Eating seafood on the south coast: from net to table
Grilled whole fish, garlicky prawns and the famous Negombo crab. How to pick a beach seafood spot where freshness does the cooking. On the south coast the day's catch goes from outrigger boat to grill in hours. Beach restaurants display the morning's fish on ice, snapper, tuna, seer, jumbo prawns, and price by weight: pick your fish, choose.
On the plate
On the south coast the day's catch goes from outrigger boat to grill in hours. Beach restaurants display the morning's fish on ice, snapper, tuna, seer, jumbo prawns, and price by weight: pick your fish, choose grilled with garlic butter or a Sri Lankan curry, and claim a table in the sand.
Rules of thumb: eat where the display is busy and regularly refreshed, ask the per-kilo price before they cook, and do not leave the island without a proper crab curry, the dish Sri Lankan expats dream about.
Frequently asked
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Places in this guide
Sources
We compile and link to public sources; details change, so verify time-sensitive specifics before you travel.