The 10 Tastings Of Colombo With Locals: Private Street Food Tour

Great tour taking you into all different aspects of street food and Sri Lankan cuisine - our guide Dulshan was a knowledgeable and generous host! Couldn’t recommend this guide or tour more highly!

Deegoda was an excellent guide for what was supposed to be a food-focussed walk but ended up as something completely different. We had 3 mobility-challenged parents with us and Deegoda was very accommodating of their needs, the endless delays to the schedule and also helped us book tuk tuks and vans to move around. He completely changed the schedule to make it easier for our group while entertaining us with stories and anecdotes. He was also very clear with his communication beforehand and throughout. Highly recommended.

Normally I wouldn’t use Viator as they ripped us off in Mallorca but I couldn’t find with locals in Sri Lanka! Turn out Viator used with locals Priyantha. If you can get him it’s a must! So knowledgeable kind and went above and beyond! Visitor doesn’t do that only with locals!

We were waiting outside the pickup point for an hours the tour operator Priyantha did not respond to us and he did not answer his phone

Our lovely guide waited more than half an hour for us to find the right location (there are 2 YMA's in Colombo - stay close to Fort!). Then we roamed the streets and markets and learned about all the types of street food, which set us up for the rest of our 2 wk stay in Sri Lanka. Helpful foodie insights shared! :)

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!

Very disappointing food tour in Colombo. It was only 1 and a half hours instead of 3 hours. We had very little food and were made to start half an hour early as our guide Muditha was obviously going out after with friends.We could not recommend this tour. We have done many food tours in many cities all round the world and this was rated the worst.

We had a great time on our food tour. Priyantha was very knowledgeable on all aspects of Sri Lanka. On the walking tour he made sure that we had every opportunity to try a range of tasty Sri Lankan fruits and street food specialties. He could not have been more helpful and offered us advice for the rest of our trip. Would definitely recommend this tour.

Do not book this. The guide never showed up. We waited 20 minutes, whatsapped, called 3x absolutely no response and was not in an okay or safe neighborhood. We reached out to TripAdvisor - no response no help from anyone or anything. It completely ruined our day and left a huge hole with no back up. Viator and TripAdvisor should take down this advert immediately as you do not want to be stuck in an unsafe location with no help no response and no feedback. DO NOT BOON

So much fun! We tried food from stalls and shops we would never have tried. Amazing tastes. Fabulous commentary from our guide. Fully recommend. Bring a healthy appetite. You will eat so much food!!!

Our guide was super patient and flexible with our wants and needs. It was quite hot so we wanted to take plenty of breaks, and skip certain sights, which was not an issue given the private tour. He also coordinated with our driver for a different pickup point. Offered many different foods on the route. Not super impressed with the streetfood though, overall either very spicy or fried or much added sugar to fruit shakes, but that’s personal preference. Did like the coconuts. Do recommend to get a nice impression of Colombo and the markets. Would probably choose earlier or later in the day next time to avoid the heat (we started noon)

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!

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

Really impressed, very knowledgable guy who gave us a history lesson of Sri Lanka, helped us to find a local SIM card and to sort out transport on the next day, as well as an excellent tour and selection of the local Sri Lankan cuisine, no complaints at all, thank you very much.

The provider was a no show. Never called us. No prior notification of canceling the tour. Did not respond to our phone calls.

Pryiantha was very informative and knowledgeable. He showed us around the food stalls in the street and markets. We were able to taste the different street foods, compare the taste of 3 different types of mango, 4 types of banana and discovered fruits and vegetables that were new to us. He also showed us around the clothes market which was fun. Recommended you wear comfortable walking shoes, have a teaspoon and plenty of paper tissues for the tastings.

Our guide, Muditha, was knowledgeable and interesting. With him as a guide, we tried foods I would not have had the courage to try on my own. Would recommend him and this experience to others.

At a place where scammers are rampant, our guide Priyantha made sure we didn't get scammed and arrived back safely at the cruise port. Right at the start of the tour he was very accommodating by offering us varies way to tackle the food tour, start slow or try the thing we want to eat the most first. As always there are always too much food than we could eat so we had to skip dessert at the ginale. Be mindful when getting to the meetup point though. We chose to walk from the port and told all the Tuk Tuk drivers that offer tours off but yet there are still people dressing up in nice dress shirts and pants in local police color pretending to be an officer trying to walk and guide us away from the meetup. Otherwise the tour is highly recommended. It can't get anymore local than us walking down the main street to the food market, hopping in to stores along the way to drink and snack our way through downtown Colombo.

Good food from the local market. The guide was the best part, he told us a lot about the food, Colombo, and a lot of other places around sri lanka. Do this at the beginning of your journey to learn what you like and also tips and tricks to travel around Sri Lanka.

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.

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.

A wonderful tour of Colombo. The food that we ate was delicious and we even got to try some new (for us) fruit. In addition to the great food, we also got to explore the temple, the Galle Face Hotel, and the Galle Face Green. Priyantha was a fabulous guide, very knowledgeable about Sri Lankan history. He was happy to adjust the itinerary to suit our wishes. All in all - a perfect day in Colombo. We can't wait to come back!

We booked through Tripadvisor which in turn booked the tour through Viator. Our tour guide didn't show up on the day we had booked and all three companies involved refused to give us a refund.....very very frustrating as it was our first day in Sri Lanka. Book at your own risk as no one will take responsibility if anything goes wrong. Trip was for Jan 2022 and have since been trying to get a refund but just met with rudeness towards me when trying to get a refund. Will not be booking tours through any of the companies involved again.

I met Shiva at 10am having exchanged a few WhatsApp messages the day before. The tour was great - so many tastings of food ( depends how you count 11 - 20) and in places I would never have found for myself (7) . Shiva was friendly and informative and we went a variety of places. Highlights were an amazing samosa ( warm and moist and really tasty) at a popular short eats cafe, strange salty, sour and spicy fruits from a street vendor and the freshly made cassava chips at the market. The guy sliced the chips straight into a wok of oil. We finished the tour in a traditional restaurant where I was made to feel welcome by our lady host. A lovely Sri Lankan adventure.

We had an amazing time exploring Colombo and trying lots of different delicious drinks and snacks. Muditha was amazing!! He chose snacks and food according to our tastes and was extremely helpful, answering all of our questions.

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.

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.

I loved this tour with Siva. He found all of the balanced flavors of Colombo’s street food and brought them to me. He was also very kind and thoughtful throughout too. We had lots of interesting topics to discuss over food! Would definitely recommend.

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, leftovers 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 recommend very much this food tour with Siva. Thanks Siva for this great experience!

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

Chanaka was a great guide to have; friendly and knowledgeable. Completely considerate of my North American palate and food allergies.

Good tour. Tried food from a range of the local cultures. The meeting point was a good location for us and the guide was very helpful, helping us to get a taxi back to Negombo.

We have booked this 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 and 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.

Our guide took us on a street food tour of the Peta district of Colombo. We had food like freshly made cassava chips, samosas, egg rolls, spiced fruits,royal coconut hacked open in front of us, and more from stalls on the very busy streets. We visited interesting markets and shops. It was thoroughly enjoyable and we got to see parts of Colombo we probably would not have seen.

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!

We had a great day with Naushad, visited the vibrant markets and major sites. Tried interesting food and got lots of information about the areas we were visiting. Ended with a fantastic lunch at a local restaurant before returning to cruise ship with plenty of time to spare. Excellent day, highly recommended!

we absolutely loved our evening with arqam ! he has such a strong passion for not just his cuisine but also his country. we loved all the food stops and got to try such a huge variety . arqam also shared stories with us which we loved , and through food we understood the sri lankan way of life a lot better . there was a heavy downpour but that didn't stop us . arqam even ran out in the rain to get us delicious deep fried prawn fritters . my hubby loved the beef samosas most and my favourite was the curry leaf juice . i would recommend this tour to anyone visiting colombo . you wouldn't be disappointed

Sadly, this tour was terrible. Our guide Chanaka was a nice guy but several things made our tour one best forgotten. He arrived 30 minutes late and showed up with his wife (which was fine). We stopped at a pickled fruit stand, where we asked for some things to go and Chanaka’s wife ended up taking these home. We then asked to try some fried snacks on the street. This was the best part of the tour and it wasn’t even planned. He then took us to a restaurant called The Indian Restaurant and ordered 4 plates of biryani and 3 small bowls of curry. Basically our meal was rice. Our last stop was at a fruit market where he wanted us to try... banana? We politely declined and he declared that the tour was over - after only 1.5 hours! He didn’t even leave us where we started and we had to ask him to take us back. I do not recommend this tour... we were very much looking forward to it but just ended up disappointed and hungry. Absolutely not worth it for the price. DO NOT BOOK!

I am very disappointed with this tour operator who failed to give any proper instructions. We had to meet the tour guide at the main station in Colombo. Now, if you have ever been to Sri Lanka, you would know that simply saying meet at so and so, for a foreigner is an almost impossible task. Consequently I missed the guide. It would have been useful if he said he would identity himself, by saying that he would be wearing a particular clothing or that he would have a flag on a stick etc. Something to stand out from the teaming masses. Furthermore, I did not get a telephone call, to help or any other kind of assistance. For these reasons I cannot recommend this tour. I wasted £43 for nothing.

It certainly depends on the guide - we had Chanaka who came with his wife and we spent a wonderful afternoon with them. They explained us a lot of exotic fruits, we ate in a very local restaurant and going with them felt like beeing with a family. If you have the chance to make the tour witch Chanaka and his wife we definetly reommend the tour especially much more that the True Essence tour.

Be prepared: I couldn't finish the tour cause that was so much to me... And I consider me as a remarkable foodie... It's a tour that nobody can do other way, notwithstanding money, guides or anything else. Arkam has the keys to a world of unforgetable tastes and experiences

I tasted a number of amazing things. Unfortunately for me I had been sick just a few days before, so I couldn't even finish all the tastings and had to call it quits early. I really loved the Arabic-style kottu. I wish I could have eaten more! The only thing I didn't get into was the very first thing, the shrimp fritter at the beach, because they hadn't removed the shells from the shrimp before frying it up. But that's just my personal taste. I would love a little time for strolling thrown into the tour. I know it's tough, because we have to drive between venues. But it helps me get a little feel for the life of the area. Also, it's easier to chat with Arqam when he's not trying to drive in crazy local traffic. 8-)

MUDITHA was the perfect guy to come close to the Sri Lankian food culture. He showed us many different places at Pettah and the huge variety of typical street food and snacks. I'd recommend everybody to start a journey through the country with such a tour. All the advices, MUDITHA gave us were very helpful and he is a very friendly and open minded man!

We originally scheduled to do our tour with Naushad on our first day in Colombo. Sadly the torrential rain washed that plan away, but he happily rescheduled for the last day of our trip. He gladly rejigged our tour to suit of needs and was a wealth of information about the history of Colombo. He took use to eateries that opened our eyes and tantalized our taste buds. The food markets are fun, and his knowledge of the Red Mosque was vast. Very enjoyable tour and Naushad was so helpful, we ended up engaging him to transit us to the airport that evening.

I was a bit surprised that the food tour is advertised at $14.68 per person on the TripAdvisor page. When you go to schedule a tour the price doubles for each person. This is very dishonest and unethical. It is not what I would expect from TripAdvisor or Viator. We completed our tour today and it was certainly not worth $56.52.  Shiva was a very nice person, but not a food expert to justify the price. He basically took us to a few local places, but did not have knowledge of the cuisine. It appears that the tour was not properly planned out in advance. Several places we went to were not open or they ran out of the special dish. After two hours, we decided to call it quits early since we were underwhelmed and not impressed. You do get a nice walking tour of the old city and a of the fruit and vegetable market. Definitely think twice before booking this tour with this particular guide.

After reading reviews here I reached out to Mudhita at Withlocals. I had my two young children with me and a couple of hours in Colombo so asked him to combine some food with local sites. He was so flexible when we needed a minor adjustment to our itin due to one of our kids being jet-lagged. Once on the tour he gave us much insight on Sri Lankan food, culture and history - we went to Pettah Market, Red Mosque, Buddhist Temple in Cinnamon Gardens and other experiences. His communication was amazing even my 9 year old enjoyed the tour. Highly recommend the Withlocals experience in Sri Lanka and Mudhita as your guide for the Colombo experience.

There was some intrepidation when Muditha arrived to pick us up in his white limousine. The four aussies squeezed into the car and headed for our first taste sensation. We immediately realised that Muditha was an articulate, intelligent and personable host whom had a passion for his work. We weaved our way through the streets to stop at various local food stalls to experience a diverse range of food whilst chatting about a variety of local subjects. The total experience was +3 hours with some additional treats along the way and also catering for a vegan. This tour and host comes highly recommended and you won't leave feeling hungry!

Muditha was a very polite and friendly person. We highly recommend him for an evening getting to know local food in Colombo. We had very interesting tastes: From orange coconut till short eats and shrimp biscuits. Last but not least Muditha gave us - 2 adults and 2 12 years old children - a drop of to our hotel. An awesome evening! Thanks a lot!

Naushad was beyond welcoming to us. Showed us all the best food and then offered to drive us to Sigiriya after we told him our plans of going there. Couldn't recommend highly enough. Thank you!