Last updated 21st January 2019
Not every restaurant in Sri Lanka serves alcohol. That may not be convenient when you fancy a bottle of wine with your meal, but it’s great news since you don’t have to pay a restaurant’s 300 per cent mark up on retail prices for alcohol. You simply bring your own bottle (BYOB).
BYOB in Sri Lanka is becoming more popular as the licence fee that a restaurant has to pay means it needs to charge a huge mark-up to make a profit selling alcohol which, plus tax and service charge, makes restaurant drinking an expensive luxury.
It’s fine to drink in style and to-hell-with-the-expense when you’re celebrating something special, but if you just want a drink and a meal with friends after a day on the beach of trudging around ruins, you need something cheap and cheerful. So bring your own bottle. No problem. Just be ready to pay corkage – that’s to cover service, glasses and even ice.
Here are some of the places we know about where you can bring your own bottle. We’re sure there are lots of other BYOB places out of Colombo. So if you know of any place that permits BYOB, just send us an email with the details: hello [@] srilankaholidayguru.com
We’ll be happy to recommend a place for our readers if you’ve enjoyed good service, good food, and good fun there.
BYOB COLOMBO
168 Seafood Restaurant
8A Sea view avenue, Colombo 3 
Get directions
Alcohol- No corkage fee
Phone- 0112 573 456
Dress – Casual
Food price – Rs2000 – 2500+
Opening hours – Every day 11.00 to 15.00 and 18.00 to 23.00
Barracuda by Breez (Gall Face)
Green Path Colombo 3 Get directions
Alcohol- No corkage fee. Minimum spend Rs1500 per head
Phone- 0770 707 050
Dress – Casual
Food price – Rs1000 – 2000+
Opening hours – Every day 12.00 to 1.00
Baraccuda Seafood & Grill
41/2, Wasala Road, Dehiwela- Mount Lavinia Get directions
Alcohol- No corkage fee. Minimum spend Rs1500 per head
Phone- 0770 207 733
Dress – Casual
Food price – Rs1000 – 2000+
Opening hours – Every day 11.00 to 23.00
Box Colony
308/ A, Pannipitiya Road, Pelawatte, Battaramulla Get directions
Alcohol- No corkage fee
Phone- 0114 328 001
Dress – Casual
Food price – Rs950 – 2000+
Opening hours – Every day 11.00 to 15.00 and 18.00 to 22.00
Buba Restaurant And Beach Club
42/11, Vihara Road, Dehiwela- Mount Lavinia Get directions
Alcohol- Corkage fee Rs350 per bottle. Corkage waived off for bills over Rs10,000
Phone- 0772 649 702
Dress – Casual
Food price – Rs500 – 1000+
Opening hours – Every day 10.00 to 24.00
House favourites
Seafood dishes and mixed platter
Chatz
79, Horton Place, Colombo 7 Get directions
Alcohol- No corkage fee. Minimum spend Rs1000 per head. Reservation recommended
Phone- 0117 226 888
Dress – Smart Casual
Food price – Rs1000- 1200+
Opening hours – Every day 11.00 to 23.00 Friday open till 1.00 or 2.00
Chinese 88
98/1 Sri Sambuddhathva Jayanthi Mawatha, Colombo Get directions
Alcohol- No corkage fee. Minimum spend Rs1000 per head
Phone- 0112 593 017
Dress – Smart Casual
Food price – Rs1000- 2000+
Opening hours – Every day 13.00 to 15.00 and 18.00 to 23.00
JoJo’s Place
43/ 6 A De Alwis Avenue, Dehiwela- Mount Lavinia Get directions
Alcohol- Corkage fee Rs500 per bottle. For bills over Rs10,000 no corkage fee
Phone- 0777 530 063
Dress – Casual
Food price – Rs500+ (One portion serves for two)
Opening hours – Every day 11.00 to 23.00 Weekends till 24.00
Mona’s Kitchen
80, Pannipitiya Road, Battaramulla Get directions
Alcohol- Bar available at the venue. Corkage fee for foreign Liquor – Rs1500, local Liquor – Rs1000
Phone- 0112 885 881
Dress – Casual
Food price – Rs2000+
Opening hours – Every day 12.00 to 24.00
Monsoon
50/2, Park Street Mews, Colombo 2 Get directions
Alcohol- Bar available at the venue Bar opening hours – 12.00 14.00 16.00- 23.00. Corkage fee Rs2000 per bottle
Phone- 0112 302 449
Dress – Casual
Food price – Rs2500+
Opening hours – Every day 12.00 to 22.30. Friday and Saturday open till – 12.00 to 23.00
House favourites
South-East Asian street food
Lunch hours- 12 .00 – 15.00. Snacks (noodles) – 15.00 – 18.00. Dinner hours – 18.00-23.00
Randholi RNB
88 Bernard Soysa Mawatha, Colombo Get directions
Alcohol- Corkage fee Rs1500 per bottle
Phone- 0112 368 208
Dress – Casual
Food price – Rs1000+
Opening hours – Every day 11.30 to 23.30
Sea Fish Restaurant and Bar
Sir Chithampalam A Gardiner Mawatha, Colombo 2 Get directions
Alcohol- Bar available at the venue. Corkage fee Rs2000 per bottle
Phone- 0112 326 915
Dress – Casual
Food price – Rs1500+
Opening hours – Every day 11.30 to 23.30
House favourites
Seafood. Roast paan with seafood
Shangdong, the Chinese Kitchen
Sri Jayawardenepura Mawatha, Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte Get directions
Alcohol- No corkage fee. Private dining available. Minimum spend Rs1500 per head. Reservation ahead recommended
Phone- 0117 882 882
Dress – Casual
Food price – Rs1000- 1200+
Opening hours – Every day 11.00 to 15.00 and 18.00 to 23.00
House favourites
Crystal Fried Rice made out of Jasmine Thai Rice
Shanghai terrace
811, Kotte Road, Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte Get directions
Alcohol- No corkage fee. Foreign liquor available on the venue
Phone- 0112 878 878
Dress – Casual
Food price – Rs1000 – 2000+ (One small portion serves for two)
Opening hours – Every day 11.00 to 15.00 and 18.00 to 23.00
House favourites
Hot butter cuttlefish and Singapore Chillie Crab
Smokestacks by Licensed to Grill
190, Cotta Road, Colombo 8 Get directions
Alcohol- No corkage fee. Minimum spend Rs1000 per head
Phone- 0771 874 286
Dress – Casual
Food price – Rs650 – 3000+
Opening hours – Every day 10.00 to 22.00
House favourites
Smoked Platter Smoked Pork Sandwich Creamy Mushroom Pasta
The Deck
Peter’s Lane Dehiwala Get directions
Alcohol- Corkage fee Rs500 per bottle
Phone- 070 233 7290
Dress – Casual
Food price – Rs1200- 2000+ (One large portion serves for four)
Opening hours – Every day 10.00 to 23.00
House favourites
Sri Lankanised-Chinese
The Four Leafed clover
168, Maya Avenue, Colombo 5 Get directions
Alcohol- Corkage fee Rs1000 per bottle
Phone- 076 1690 006
Dress – Casual
Food price – Rs1500 – 2000+
Opening hours – Every day 24.30 to 23.00. Closed on Mondays
House favourites
Pad thai cake and Sprout based pork meal
The Port McCallum Lock Gate
Mccullum Road, Colombo 1 Get directions
Alcohol- Bar available at venue Rs900 extra for a bottle. Corkage fee Rs1500 for foreign liquor and Rs1000 for local liquor
Phone- 0113 668 688 or 0775 622 457
Dress – Casual
Food price – Rs1000+
Opening hours – Every day 11.30 to 14.20 and 18.30 to 22.30
The station Restaurant & Bar
1/41, Wasala Lane, Colombo Get directions
Alcohol- Bar available at the venue. Bar opening hours 17.00 to 23.00. Corkage fee Rs1200.
Phone- 0112 715 232
Dress – Casual
Food price – Rs1000+
Opening hours – Every day 11.00 to 24.00 Sunday: 11.00 to 24.00
Zen Japanese Restaurant
115, Rosmead Place, Colombo 7 Get directions
Alcohol- Corkage fee for hard liqueur Rs3500 and Rs1500 for wine
Phone- 0112 681 883
Dress – Smart Casual
Food price – Rs1000- 1200+
Opening hours – Every day 11.30 to 23.00
