Mirissa is a small beach town on Sri Lanka’s Southern coast known primarily for surfing.
We spent roughly two weeks between Mirissa and Weligama (they’re about 10 minutes apart) and loved it. If you only have a limited time to spend on the South Coast, Mirissa is the best place to use as a base.
It has pretty much everything you could ask for in a beach town, including a handful of great beachfront cafes, lounges, and other places to grab a bite to eat!
Most places in this region do serve Western food, like burgers, pasta, and avocado toast.
But every cafe and restaurant also has some Sri Lankan specialties on the menu. Even after two months in Sri Lanka, we couldn’t get enough of these, specifically the kottu roti, Sri Lankan curries, deviled chicken, and roti with coconut sambal!
Here are all of the best restaurants we could find in Mirissa!
1. Shady Lane
Address: Diyagalana Road Yatipila Mirissa, Mirissa
Opening Hours: 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM (Daily)
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Shady Lane is an ex-pat favorite in Mirissa. It’s tucked away in the streets behind Carghills just a 5 minute walk from Mirissa Beach.
This two-story hipster cafe is only open until 4:00 PM, and the menu is actually quite limited.
For breakfast/brunch, you can order a smoothie bowl, chia pudding, or pancakes or build your own open-faced toast. The lunch menu mostly includes burgers, wraps, salads, and power bowls. We shared the Turkish Eggs and the Flower Power Veggie Burger (made with a banana blossom patty). Both were delicious, but the veggie burger is one of the best we’ve ever had!
They also have excellent coffee, a nice workspace on the second floor, and a small surf shop with some really fun sustainable clothing for sale.
The only downside is that Shady Lane is a little pricier than the rest of the restaurants on this list. Expect to spend about 2k-3k LRK ($7-10) on a meal + coffee.
2.SALT
Address: 220/8 Liyanaralage Watta, Udupila Road, Mirissa
Opening Hours: 9:00 AM – 11:00 PM (Daily)
Menu
SALT MIRISSA is a beachfront resort right at the center of Mirissa Beach with a killer cafe.
We hadn’t heard about this cafe before arriving at Mirissa Beach, and to be honest, we only ordered a drink to access the sunbeds (they’re free for all customers).
But after our second and third watermelon mint juice, we ordered some lunch.
We ordered the Kottu Rotti and it was SO GOOD. Unfortunately, this was a daily special, so it’s not always on the menu, but we also ordered the ginger chicken wings and chicken fried rice, and both were cooked well enough that we’d trust anything on the menu!
The prices aren’t the cheapest, but most dishes are less than 3000 LKR ($10), which isn’t bad for dining by the ocean.
You could also stay at SALT Beachfront Resort. Check Room Prices Here.
3. Zephyr Bar & Grill
Address: 9 Ekanayaka Watta, Kamburugamuwa
Opening Hours: 9:00 AM – 10:30 PM (Daily)
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Zephyr Ceylon is about 10 minutes east of Mirisssa Beach, in the small town of Kamburugamuwa. Yet, most tourists would still consider it a Mirissa restaurant, and it’s easily the best late-night hangout in town, especially if you love seafood.
The seafood grill has literally thousands of 5-star reviews and a more romantic atmosphere, making it a great choice for a special night out in the area.
We aren’t huge seafood fans, so we’d only come here for their drinks and tapas.
Zephyr also opened a cocktail pool bar at the Mariott Hotel in Weligama a few years back. This location doesn’t have a full menu, but it’s more accessible and has the same great atmosphere! There are even showers and changing rooms, which make it feel more like a day club!
4. Ceylon Curry House
Address: Sriramya, Galle Road, Mirissa
Opening Hours: 11:00 AM – 11:00 PM (Daily)
Menu
Ceylon Curry House is the premier restaurant in Mirissa for authentic Sri Lankan Curry and other Sri Lankan favorites like kottu roti, mango chutney, and papadam!
Also, unlike the first few restaurants on this list, Ceylon Curry House is a great option for travelers on a tight budget.
You can get a full meal for less than $5!
Their signature curry platter costs just 1050 LKR ($3), the Coconut Rotti Combo is just 700 LKR ($2), and all of their Kottu plates are 700-1400 LKR ($2-5).
For the curry platters, you choose a base (vegetable, chicken, fish, etc.), and the restaurant will bring you 4-5 different small bowls of various curries. You can also add additional curries if you’d like to try more.
The restaurant is located on Matara Rd, just a short walk from the beach. If you’re struggling to find it, go to Barista Coffeehouse, which is right above it on the 2nd floor.
5. Brizo
Address: Junction, Udupila Road, Mirissa
Opening Hours: 8:00 AM – 9:00 PM (Daily)
Menu
Brizo is another beachfront restaurant in Mirissa, just a few hundred meters from SALT.
They’re known for seafood but actually have a lot of variety on their menu, so even if you don’t prefer seafood (like us), you’ll certainly be able to find something appetizing.
It’s very similar to the rest of the beachfront cafes. The whole restaurant is open-air, sunbeds and beachside tables are available for customers to use, and boogie board rentals are nearby for those who want to get into the water after lunch.
The owner here was particularly hospitable to us, and although we only ordered drinks and tapas, all the food was really tasty.
Brizo also offers candle-lit dinners in the evening—call for a reservation because they can be very crowded—and live music on the weekend.
6. The Slow – Stolen Paradise
Address: Slow – Stolen Paradise, Matara Rd, Mirissa
Opening Hours: 8:00 AM – 10:00 PM (Daily)
Menu
Nestled between Parrot Rock and Coconut Tree Hill is a cozy design hotel + vegan restaurant called The Slow – Stolen Paradise.
The restaurant is 100% vegan and is a great place to have breakfast with a view of the ocean.
Breakfast is available all day. The menu includes smoothie bowls, avocado toast, coco yogurt with granola, and even vegan pancakes.
However, if you visit later in the day, you can also take advantage of the dinner menu.
This includes several other vegan dishes, such as Pad Thai, cauliflower steak, veggie burgers, Sri Lankan curry, vegan pasta, and The Jack (one of their signature jackfruit dishes).
7. Fujisan
Address: Latheena Resort, Mirissa, A2
Opening Hours: 7:00 AM – 10:00 PM (Daily)
Fujisan is right between Mirissa and Weligama, so it’s easy to visit from either town.
This eatery is connected to Latheena Resort, where we stayed for a week in Mirissa, so we ate there nearly every evening! We may not have found it otherwise. It’s a very low-key restaurant, so we probably wouldn’t have found it without staying at the guesthouse.
The owner has lived all around Asia and specializes in Asian Fusion cuisine. However, you’ll also find Japanese dishes, Chinese delicacies, Sri Lankan curries, and Western food.
Surprisingly, their Mexican food (Burrito + Fajitas) was our favorite meal here.
Fujisan is also one of the cheapest restaurants in Mirissa, and the portions are massive!
Places to see In Mirissa
Although you might not be crazy for doing so, I assume you didn’t come to Mirissa just to eat. So, here are a few of our favorite things to do around town!
Surf in Weligama: Only Arugam Bay has a bigger surf culture than Weligama. But unlike Arugam Bay, Weligama’s soft sand breaks make it the best place in Sri Lanka for beginners to learn how to surf. It’s just a few kilometers away from Mirissa Beach, and the shoreline is lined with surf rentals.
Book a private surf lesson ahead of time for less than $20 here!
Visit Secret Beach: Secret Beach is a small cove just west of Mirissa Beach, and it’s one of our favorite beaches in Sri Lanka. Unfortunately, you can’t walk here easily from Mirissa, but you can hire a tuk-tuk or drive yourself to the cove in about 10 minutes!
Coconut Tree Hill: Coconut Tree Hill is a viewpoint with sparse, photogenic palm trees on the east side of Mirissa Beach (not to be confused with Parrot Rock). This area gets very busy during midday, so we’d actually recommend visiting around sunset!
Whale Watching: Whale watching is the most popular tour in Mirissa, but you should only go during the high season (November – April). Otherwise, the water will be really choppy, and you’re unlikely to see whales. But if you go in the winter, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Closing Thoughts
There are a ton of places to eat in Mirissa – the ones included on this list are just the ones that we feel comfortable personally recommending and where we’ve had really good experiences!
You can also find more restaurants worth visiting in Weligama, just 10 minutes west of Mirissa!
If you happen to find some new restaurants in Mirissa, have a favorite that didn’t make the list, or notice any restaurants have closed, let us know! We want to keep our posts as up-to-date as possible!
