If you’re in Colombo, you need to make sure you grab a meal at the Graze Kitchen. I’ll admit it, during my time there I probably grazed at Graze way too many times (great pun, I know!). There’s a good reason why though – the food is absolutely amazing. It even got to the point where all the lovely restaurant staff would recognise and welcome us back every time. So, of course when we had one last night in Colombo there was no question about where to go.
The service at Graze really blew me away. It was so sad saying goodbye to the amazing team. On our last night, the restaurant manager Indika even went the extra mile and sent us off with a beautiful box of chocolates from the hotel cafe ‘Kai’. It’s no wonder Graze Kitchen is on my list of best places to eat out in Colombo.
The Graze Kitchen Buffet
Graze Kitchen is run by the Hilton Colombo and offers an à la carte menu but it’s the buffet that had me hooked from the first time I laid eyes on it. Now I’ve been to a lot of astounding buffets throughout my travels, so I always have high expectations of them. The Graze buffet is definitely up there in my personal favourites and there’s no doubt I’ll be eating there whenever I’m in Colombo.
The buffet offers an international spread including Indian, Japanese, Vietnamese, Thai and Mediterranean food. Honestly, I spent forever just wandering around deciding what to eat! It’s one of those situations where your eyes want everything but your stomach doesn’t have enough room. (Thus, why we couldn’t help but eat there quite a few times to try out all the different stations properly.)
What really makes the food amazing at Graze Kitchen is that there is a dedicated chef to each station. I loved talking to them about the food so don’t be afraid to ask them for tips to recreate your favourite dishes cos I sure did.
And of course, it goes without saying, you better leave room for dessert. From creme brûlées to mini mousse puddings, I absolutely loved everything I tried. They even serve Watalappans – a traditional Sri Lankan dessert made using local ingredients like coconut, nuts and jaggery.
Price
It’s around 3000 rupees* which comes to £15/$25 AUD – a major bargain for what you get.
*The Hilton is probably one of the only places that already includes taxes in the prices listed in the menus. This is something you will really appreciate as most bigger restaurants and bars in Sri Lanka add taxes and charges to your bill at the end which can be an unwelcome surprise.
Dietary Needs
Whether you’re vegetarian, pescatarian or a full blown carnivore there’s something at the buffet for you. We never had a problem getting our fix of veggie dishes and always left the buffet absolutely stuffed.
Note
The buffet is only available for dinner and starts at 7pm but it is well worth the wait. We used to actually turn up with hungry bellies at around 6.30pm after having a drink at the hotel bar. A lot of the food is often ready by then and as the mouth watering smells from Graze waft into the bar it can be tempting to go grab a table early.
Special Celebrations
If you have any special days that happen to overlap with your time in Colombo, Graze is definitely a brilliant place to celebrate. I was thrilled to have Graze host us for my mother’s birthday. She was born in Sri Lanka and hadn’t had a family birthday celebration there in forever.
They really went out of their way to make it special for her. The whole team including Indika serenaded her with ‘Happy Birthday’ and then surprised her with a cake lit with a huge sparkler.
Drinks & Music
I’m not going to lie, we developed a bit of a routine during our visits to Graze. We’d always stop off at the Hilton bar L.A.B for a pre dinner drink and then pop back after to enjoy the live band with a drink in our hands. (They play on Friday and weekend nights so don’t miss them.)
If you like citrus, I highly suggest the ‘Kamikaze’ cocktail made with vodka and lots and lots of lime. It’s basically an alcoholic version of the delicious lime juice you can get all over Sri Lanka so it quickly became my go to drink at L.A.B.
Share the love!
If you try out any of my suggestions let me know in the comments or to tag me using #thebellephant on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook. I’d love to know what your favourite dishes and drinks were so I can try them next time I’m at Graze!
