iEat Matara Rest House

Great food in a nostalgic atmosphere

Many Matara professionals come here on weekends. There’s a lot of demand for our seafood dishes.
— Saman (oldest waiter)

Rest houses

The British built rest houses across the country to accommodate colonial officers when they travelled outside of the capital city, Colombo. The rest houses are typically bungalow-style properties at some of the country’s nicest locations, the Matara rest house is no exception; overlooking the ocean with a cooling sea breeze, a lovely place to stay and enjoy the Matara nights.

Sense of nostalgia

Even today, the Matara Rest House is a great place to spend the night, the comfortable rooms with wide verandas are set around a lovely courtyard. The restaurant is also popular. Local families come here for the elaborate rice and curry and to catch up with friends. The whole place has a sense of nostalgia with friendly waiters, old-fashioned wooden chairs, historic photographs and even an ancient hand-operated fan blowing a cinnamon scent across the dining hall.

On a nice sunset evening, sipping Lion beer with fried cashew nuts is my taste of the rest house. – Prathini

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