The Tuna and The Crab

The Tuna and The Crab is the Galle Fort flagship of chef Dharshan Munidasa — the most internationally-regarded Sri Lankan chef of his generation, with restaurants in Colombo (Ministry of Crab, Nihonbashi), Tokyo, and the Maldives. The Galle room opened in 2014 in the restored Dutch Hospital on Hospital Street and has since become the single most-cited restaurant in Galle Fort and the destination address for visiting food critics.

The room is a long, high-ceilinged space in the Dutch Hospital's original 17th-century ward building, with exposed stone walls, a teppan grill at the far end, and a sushi counter running the length of one wall. Seating is for about 80 across counter seats, banquettes, and tables of two and four. The cooking is avant-garde Japanese technique applied to Sri Lankan seafood: the signatures are the Olive Oil and Soy Sauce Sashimi (a plate that has become a minor world dish in its own right), the Crab Pasta, the Galle Fort Bento (a showcase of the kitchen's range), and the U.S. Black Angus Sirloin Steak cooked on the teppan.

The raw bar is central — the daily catch is flown to the restaurant from the Koggala fishing village and served sashimi-grade within hours. Chef Dharshan's principle is that Sri Lankan tuna is the equal of any Pacific tuna, and the sashimi programme is designed to demonstrate it. The teppan programme runs across the evening and is the most-requested seating for groups of four.

The wine list is the most Japanese-angled in Sri Lanka — a full sake programme, Japanese whisky, and a Tokyo-sourced natural-wine sleeve, alongside classical French whites and California reds. Service is the most internationally-polished of any Galle restaurant. Reservations are essential — a week ahead in season, two weeks around the December holidays.

The Tuna and The Crab is Galle Fort's impress-clients room. The chef's international reputation, the teppan's theatrical service, the sashimi's technical credibility, the natural-wine programme — every element is calibrated to signal 'the most serious eating in the Indian Ocean'. Book the teppan counter for four for a close-a-deal dinner; the window banquette at the back of the main room for a proposal that wants quiet rather than theatre. Chef Dharshan himself visits on Fridays in season.