Giant Crab Curry at The Station, Colombo, Sri Lanka

Giant Crab Curry

by The Station, Colombo, Sri Lanka

I wanted to try something very special on my first day in Colombo.

In the evening, I took a rickshaw to the coast to order world-famous Sri Lankan crab curry from The Station. This was going to be my first experience with Sri Lankan food, and what an introduction it was!

Sri Lankan crab curry in Colombo

Video

Because each curry dish is made from scratch when you order, it can take a while for your food to arrive. It's not unusual to wait for an hour or more for your crab curry to be served. I recommend ordering a few beers and an appetizer or two to tide you over while you enjoy the sunset on the beach.

We started off by ordering a serving of The Station's famous cheese toast as an appetizer.

Triangle-shaped pieces of toast are topped with melted and toasted cheese, and small, finely chopped pieces of purple onion, red chili, and green chili. It's mildly spicy - not overwhelmingly so - and the aromatics give the cheese toast an incredible flavor.

The cheese toast is served with optional ketchup for dipping, but I don't think it's necessary at all.

famous cheese toast at The Station, Colombo

Next, we tried pol sambol (usually just called "sambol"), which roughly translates to "coconut relish". This is a traditional Sri Lankan dish, and one of the country's popular national dishes.

Sri Lankan sambol

Sambol is a sort of condiment made from fresh grated coconut pounded together on a granite slab with shallots, dried whole red and green chilies, salt, and fresh lime juice.

The result is a strongly flavored spicy dish that is often served as an accompaniment to dishes such as hoppers (Sri Lankan pancakes) or curries.

The sambol that we tried was served with our curry alongside slices of buttery bread, which were used as a vessel for eating the flavorful sambol. Sambol is sweet, spicy, slightly sour, and very umami. 

sambol and toast in Colombo, Sri Lanka

We also ordered a big plate of fried rice to share. Fried rice goes great with just about everything (especially seafood) and is a useful palate cleanser when you are eating something spicy, such as a curry.

fried rice in Colombo, Sri Lanka

All of this, however, was just a prelude to our main dish: Sri Lankan crab curry, which arrived in a sizzling bowl piled high with incredible crab meat.

We had an absolutely fantastic waiter who taught us how to expertly crack open the crab's shell to get out every bite of the rich, sweet crab meat.

The gigantic crab (this wasn't even the largest portion on the menu!) was cooked for an hour in a rich blend of turmeric, curry powder, black pepper, chilies, and other Sri Lankan spices. The flavorful curry soaked into the crab meat infusing it with all of the delicious flavors.

a bowl of sweet and spicy Sri Lankan crab curry

Sri Lankan seafood goes great with an ice-cold bottle of Lion Lager!

Lion is the most popular beer in Sri Lanka, and is pretty much ubiquitous throughout the country. Established in 1849 by English explorer Sir Samuel Baker, Lion Brewery is a Sri Lankan Institution.

It's best enjoyed while watching the sunset on a beautiful tropical beach.

Sri Lankan Lion Lager

Price

If you are on a budget, there are more affordable dishes on the menu, but the crab curry is not cheap. This entire meal for three of crab curry (XXL size), sambol, fried rice, cheese toast, and three bottles of Lion cost us 45,000 rupees, or around $145 USD. It's the most expensive meal I've ever featured on The World of Street Food, which generally tries to focus on budget-friendly dining around the world.

However, if it's a special occasion, it's worth the splurge.

The crab is the most expensive item on the menu, and the price varies according to the weight of the crab. Other seafood dishes will run around $5-10 USD (1,500-3,000 LKR). This is still expensive for Sri Lanka, but reasonable for high-quality seafood.

Sri Lankan seafood feast at Wellawatte Beach, Colombo, Sri Lanka

Location

The Station is located at 1, 41 Wasala Rd, Colombo right between the train tracks and the beautiful Wellawatte Beach. Every 15 minutes or so, you can watch the train pass behind the restaurant.

The Station Seafood Restaurant and Bar, Colombo, Sri Lanka

The Station opens around 5pm, and I recommend arriving as early as possible, because it tends to get crowded later in the evening.

It's best if you can arrive in time to watch the sun set over the beach!

There is a live band at 7:30pm on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

Wellawatte, Colombo, Sri Lanka

See the exact location on the map below.