Paradise Road The Gallery

The Verdict

Paradise Road The Gallery opened in 1998 on Dharmapala Mawatha in Colombo 7, in a restored early-20th-century colonial townhouse. The property houses the Paradise Road design shop at the front and a courtyard restaurant at the back. The courtyard itself — white-walled, open-air, with frangipani trees and ceiling fans on palm-leaf rafters — is the dining room's defining feature.

The menu is contemporary Sri Lankan with colonial-Ceylon accents: hot butter cuttlefish (the signature), Paradise Road black curry chicken, prawn sandwich (the high-tea staple), fish and chips, Sri Lankan rice and curry, and the wood-apple dessert program that closes most meals. Afternoon high tea — LKR 2,500–3,500 per person — is the restaurant's secret offering.

Pricing runs LKR 5,000–9,000 per person at dinner. The cocktail program is strong and the arrack list — strong on Ceylon Arrack, Rockland, Old Reserve — is one of the best in the country. The design shop is accessible before and after dinner; it closes at 7pm on weekday evenings.

Why It Works for First Date

Paradise Road is the design-led Colombo alternative to The Gallery Café — a restored colonial townhouse surrounding a courtyard, attached to the country's best design shop (Paradise Road Design) under Udayshanth Fernando. The restaurant reads as a more social, less reverent room than the Bawa cloister at The Gallery Café, and better suits a first-date or high-tea afternoon than a reverent proposal.

Signature Dishes

Hot butter cuttlefish; Paradise Road black curry chicken; prawn sandwich; high tea; watalappan.

Also in Colombo

For the broader Colombo picture, see our full Colombo dining guide. Related rooms at this level: Ministry of Crab (Sri Lankan Seafood) and Nihonbashi (Japanese). For the first date cross-city picture, see our First Date directory. Travelling on? Consider New Delhi, Mumbai, or Bangalore for your next leg.