Kolamba

What Kolamba does

Kolamba is a privately held Sri Lankan restaurant group operating two dine-in locations in London: the original Kolamba Soho at 21 Kingly Street in the West End and Kolamba East at 12 Blossom Street near Liverpool Street and Spitalfields. The group's offering centres on authentic Sri Lankan home-style cooking rooted in recipes from family and friends in Colombo, with menus featuring sharing-style curries, rice dishes, sambols, rotis, and cocktails. Beyond core restaurant dining, Kolamba operates private dining rooms (accommodating up to 26 guests at East and up to 40 at Soho), full venue hire for events (up to 96 guests at East), themed experiences such as the £35 Saturday Island Feast brunch and Pre-Theatre Dining, a children's menu (£9 Little Lankan), seasonal Christmas offerings, and food delivery through Deliveroo. Gift cards are sold online via dedicated GiftPro storefronts for each site.

The business operates with minimal proprietary technology — it is a traditional hospitality operation that consumes third-party SaaS rather than building its own stack: SevenRooms powers reservations, GiftPro handles digital gift card commerce, and Deliveroo provides last-mile delivery. The technology stack is functional rather than differentiating; competitive distinction rests on cuisine authenticity, recipe provenance, and physical location quality rather than technology or data assets. Customer acquisition is driven by direct-to-consumer channels — Instagram and Facebook presence, the Kolamba Diaries editorial blog, an email newsletter, and word-of-mouth — supplemented by event-driven marketing through seasonal and special occasion programming. The customer base is consumer end-diners with a secondary private events segment serving groups, celebrations, and corporate gatherings.

Kolamba's revenue model is fundamentally transactional: per-cover food and beverage sales at both restaurants, supplemented by per-order Deliveroo delivery revenue, one-time private event and venue hire fees scaled to group size and scope, and prepaid gift card sales. Pricing is structured à la carte with daypart-specific promotions (Monday £5 corkage, 30% off late-night dining after 9pm at East) and set-price offerings (Saturday Island Feast at £35, Little Lankan children's menu at £9). The business is founder-owned and independently operated with no disclosed institutional investors, no funding rounds, and no public financial disclosures; both locations are active and accepting reservations.

Name

Kolamba

Legal name

Kolamba

Website

https://kolamba.co.uk

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Kolamba is a privately held Sri Lankan restaurant group operating two dine-in locations in London (Soho and Spitalfields), serving sharing-style Sri Lankan cuisine, private dining events, Deliveroo delivery, and gift cards to individual diners and group occasion customers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sri Lankan Restaurant

NAICS

Restaurants and Other Eating Places (72251), Full-Service Restaurants (722511), Limited-Service Restaurants (722513)

SIC

Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810), Retail-Eating Places (5812)

akta.pro primary industry

Ethnic & Regional Cuisine Restaurants (THAFACAD)

Keywords

• Sri Lankan restaurant
• Private dining events
• Food delivery service
• Authentic South Asian cuisine
• Themed dining experiences

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Restaurant Dining (Food and Beverage Sales): Primary revenue stream from dine-in customers at both Kolamba Soho and Kolamba East locations. Customers order from a la carte menus featuring Sri Lankan curries, rice dishes, rotis, sambols, and cocktails.
2. Delivery Orders: Revenue from food delivery orders placed through Deliveroo platform, bringing Sri Lankan dishes directly to customers' homes or offices.
3. Private Event Dining: Revenue from private dining room bookings, group dining reservations, and full venue hire for events. Prices vary by group size and venue hire scope.
4. Gift Card Sales: Sale of gift cards through dedicated giftpro.co.uk storefronts for both Soho and East locations, providing prepaid dining experiences.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Kolamba operates two Sri Lankan restaurants in London (Kolamba Soho and Kolamba East) serving authentic home-style Sri Lankan cuisine including curries, rice dishes, sambols, rotis, hoppers, and street food. Beyond dine-in, the business offers private dining and venue hire for groups, food delivery via Deliveroo, and gift card sales for both locations.

Product overview

Kolamba is a Sri Lankan restaurant group operating two London locations: Kolamba Soho in the heart of Soho and Kolamba East near Liverpool Street/Spitalfields. The offering consists of the core restaurant dining experiences (Kolamba Soho and Kolamba East) complemented by private dining services, delivery via Deliveroo, and a range of themed dining experiences including Saturday Island Feast brunch, Lunch Like a Lankan set menu, Pre-Theatre Dining, Late Night Dining, and seasonal Christmas offerings. The product portfolio includes curated menus (A La Carte, Kolamba Favourites, Drinks and Desserts), private event services, food delivery, and a culinary blog called Kolamba Diaries. Both locations offer group booking options with distinct capacity capabilities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Kolamba Soho Dine-in Sri Lankan restaurant at 21 Kingly Street, London W1B 5QA, serving authentic Sri Lankan home-style cooking including bold curries, aromatic rice dishes, freshly made roti, and shareable dishes in a cosy atmosphere. Open Monday to Saturday 12pm-10pm, Sunday 12pm-9pm. Accepts walk-ins at the bar counter.
• Kolamba East Dine-in Sri Lankan restaurant at 12 Blossom Street, London E1 6PL, featuring a central cocktail bar, curated wine list, and show-stopping feasting plates alongside signature Sri Lankan dishes. Includes private dining spaces. Open Tuesday-Saturday 12pm-3pm and 5pm-10pm, Monday 5pm-10pm, closed Sunday.
• Private Dining & Venue Hire Private event dining service for groups and celebrations. At Kolamba East, guests can book main dining area for up to 14, private dining room for up to 26 (or 14 in split setup), and full venue hire up to 96 guests. At Kolamba Soho, main dining up to 10, downstairs area up to 26, and full venue hire up to 40 guests. Suitable for gatherings with friends, family, or colleagues, including private dining events, corporate gatherings, milestone celebrations, and team meals.
• Kolamba Delivery (via Deliveroo) Food delivery service bringing Sri Lankan dishes including hearty curries, refreshing sambols, and street food directly to customers' homes or offices across London through the Deliveroo platform.
• Saturday Island Feast Brunch Vibrant thali-inspired brunch experience at Kolamba East every Saturday from 12pm to 2:30pm, featuring rice, curries, coconut-based sambols, papadums, mutton rolls, and crispy treats. Priced at £35 per person with unlimited hoppers, minimum group of 2 or 4.
• Lunch Like a Lankan Set Menu Set lunch menu inspired by Sri Lanka's daily lunch ritual, featuring rice, shared curries, and aromatic spices. Available at both Kolamba Soho and Kolamba East locations for midday diners.
• Christmas Dining Festive seasonal Sri Lankan-inspired Christmas dining menus offered at both Kolamba Soho and Kolamba East locations, with special group dining menus and private dining options for the festive period.
• Little Lankan Children's Menu Children's menu at Kolamba Soho offering warming chicken curry and dahl served with choice of hoppers or rice, plus orange or apple juice, priced at £9 per child.
• Kolamba Gift Cards Prepaid gift cards sold online through dedicated GiftPro storefronts at kolambasoho.giftpro.co.uk and kolambaeast.giftpro.co.uk, redeemable for dining experiences at the respective Kolamba Soho and Kolamba East restaurants.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• DeliveroocoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorKolamba partners with Deliveroo for food delivery services, allowing customers to order Sri Lankan dishes from both locations for home or office delivery across London.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Hoppers: Hoppers is a London restaurant group specializing in Sri Lankan and South Indian cuisine with multiple sites (Soho, King's Cross, Marylebone). It is the closest direct peer to Kolamba, competing for the same diners in central London with an overlapping Sri Lankan small-plates concept.
• Trishna: Trishna is a Marylebone-based South Indian coastal cuisine restaurant with a Michelin star, operated within the same broader ethnic Indian/South Asian London dining segment. Comparable to Kolamba as a culturally-rooted ethnic restaurant with strong private dining and City/West End adjacency.
• Dishoom: Dishoom is a well-known London restaurant group with multiple locations serving Bombay-inspired Indian cuisine in a similarly differentiated, story-led full-service format. Comparable to Kolamba in scale (multi-site London operator), positioning (cultural authenticity in a casual full-service setting), and audience (West End and City diners, pre-theatre, weekend brunch).
• Bao: Bao is a London restaurant group serving Taiwanese-inspired food with multiple sites across central London. Comparable to Kolamba as an Asian ethnic cuisine multi-site London operator with strong social media presence, group dining, and counter-style service alongside full service.
• Lahpet: Lahpet is a London restaurant group serving Burmese cuisine with sites in Covent Garden and other central locations. Directly comparable to Kolamba as an independent multi-site operator in a niche Southeast/South Asian cuisine category, targeting similar urban dining audiences.
• The Palomar: The Palomar is a Soho-based restaurant serving modern Levantine and Jerusalem-inspired cuisine. Comparable to Kolamba as an independent, full-service ethnic restaurant operating in the same Soho dining market with similar pre-theatre diner appeal.
• Kahani: Kahani is a fine-dining Indian restaurant located in Chelsea, London, founded by a chef with cultural roots. Comparable to Kolamba as a London-based, story-led, culturally authentic ethnic restaurant emphasizing premium private dining and full-service experiences.
• Jikoni: Jikoni is a Marylebone-based restaurant serving pan-Asian and South Asian inspired small-plate cuisine. Comparable to Kolamba as a London ethnic cuisine restaurant emphasizing sharing-style menus, cultural storytelling, and private/group dining experiences.
• Gymkhana: Gymkhana is a Michelin-starred Indian fine-dining restaurant in Mayfair, London, focused on upscale club-style Indian cuisine. It is comparable to Kolamba as a London-based, culturally-rooted ethnic cuisine full-service restaurant targeting premium diners and private events in central London.

Broad incumbents

• Tamarind Kitchen: Tamarind Kitchen is the casual sibling of the upscale Tamarind Indian restaurant in Mayfair, London. Comparable to Kolamba as a London-based operator in the broader Indian/South Asian full-service dining segment, though it benefits from brand association with a well-established incumbent restaurant.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/kolamba.ldn
• Instagraminstagram.com/kolamba.ldn/?hl=en
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/kolamba

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Kolamba