Lamprais at Colombo Kitchen
A Sri Lankan Special.
It’s no secret: Colombo Kitchen in Putney is a favourite restaurant. We have eaten there for dinner during the week, but there is a special treat at the weekends and it’s memorable. Its Lamprais!
Colombo Kitchen and its founder and Executive Chef Sylvia Perera have just celebrated well-deserved awards, led by a reader-voted win in the Muddy Stilettos London Muddy Awards 2026. Colombo Kitchen Putney was named the London winner of the Best Restaurant category following public nominations and voting by Muddy Stilettos readers.
The independent Sri Lankan restaurant was selected from a distinguished London shortlist that included Barrafina in Soho, Bubala in King’s Cross, Clos Maggiore in Covent Garden and Michael Caines at The Stafford in Mayfair. The Muddy Awards celebrate independent businesses across the UK, with finalists chosen through public nominations before progressing to a reader vote.
One can have a delicious feast at Colombo Kitchen every day, but one can have a traditional extravaganza on Saturday and Sunday. Lamprais is something along the lines of the Dutch-Indonesian rijsttafel (Dutch for “rice table”). It is spicy and copious so come hungry, relax and savour!
Wrapped in a banana leaf
There is an element of gastronomic theatre. The meal, for it is indeed a whole meal, arrives wrapped in a soft and pliable banana leaf. Our charming waiter explained that it is traditionally eaten by hand but we were provided with the usual cutlery to save embarrassment for us and a cleaning bill for the restaurant! But, oh, the temptation was there and had the restaurant been empty…..
Lamprais is a selection of rice, condiments and curries wrapped and baked in banana leaves in which it is, as mentioned, served. One can choose from chicken, mutton, fish or vegetarian, and one can pre-order vegan too.
The meat and fish options offer basmati rice cooked in chicken broth, aubergine moju (eggplant pickle), ash plantain (green cooking banana) curry, spicy prawn sambal, devilled cashew, fried onion sambal, fish cutlet and egg, in addition to your choice of meat or fish, all wrapped in that banana leaf.
The vegetarian Lamprais is basmati rice with mango curry, devilled paneer, aubergine moju, ash plantain curry, devilled cashew, pineapple curry, vegetarian cutlet, stir-fried beans, fried onion sambal wrapped in a banana leaf. We didn’t try that, but it sounds delightful. I make pineapple curry at home and it is a favourite. Might seem strange but it really works. I am sure the Colombo Kitchen version is addictive!
Colombo Kitchen ticked all the boxes once again. It feeds my love of spice, the staff are outstanding, the food is some of the best in London of any genre, the prices are very reasonable and the location is convenient, being just a short walk from Putney railway station. Executive Chef Sylvia Perera should be proud!
Colombo Kitchen Putney
240 Upper Richmond Road
SW15 6TG
