There is a moment, usually somewhere between the first crack of an egg hopper and the slow warmth of tamarind in a lamb kari, when Hoppers Sri Lankan London stops feeling like a restaurant and starts feeling like a small, rather wonderful discovery. With branches in Soho, King’s Cross, Shoreditch and Marylebone, Hoppers has spent a decade refining what Sri Lankan street food can look and taste like in the capital, and the results are, by any measure, exceptional.
The rooms themselves set the tone before a single dish arrives. Exposed brick sits alongside wood panelling; carved-wood details share walls with pretty patterned tiles. There is warmth here, texture, a sense that the design has been thought about rather than applied. It is the kind of interior that makes you want to linger.
What to Order at Hoppers Sri Lankan London
The egg hopper is the thing. A savoury pancake, lacy and crisp at its edges, soft and yielding at the centre where the egg has set, it is the dish from which the restaurant takes its name, and it earns that billing every time. Order one, or two, and use them to mop up whatever is beside them on the table.
The veggie brinjal kari is a good place to start: aubergine stewed low and slow in mustard and coconut, the kind of dish that rewards patience. For something richer, the south Indian jaggery lamb kari with tamarind is decadent without being heavy, the sweetness of the jaggery pulling against the tartness of the tamarind in a way that keeps drawing you back for another forkful.
Beyond the hoppers, the kitchen turns out slender mutton rolls, breaded, deep-fried and accompanied by a ginger, garlic and chilli ‘ketchup’ that does real work, and dinky dishes of roast bone marrow with a fiery ‘dry’ sauce. The menu gives traditional Sri Lankan street food a distinct energy, neither overly reverential nor carelessly Anglicised. It occupies a register all of its own.
A Decade of Hoppers, and More to Come
The Shoreditch branch carries particular weight this year. According to Hoppers’ Instagram, the east London opening marks ten years since the group was founded, a milestone that puts the restaurant’s growing footprint in perspective. What began as a single site has quietly, steadily become one of London’s more coherent small groups: four locations, each with the same considered aesthetic and the same commitment to Sri Lankan flavour.
And there is more on the way. Hoppers will open a fifth location in early 2026, housed in the Tea Building in east London. For a group that has built its reputation on getting the details right rather than expanding quickly, the announcement suggests confidence rather than overreach.
For anyone planning a trip to London and wondering where to eat well without navigating a reservation list that reads like a waiting list for a private members’ club, Hoppers is the answer a good number of the city’s regulars have already settled on. The cooking is precise, the atmosphere is genuinely inviting, and the egg hopper remains, for this writer’s money, one of the most satisfying single dishes in the capital.
Walk in for lunch in Soho or book ahead for an evening in Marylebone. Either way, order the hopper first, and let the kari follow.