This July, Kolamba founders Eroshan and Aushi Meewella will open the doors to Kolamba East, their second London restaurant, on Blossom Street, at the meeting point of Spitalfields, Shoreditch and the City.
Following the success of their first restaurant Kolamba – which opened in Soho in 2019 – the second outpost will showcase the duo’s modern take on Sri Lankan home-cooking, bringing the bold and vibrant flavours of Colombo to east London.
The menu at Kolamba East will revive dishes from Eroshan and Aushi’s childhoods spent in the city, highlighting the culinary diversity of Colombo’s heritage. Often based on dishes handed down by family and friends, Eroshan’s recipes celebrate the communities of Sinhalese, Tamil, Moor, Burger (Dutch) and Malay descent that call Sri Lanka’s capital their home.
At Kolamba East, guests will be able to enjoy a brand new menu of dishes that bring to life more of the Meewellas’ memories of the island. These will start with snacks or ‘short eats’, such as Mas Paan, a fluffy bun filled will slow cooked black pork curry, served with pineapple jam, and Idli with Sambar, which sees savoury rice and lentil dumplings paired with a duo of sweet and spicy chutneys.
The menu will also include a new selection of larger feasting plates, such as the Moor King Prawn String Hopper Biryani, a dish originating from the Ceylon Moor community, made with alternating layers of delicate steamed noodles and a rich king prawn curry, and a Jaffna Lamb Shank, served in a rich and spicy tamarind sauce. Diners will also be able to enjoy dishes of Red mullet in coconut, which sees the delicate fish served in a creamy coconut curry with tangy notes of tamarind and chilli, and Roasted Pineapple Fry, in which sweet and spicy pineapple is sautéed with cardamom and mustard seeds.
Further vegetable dishes include Dhal with spinach – a staple in Sri Lankan homes made with split red lentils and Broccoli Mallung, a medley of diced broccoli, onion and grated coconut in a lime dressing. Diners will also be able to choose from a new selection of flavour-packed sambols, including a Heritage tomato sambol, a salad of heirloom tomatoes with chilli, red onion and coriander, and a spicy White Pol Sambol, made with grated fresh coconut, which is ground with spicy raw chilli peppers and aromatic herbs. To finish, desserts include Payasam, a rice pudding hailing from the north of Sri Lanka, flavoured with toasty cinnamon and raisins.
L-R: Roasted Pineapple Fry, Moor King Prawn String Hopper Biryani. Credit: Anton Rodriguez
The 92-cover restaurant will be located in the Norton Folgate development, a new destination that sits at the meeting point of Spitalfields, Shoreditch and the City. Just a short walk from Liverpool Street Station, Kolamba East will find its home among the development’s carefully restored Georgian and Victorian buildings, and heritage warehouses. Alongside two private dining rooms, Kolamba East will include a dedicated central bar – a new offering for the Kolamba team, serving cocktails made using Sri Lankan spirits and ingredients that reflect the food menu. Drinks on the menu include the Curry Leaf Gimlet, a clarified cocktail of curry ghee-washed gin and lime, and a Colombo Sour made with Colombo Gin and a cashew orgeat, alongside a carefully considered wine list, specifically curated to pair with the Kolamba East menu’s bold flavours and spicing.
The interior design of the space is led by Annie Harrison of London studio FARE INC., in collaboration with Whitebox London, the property development and design company co-founded by Aushi and Eroshan. Echoing the design of Kolamba’s Soho location – which was awarded Best Interior at the GQ Food & Drink Awards in 2021 – the space will pay homage to the work of the celebrated Sri Lankan architect, Geoffrey Bawa. The interiors channel the Tropical Modernism movement he pioneered, through plaster relief panels sporting leaf motifs and emerald marble paving, contrasted with timber panelling and original exposed brickwork.
Through Whitebox, Aushi has also worked closely with local artists and suppliers to champion emerging Sri Lankan talent and incorporate design elements distinctive to the island, including batik fabrics by designer Sonali Dharmawardena; a diptych drawing of water buffalo by artist Pragreeth Manohansa, and bespoke dining chairs and lotus table lamps handcrafted by Colombo artisans.
