Where to eat in Hiriketiya, from breakfast to dinner

Hiriketiya is a small surf bay with a great many kitchens: brunch cafes, family curry places, a pizza oven, poke bowls on the sand and bars that fill up at dusk. Here are nine places we could verify in 2026, with what each is good for, and one of them is ours, less than five minutes down the road.

What is eating in Hiriketiya like?

Everything is close. The bay is a horseshoe a few hundred metres across, and most places stand on the sand or along the one road behind it. You can walk from breakfast to dinner without shoes.

Three things to know before you choose:

• The morning belongs to the cafes. Eggs on sourdough, smoothie bowls and good coffee after the first surf.
• Lunch is where the local kitchens shine. A rice and curry buffet costs little and tells you more about the island than any menu.
• The evening is social. Music, drinks and full tables from December to March. If you want a quiet dinner, eat early or come out of the bay.

Where to eat in Hiriketiya

This guide is written by Ohana. We are on the list, and we say where we think we fit.

• La Luna. A cafe opposite the beach, opened at the start of 2025 in a green corner behind the sand. Guides praise its brunch and coffee, and in the evening it bakes pizzas. It suits a slow breakfast with the surf in view.
• Ohana, Turtle Beach, Dikwella. That is us, and we are not in the bay: we are less than five minutes away by road. We fit when you want seafood by the water without the crowd: a whole grilled snapper, platters to share, tables on the sand of a calm bay, and no alcohol. Families and people who like quiet come to us. For surf from the table, for music and for a night out, the bay suits you better.
• Salt House. A guesthouse with a yoga shala and a cafe, a few minutes from the beach. Guides speak of an excellent brunch, with avocado toast and smoothie bowls, served to guests and to people walking in. Good after a morning class.
• Malu Poke. A small place by the beach with poke bowls, fish or vegetables, and smoothie bowls. You can build your own. Many people come here straight from the water for lunch.
• Garlic Cafe. A simple local kitchen with a rice and curry buffet by day and a menu at night, kottu among it. Guides name its vegetarian curries, a cashew curry above all. It suits anyone who wants Sri Lankan food at a fair price.
• Lemon Grass Cafe. A wooden shack run by a family, without a printed menu: there is a curry plate of the day, with rice and sides. For people who like to eat what the house cooked.
• Bacuzzi. An Italian restaurant with a wood-fired oven: pizza in the Neapolitan way, pasta, tiramisu. It serves alcohol, and it fills up in season, so book or come early.
• RAA. At the tip of the bay. Sri Lankan dishes with a modern hand, and a bar built on toddy and arrack, the island's own palm drinks. Guides advise booking, and arriving for sunset.
• Dots Bay House. A hostel and beach bar on the sand, with Western and Sri Lankan food, live music nights and a happy hour. It suits surfers, younger travellers and anyone who wants company at the table.

Just outside the bay, at Pehembiya, are Smoke & Bitters and two more places. They are on our list of where to eat in Dikwella.

Places here open, move and close with the seasons. Check a place's own page before you walk over, above all between May and September.

Where do you find seafood near Hiriketiya?

Several places in the bay cook fish: in a poke bowl, in a curry, on a pizza. A whole fish from the grill at a table on the sand is what we do, and it is the reason people make the short ride.

• Grilled Catch of the Day, 7,900 LKR. A whole snapper on the bone, with garlic and thyme.
• Red Snapper for Two, 15,900 LKR. About a kilo of fish, with salad, fries, rice, a coconut curry gravy and papadam.
• Ohana Seafood Platter, 18,900 LKR. For two or three: a whole fish, shrimps and grilled calamari.
• Ceviche Limeño, 5,700 LKR, and Tuna Poke Bowl, 4,500 LKR, when you want something lighter.

The whole story is in a seafood restaurant near Hiriketiya, and the kitchen has its own page: our seafood restaurant near Hiriketiya.

What if you do not eat spicy food, or you travel with children?

Ask, everywhere. Most kitchens in the bay are used to visitors and will cook with less chilli. The words that help are in not spicy food in Sri Lanka.

With children, think about the hour as much as the place. The bay is loud and full at dusk in high season. An early dinner, at 18:00 or before, is easier everywhere. At ours, food is not spicy unless the dish says so, the Little Ones menu is served all day, there are high chairs, and two swings hang under the palms.

How do you get to Ohana from the bay?

By tuk-tuk, in less than five minutes, or on foot in 10 to 20 minutes. In a tuk-tuk, agree the fare before you get in, and ask the driver to come back for you after dinner, or ask us to call one. If you stay at a hotel nearby, we can also send one for you, for 300 to 1,500 LKR depending on the distance.

Good to know

• Ohana is at Turtle Beach, Dikwella, less than five minutes by road from Hiriketiya, and open every day.
• Breakfast is served from 08:00 to 11:00, lunch and dinner from 11:00 to 21:00.
• Prices are in LKR, plus a 10% service charge. Filtered water is on the house.
• No alcohol is served. There are mocktails, iced teas and king coconut water.