Ministry of Crab
Old Dutch Hospital Complex, 4 Hospital Street, Colombo 00100, Sri Lanka
Cuisine:SeafoodSri Lankan
- Dine-in
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In short
A busy restaurant and bar on Ella's main street, serving Sri Lankan and Western food from breakfast to late evening. It is a social stop for rail travellers after a day of walking.
Cafe Chill is a busy restaurant and bar on the main street of Ella, the hill country village in Sri Lanka's Badulla District. It serves Sri Lankan and Western food from breakfast to late evening and suits travellers on the Kandy to Badulla rail route who want a social place to eat after a day of walking.
The restaurant is on the Ella to Passara road, a few minutes on foot from Ella railway station. The trailheads for Little Adam's Peak and the Nine Arch Bridge are close by.
The ground floor is a large dining area surrounded by plants. Upstairs the mood is looser, with bean bags and low seating looking down on the street. By evening the place fills with travellers.
Reviewers rate the Sri Lankan dishes highest. Lamprais, the Dutch Burgher rice parcel baked in a banana leaf, takes time to prepare and is the dish most worth ordering. A full rice and curry spread is the other local choice. For those who want something familiar after hiking, there are burgers, chicken schnitzel and pizzas. A meal for two with drinks is good value by tourist standards.
Cafe Chill opens daily at 08:30 for breakfast and serves through lunch and dinner. The kitchen closes at 22:00 and the bar stays open until 00:30.
An early dinner straight after a hike avoids the evening crowd and leaves time for the lamprais to be made.
In 2024 Cafe Chill was listed in the Travelers' Choice Best of the Best awards for casual dining. A third-floor chill-out space sits above the two main dining levels, and music plays through the day.
Sources: The Morning, 2024. Facts checked November 2026.
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OpenSun - 08:30–00:30
- Monday08:30–00:30
- Tuesday08:30–00:30
- Wednesday08:30–00:30
- Thursday08:30–00:30
- Friday08:30–00:30
- Saturday08:30–00:30
- Sunday08:30–00:30
- Kitchen08:30 – 22:00
- BarUntil 00:30
Dine-inBar
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