Pastry is indeed the real junk food of Sri Lanka.
Let’s get straight to the point and talk about where you can find the best pastry in town. When we talk about pastry, we are only focusing on actual PASTRY such as puff, choux, short crust and filo. We are not focusing on buns, biscuits and desserts in this article. You are going to be surprised at how much pastry that Colombo has to offer and it is quite a difficult task to choose the best ones. Hence don’t be disheartened if you have a place in mind that is not on our list here. But if it is your first visit to Sri Lanka, be sure to schedule at least a couple of days in Colombo, skip a meal or two and try out these pastries instead as they are not found in many other parts of the world.
Top 6 pastry offerings in Colombo
1. Sponge Pastry Shop
Located in a very accessible spot in Colombo 03 (Galle Road), Sponge Pastry Shop is a master baker owning a competitive edge over other players in the industry. Making a good pastry seems possible by a lot of people in Sri Lanka. But what Sponge excels at is their fillings. They have a wide range of pastry fillings such as chicken & broccoli and cauliflower and cheese. While the pastry filling variety is huge, every one of them is tasty and the amount of filling used for each pastry is plenty. This is why Sponge pastries rank amongst the top. The fish patty for example is not overly spicy and is packed with fishy meaty filling. The cute swan boat pastry is another one you must try. These unique flavors and abundant filling makes Sponge pastries worth the extra buck.
2. Dolce Italia
Dolce Italia is this nice looking pastry shop you must have seen while driving down Havelock Road. That’s where they initially opened up and let their brand mature for a few years. Recently the bakery moved to Skelton Road – Colombo 05. Although their pastry specials don’t have a big variety, the food is simply delicious. The custard filled croissants, crème puff and canoli are some of the favorites that you should not miss out on. Their exclusive style, difference in flavors and affordable menu is what is appreciated by many.
3. Baked – at Ramada
Situated inside the doors of Ramada Hotel, Baked has an unusual pastry variety and is known for serving the most buttery pastry in town. While the filling is light on the stomach, the flavors speak for themselves and the pastry literally melts in the mouth!
4. Café on the 5th
If you are looking for some neat Choux pastry in Sri Lanka, Café on the 5th is the place to be. They are a popular pastry vendor in Colombo and certainly have a wide range to choose from. Favorite items from the menu are the éclair and crème bun which are satisfactory in terms of filling and mouth-melting in terms of pastry. The filo, seafood puff and patties are also good items that you might like to try.
5. Green Cabin
With so much competition in the field of pastries, Green Cabin (Colombo 03) is one bakery that manages to reach the top few. The pastry fillings are commendable at Green Cabin: bacon & egg, chicken pie, beef & liver, all of which have intense flavor. The pastry encasing for these items is abundant but the flavorful filling compensates for that – so no complaints there.
6. Family Baker
Moving slightly out of Colombo to its suburbs – Mount Lavinia is where Family Baker is located and is arguably the best bakery in the vicinity. Their selection of sweet and savory pastries is great and they have maintained consistency in their standards for many years. The chicken and mushroom pie, country chicken pie and mutton pies are delicious in terms of filling and pastry both. Their éclairs are another melt in the mouth item which you must try. With extremely affordable prices, Family Baker is one of the best bakery options for the kind of crowd that cannot afford the other high end bakeries such as Sponge.