The lower deck and boardwalk are particularly sought after dining spaces at Graze Kitchen.
At Hilton Colombo, dining is multifaceted – with restaurants that combine many cuisines. It is woven into the rhythm of the hotel, taking on different personalities as the day unfolds.
Words: Jennifer Paldano Goonewardane.
A leisurely breakfast can lead to a quick coffee, an afternoon of high tea, an elaborate Chinese dinner, or a night of music and cocktails by the pool. That’s the range of offerings that Hilton Colombo unveils, an eponymous global name approaching its 40th year in Sri Lanka, a journey that demonstrates its remarkable ability to remain relevant to successive generations of diners.
With five distinctive dining venues – Graze Kitchen, Emperor’s Wok, Café Kai, Lounge and Bar (L.A.B), and SunsetBlu – Hilton Colombo offers a collection of experiences designed for very different occasions and moods. Some are places to gather with family, others cater to business lunches or intimate dinners, while others come alive after dark. Yet they share an important thread: the familiarity, service, and sense of occasion associated with one of Colombo’s longest-established international hotels.
Graze Kitchen
For those who find it difficult to choose just one cuisine, Graze Kitchen offers an answer: choose them all.
The hotel’s all-day dining restaurant brings together an extensive range of international flavors under one roof, making it equally suited to a family gathering, a business lunch, or a relaxed dinner. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are served buffet-style, complemented by an à la carte offering.
The appeal lies not simply in the breadth of choice, but in the theater of its open culinary stations. Different sections focus on different traditions, with dedicated areas for Indian, Western, Chinese, Asian, and Sri Lankan preparations. Guests can move from one station to another, watching dishes being prepared and selecting precisely what suits their appetite.
With five distinctive dining venues – Graze Kitchen, Emperor’s Wok, Café Kai, Lounge and Bar (L.A.B), and SunsetBlu – Hilton Colombo offers a collection of experiences designed for very different occasions and moods.
There are live stations for pasta, pizza, and other Western favorites, carvery selections, Indian specialties, Asian dishes, sushi and sashimi, as well as familiar Sri Lankan flavors and desserts.
The setting adds another dimension. The restaurant looks out over Hilton Colombo’s landscaped lotus pond, with its greenery, water, and resident black swans creating a surprisingly tranquil setting in the heart of the city. The lower deck and boardwalk are particularly sought-after spaces, while two private dining areas can be combined to create a single space accommodating up to 60 for a family celebration – a birthday, an anniversary, or a corporate gathering. These smaller areas provide a more intimate setting for families and celebrations.
Graze Kitchen is also a natural choice for corporate dining. Its buffet format allows teams to dine together without the waiting time associated with a conventional sit-down meal, making it popular for business lunches and gatherings.
Throughout the year, the restaurant also becomes a stage for culinary collaborations, with visiting chefs from other Hilton properties introducing guests to regional cuisines. Such events give regular diners an opportunity to discover something beyond the restaurant’s usual repertoire without leaving Colombo.
With five distinctive dining venues – Graze Kitchen, Emperor’s Wok, Café Kai, Lounge and Bar (L.A.B), and SunsetBlu – Hilton Colombo offers a collection of experiences designed for very different occasions and moods.
Emperor’s Wok
At Emperor’s Wok, the pace changes. The experience is more deliberate, the setting more intimate, and the food rooted in the traditions of Chinese cuisine.
Specializing in Cantonese and Szechuan flavors, the restaurant is designed around the idea of sharing. Its round dining tables encourage conversation and allow guests to place dishes in the center for everyone to enjoy.
An open kitchen provides a glimpse into the craftsmanship behind the food, with chefs preparing dishes by hand. Dim sum is among the restaurant’s attractions, while its broader menu features seafood and classic Chinese dishes, such as Peking duck.
The restaurant’s private dining rooms make it particularly versatile. Smaller groups can dine in intimate rooms, while partitions can be opened to accommodate larger gatherings of 32. This makes Emperor’s Wok suitable for everything from family occasions to corporate dinners.
The unlimited dim sum offering adds a more relaxed dimension to the experience, allowing diners to select from a range of dishes and return for more.
The restaurant ’s longstanding reputation is itself part of its appeal. Over the years, Emperor’s Wok has become one of the names associated with Chinese dining at Hilton Colombo, with specialist chefs bringing their knowledge of Chinese culinary traditions to the kitchen.
Café Kai
Not every visit to a hotel restaurant calls for a long meal. Café Kai understands the need for something quicker.
Designed around a café-and-grab-and-go concept, Café Kai caters to guests seeking coffee, cakes, snacks, or a quick bite without committing to a lengthy dining experience. Its location and informal atmosphere also make it convenient for brief meetings or those looking for somewhere to pause during a busy day in the city. The café’s selection extends beyond its counter offerings to include an à la carte menu. Yet its most distinctive appeal is the range of items that can simply be picked up and taken away.
A century-old Hilton tradition takes a deliciously rich form at Café Kai. Inspired by the original brownie created at The Palmer House, this beloved classic is reimagined at Hilton Colombo with 60 percent dark couverture chocolate and crunchy walnuts. Rich, indulgent, and unmistakably memorable, it carries a piece of Hilton’s culinary heritage in every bite.
Among its enduring attractions are Hilton Colombo’s cakes, which have developed a loyal following over the years. The hotel has retained customers who remember buying its cakes decades ago and now return with their own families. That legacy has also entered the digital age, with Café Kai’s offerings available through online ordering, enabling customers overseas to arrange deliveries or gifts for family members in Sri Lanka.
The café, therefore, occupies an interesting space between tradition and convenience – retaining some of the hotel’s most familiar culinary favorites while adapting them to the way customers now shop and consume food.
Lounge and Bar (L.A.B)
There are a few settings in Colombo quite like the space around Hilton Colombo’s lotus pond. During the afternoon, the gardens and water provide a calm backdrop for one of the city’s enduring social rituals: high tea.
L.A.B is where that experience takes place. From 3pm to 6pm, guests can settle in with a high tea platter accompanied by tea or coffee, making it a popular choice for leisurely meetings, family occasions, and afternoons spent catching up with friends.
The character of the venue changes as the evening arrives. Live music takes over from the quieter afternoon atmosphere, with performances creating a relaxed backdrop for cocktails, conversation, and late-evening gatherings.
L.A.B has also developed a strong following among regular guests, including generations of Colombo residents who have maintained a connection with Hilton Colombo over the years. For them, the appeal is as much about familiarity and atmosphere as it is about the food and drinks.
It is this ability to serve different purposes – from a refined afternoon gathering to an evening social occasion – that gives L.A.B its distinctive place within the hotel’s dining landscape.
SunsetBlu
Located beside the pool, SunsetBlu changes character according to the hour. During the day, it functions as a relaxed poolside venue, attracting families and guests looking to spend time outdoors. Food and drinks can be enjoyed alongside the pool, with pizzas prepared at a live station adding an element of theater to the experience.
Pool passes provide another way to enjoy the venue, giving guests access to the pool and facilities while allowing the pass’s value to be redeemed toward food and beverages.
Over the years, Emperor’s Wok has become one of the names associated with Chinese dining at Hilton Colombo, with specialist chefs bringing their knowledge of Chinese culinary traditions to the kitchen.
As darkness falls, however, SunsetBlu adopts an entirely different personality. DJs and live bands take over, cocktails become central to the experience, and the poolside setting becomes a backdrop for Colombo’s nightlife.
The venue attracts a younger adult crowd in the evenings, while its extended operating hours on Fridays and Saturdays allow the night to continue well beyond dinner. Its combination of music, food, cocktails, and an open-air setting makes it less a conventional hotel restaurant and more a social destination in its own right. Located adjacent to SunsetBlu, Stella is Hilton Colombo’s karaoke bar, offering friends and families the perfect setting to unwind, enjoy a few drinks, and take center stage with their favorite songs in a relaxed, private space.
What makes Hilton Colombo’s dining offering interesting is not simply the variety of food. It is the range of reasons people have for walking through its doors.
A business executive may arrive at Graze Kitchen for a quick team lunch. A family may spend an afternoon around the lotus pond. Friends may gather at L.A.B for high tea before returning later for live music. A couple may choose Emperor’s Wok for a more intimate dinner, while another group heads to SunsetBlu as the city prepares for the night. Café Kai serves those who have only a few minutes, while the hotel’s other venues invite guests to stay longer.
Together, these five restaurants reflect a hotel that has remained embedded in Colombo’s social fabric for generations. In a city where restaurant dining trends constantly change, that sense of continuity is perhaps one of Hilton Colombo’s greatest strengths. The food may take guests around the world, but the experience remains distinctly Colombo.
Hilton Colombo
2, Sir Chittampalam A Gardiner Mawatha, Colombo 2; +94 112 492 492;
colombo.hilton.com
With its relaxed atmosphere and vibrant setting, SunsetBlu sets the scene for a laid back sojourn by the pool or a pulsating time after dusk.
