaurants in Polonnaruwa
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Polonnaruwa Food Guide: 10 Must-Eat Restaurants & Street Food Stalls in Polonnaruwa
Poḷonnaruwa (Sinhalese: පොළොන්නරුව, Poḷonnaruwa or Puḷattipura, Tamil: பொலன்னறுவை, Polaṉṉaṟuvai or Puḷatti nakaram) is the main town of Polonnaruwa District in North Central Province, Sri Lanka. Kaduruwela area is the Polonnaruwa New Town and the other part of Polonnaruwa remains as the royal ancient city of the Kingdom of Polonnaruwa.
Things to do in Polonnaruwa
1. Lake Inn Guest House Dining Room
Overall Ratings
3.5 based on 32 reviews
Reviewed By JohnIStAlbans - St Albans
We stopped for the buffet lunch on our way back from the East Coast. It was a traditional and very tasty Sri Lankan meal at a reasonable price. The service was OK, but possibly only because it was quiet; there was only one waiter who seemed attentive and on the ball.
The setting is fantastic - and famous - though it looks as if the whole place has been rebuilt since we were last there, but without losing its character.
2. New Araliya Sinhala Hotel
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 21 reviews
Reviewed By nilintentum_reliquit - Melbourne, Australia
Go try the food and you will not be disappointed. It was worthy of a second visit and took our driver as staff were very friendly and the food was fresh, tasty and reasonably priced. Personally the Kothuthu was my favourite with the added bonus of an exuberant display in making the dish in the front window.
Thanks for adding to our great Sri Lankan experience
3. Thidas Arana Restaurant
Overall Ratings
4 based on 62 reviews
Reviewed By Majee T
Excellent service.
Awesome food.
Banana fritters is a must to try.
We were bed and breakfast option... And we came back for lunch... And also tea before we left.
The staff was extremely friendly and accomodating. Room was really clean and bathroom was big and clean.
Loved the experience. Will Defenitely revisit.
4. Hotel, The Village
Overall Ratings
4 based on 22 reviews
This was without doubt had the best local food of anywhere we ate during a month in Sri Lanka. The food cost was 700 rupees each plus beer and the "rice and curry" consisted of 16 different dishes plus rice. ( have pictures to prove it)There was also a fruit plate for desert. Our driver took us there and ate with us (he ate for free!) as we were fed up with hotel buffet food. The restaurant is on the main road from Habarana in Giritale town, and it also has accommodation although we didn't check this out. It can probably seat 60 and also serves lunch as well as dinner.
Reviewed By Traveleator - Singapore, Singapore
We visited The Village on our day trip to Polonnaruwa and thoroughly enjoyed the meal. The buffet was well priced and offered numerous dishes to sample, most of them vegetarian. We had dishes made of pineapple curry, jackfruit, brinjal, lady fingers, manioc, banana flower, pumpkin, mango curry, bitter gourd and asparagus in addition to chicken and beef curries.
Upon realizing that we preferred spicier food, the owner brought us some spicy sambals and served me their spicier curry which is reserved only for drivers and the family (versus the milder version served to the tourists). For desserts they served us a bowl of fruit salad.
The meal was quite good overall and I would certainly recommend it.
5. Priyamali Gedara
Overall Ratings
5 based on 493 reviews
Our restaurant is a family owned business open all year round for lunch and dinner. Our business is mainly centered around lunch however we are more than happy to serve dinner to any customers that feel like coming to enjoy truly home sri lankan cooking. All we ask is for people to phone us in advance and let us know that they are coming so that we can start preparing food.
Reviewed By Philip J - West Sussex, United Kingdom
Fantastic friendly welcome and wonderful Sri Lankan food in a traditional rustic setting.
Particularly impressive as we turned up around 6.30pm when they were closed! As the only customers we were treated to dish after dish of great food some of which we didnt see again in Sri Lanka. Great value for money.
They are normally open lunchtime and afternoon, until people have left the Ruins which is where most of their customers are from. The Ruins are 5-7 minutes away by Tuk Tuk or 20 minute cycle.
6. Sudu Araliya Restaurant
Overall Ratings
4 based on 43 reviews
Reviewed By Nadeeka P - Gampaha, Sri Lanka
Large Restaurant with lake view.food is very good.They have the alarcate restaurant as well. Service is very good. The chef used visit each table and get the comments about the food. Breakfast spread was excellent.
7. Ariya Rest House
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 215 reviews
Reviewed By RKHOOKER - Sydney, Australia
Our guide brought us to this place for lunch. Very plain looking canteen style buffet. The Sri Lankan food was nothing special, you could order sandwiches & fries if you’re all curried out. Beer was cold, service fast & price average. Much better places to enjoy a cheap Sri Lankan feed elsewhere if you have the opportunity.
8. Hotel Mahanuge
Overall Ratings
4 based on 30 reviews
Reviewed By Em K - Sydney, Australia
Location is everything, or so they say. This restaurant unfortunately sits opposite a venue for LOUD music which drowns out the music inside the restaurant.
For a restaurant, food is equally important. Three things on the menu were not available. So down to my fourth choice. Not a good sign. When it came, it was bland, meat was overcooked and generally not enjoyable. Even our daughter's macaroni and cheese lacked taste!
9. Gami Gedara
Overall Ratings
5 based on 170 reviews
Reviewed By Joann P - Aviemore and the Cairngorms, United Kingdom
This was the best meal we had in this region. The restaurant is under a roof with no walls, an earth floor and bench seats. The food was very tasty and interesting. Some really special flavours along with other popular traditional dishes. The family are so welcoming and make sure that we understood what was in all the dishes and we had enough to eat. Like other guests we were a little dubious when arriving, but couldn’t have been happier by the end. Soft drinks and water are for sale with lunch. It’s 850R each.
10. Maha Kithula
Overall Ratings
5 based on 173 reviews
Reviewed By Kasia J - Bristol, United Kingdom
I went here with my family whilst visiting the ruins in Polonnarawa and it was the best food I've had during my trip to Sri Lanka (I am Sri Lankan and I've been about 9 times too so I know good food!)
We had a lunch buffet & every curry dish was delicious. The people working there were so friendly & the price was EXTREMELY reasonable.
If you are in Polonnarawa then you MUST visit here!!!! Thank you for a lovely lunch & see you next time!
