Like big cities around the world Colombo offers a selection of clubs, pubs, lounges, bars and casinos spread throughout the city with a concentration in the Fort area and down Galle Road and Duplication Road. The bars and clubs in the Fort area are usually part of big hotels. However exciting new venues appear to be changing the city’s night time scene. Cinnamon Red Colombo one of the newest business hotels Colombo in the heart of Colpetty is located close to where the action is.
Although many night spots are still the traditional dim indoor venues crowded with people, the culture is changing somewhat with many night owls preferring to sit out in the open on rooftops of the latest lounges that offer gorgeous city views, informal seating and innovative cocktail mixes. Some venues also offer open cobblestoned areas where pub crawlers can sit on wooden chairs and enjoy drinks, listen to live music, dance if they want to and have their pick of food from the restaurants around. The high point of many city clubs are the special events held throughout the year featuring music for dancing, good food and drink. Ladies nights and other promotions draw the crowds. The city pubs are not to be out done. Some of them have promotions during the weekends that attract a full house and some have always been more popular than others. Some pubs have created an interesting ambience, offer specially designed cocktails and are popular with people who enjoy a quiet drink and chat with friends. Pub crawlers can also head down to the Mt Lavinia beach to enjoy food, drinks and dancing on the beach. Colombo also has a series of restaurants cum bars that are frequented by local tipsters although no live music and dancing is available here and they are not the usual ‘night spot’. Some of these are now classified as dodgy bars and are part of a popular nighttime city tour. Night spots routinely start at around 10 pm and continue into the wee hours of the morning.
Thanuja Silva is a travel writer who writes under the pen name Auburn Silver. She has a passion for fashion and a deep interest in admiring new and exotic attractions around the world.