Cafés in Havelock Town & Narahenpita

Havelock Road and Stratford Avenue

Havelock Road has Cafe Brewtique at number 69 and Ceylon Coffee Club at 216. On Stratford Avenue, The Cauldron is at 68 and Barista has a branch; Cafe Rafaella is at 145 Thimbirigasyaya Road, Spark At Park on Park Road, and Blue Spoon café at 90A Jawatta Road. Cafe Che is on Stafford Lane and SmoochyS on Udyana Pura Road.

Java Lounge’s branch on Jawatte Road opens at 07:30 and stays open until 23:30 Monday to Thursday and until midnight Friday to Sunday. Cafe Longdon, at 6 Longden Place, has Wi-Fi and air-conditioning.

The district’s open spaces are Havelock Park and the Edward Henry Pedris Grounds, also called Havelock Grounds, with the Edward Henry Pedris Children’s Library; Isipathanaramaya Temple is also in the neighborhood.¹

Isipathana Mawatha and Kirulapone

Rose OUD, at 51/2 Isipathana Mawatha, calls itself a rose-themed luxury café and serves desserts, waffles, light dishes and high tea, daily from 10:00 to 22:00; it takes reservations by phone.⁴

South toward Kirulapone, Cove Cafe & Lounge is on Kirulapone Avenue and Al Fresco Garden Cafe on Ananda Nahimi Mawatha. E-Cafe, at 120/A Sri Sambuddhathva Jayanthi Mawatha, opens 09:00 and closes at midnight every day, with takeaway. Diwerse Café is off Circular B Road in Evergreen Park.

Narahenpita and the road to Nawala

Narahenpita has become Colombo’s hospital district, with Kings, Asiri, Lanka, Ninewells and the Army and Police hospitals, as well as the National Blood Bank and the Survey Department. Trains on the Kelani Valley line stop here.³

Ibson’s Choice opened its first café on Narahenpita Road in Nawala in 2022. It is named after Ibson, the pocket cartoon that editor Rex de Silva drew for decades, and offers free Starlink Wi-Fi, a cherry tree and DJ Sundays.⁵ On its October 2026 menu a red velvet latte cost Rs 1,050 and the Ibson’s big breakfast Rs 1,890, before the 10% service charge.⁵ The café sits at 51 Narahenpita–Nawala Road; Barista’s Narahenpita branch is in the Cool Planet store.

Rain, heat and timing a visit

Colombo has two monsoon seasons, from April to June and from September to November, and heavy rain falls in both. October is the wettest month, at about 359 mm, followed by November and May; daytime highs stay around 30–32 °C all year.² In Colombo 5 that makes the air-conditioned rooms, such as Cafe Longdon’s, the safer choice on a monsoon afternoon.