Good food but sadly terrible service. There was one person working the entire place (aside from kitchen staff). We sat next to an uncleared table for our entire meal. Server took about 20-30 minutes just to take our order and then another 30+ minutes for the food to come out. They also sneak in a small charge on the bill to "round up" to the nearest whole dollar, which I'm pretty sure isn't legal.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 1
Jensine Raihan
We had to wait 30 minutes to get some water and to give our order. We had to wait ANOTHER HOUR to get the food.But the food was wonderful especially the calamari, crab curry, and hopper. Like very excellent. The wait time was disappointing so if you come, the food will be good but you may have to wait.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 1
Recommended dishes: Sri Lankan Crab Curry
la. nskey
I loved this restaurant. Highlights for me and my friends were the special vegetables, the chicken and goat curry (goat was a little tough for me but great flavor), dhal amdThe banana leaf rice. The flavors were intense and believe me when I say that if you like your food spicy, medium spice is as spicy as you need to go. This is BYO and cash only. Our waiter was really friendly and helpful with how much to order. We ordered so much food and only spent $35 each with tip - bargain! Would def return and recommend.
I want to come back and try more food here. We got the fish cutlet, cuddle fish curry and pittu; I’d try the kingfish curry instead I think?
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Tisa Saha
The food here is AMAZING! Authentic and properly spiced! Their lamprais is my most favorite meal ever! Wow wow wow!!! I was so worried when I heard a rumor they’d close down after Covid but I’m so glad they’re open. This lamprais is my death row meal.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 3
Revathy Mahendra-Rajah
Fantastic, yummy appam with coconut sambal, idiyappam byriani.
We were looking forward to a good srilankan meal but were disappointed. The string hoppers were too thick and didn’t seem fresh, same for the hoppers. The Kiri Hodi and sambol was barely enough for the amount of string hoppers. We tried watalappan and caramel pudding for dessert and those were good.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 2
Adam Abbas
Cozy hole in the wall style restaurant with excellent authentic food. Everything was so flavorful -- it was our first time eating Sri Lankan food and I enjoyed everything.It should go without saying but all the meals are richly spiced. You can ask for the curries mild, but they'll still have a bit of a kick.
Cash only establishment. Very tight space but manageable. Servers were friendly. We were a party of 4. We ordered aappa, chicken kotthu roti, ulundu vadai, cuttlefish curry, black pork curry, and beef veggie stew. There was virtually no space left on the table once everything was served. This was our very first time trying Sri Lankan food. Everything was packed with heat. If you cannot handle spicy foods, this is probably not the place for you. One of my friends cannot handle even a teensy bit of spice and she couldn't eat anything except rice and cuttlefish curry. The cuttlefish curry was underwhelming. It was on the blander side for us. The beef in the beef veggie stew was really tough. We didn't really touch it. My favorite combo was a piece of the aappa topped with chicken kotthu roti, some rice, and a glop of the sauce that came with the ulundu vadai. I genuinely hope this isn't an offensive combo because it really was yummy and I'd go back to the restaurant just for that.
The service and food were sloooooow, but everything was forgiven when the food was served! I haven't had Sri Lankan food but holy hell... The roti with the coconut sambol were unique in flavor and texture, delicious nevertheless. I also had the black pork curry, medium spicy, and nasi goreng(I think that's what it was!). The black pork curry had deep flavors, the pork was still juicy, and the spice was perfectly medium; spicy enough to make my nose a bit runny but not enough to overwhelm my palette. The nasi goreng was fabulous; all the flavors incorporated were delicious and they didn't skimp on the meats! So many juicy pieces of shrimp, Scallions, squid, pork... Slightly sweet and sour with a bit of a kick. Honestly cannot wait to go back and try more dishes!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
Nij Chawla
Cash only.No drinks here. BYOB. There is a store downstairs with a v tiny wine and a little bigger beer selection.Small place with just a handful number of tables.Some entrees take 30m of prep timeWhen they ask you for spice levels - I felt burned at 3 out of 4. Ill do 2 next time. And yes, I can eat v v hot food!But I loved all of it!As good as it gets - Legendary• Chili PasteMust order again - LOVED• Dhal Vade- lentil wada. And that chutney! He said it’s sambal• Prawn Curry - Sri Lankan style. Has shells on it. Loved it. So so spicy at 3 out of 4. Which was Spicy level, not Extra Spicy. Ill do 2 out of 4 next time• Basmati RiceCould do again - liked• Pork Stew - pork was meh. Could do another meat which would make this rank higher. Enjoyed the curry and tomatoes etcAverage - ok• Appam - very dry and skinny
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Rovik Robert
Underrated spot especially for their $30 curry crab which comes in a healthy portion for two people! Loved their pepper pork and curried jackfruit as well! It’s a small operation so service may be intermittent but it’s sincere. Remember that it’s cash only but they do accept Venmo!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Sri Lankan Crab Curry
Dilu Namaratne
We ordered the string hoppers and chicken rice and curry. The string hoppers were soo thick. You get coconut gravy with it and coconut sambol. The coconut sambol is enough for one string hopper. There were 10 thick string hoppers. The red rice was hard and very dry. We got lentil curry, Cucumber curry, Lotus root, papadam and Beetroot with the rice. The curries tasted good, but the portion size was not at all enough ! It was sample size. This is mostly westernized considering the portion sizes. If you are a Sri Lankan, take the ferry to Staten Island and you will have much better choices there. Was not happy with the amount we paid for such little food.Also,There was one guy working the cashier who was not very friendly. The other guy was really nice. They accept cash and Venmo.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 4
Victoria Burnett
Really interesting and delicious food. The dried fish curry (beduma) was very tasty and very spicy (even medium hot). Mixed veg curries included lotus root and beets, the first creamy and the second tangy. Appa were good but could have been warm (? not sure how they are supposed to be served). One recommendation is to clean and spruce up the toilet - it’s a little grim.
Good food but sadly terrible service. There was one person working the entire place (aside from kitchen staff). We sat next to an uncleared table for our entire meal. Server took about 20-30 minutes just to take our order and then another 30+ minutes for the food to come out. They also sneak in a small charge on the bill to "round up" to the nearest whole dollar, which I'm pretty sure isn't legal.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 1
We had to wait 30 minutes to get some water and to give our order. We had to wait ANOTHER HOUR to get the food.But the food was wonderful especially the calamari, crab curry, and hopper. Like very excellent. The wait time was disappointing so if you come, the food will be good but you may have to wait.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 1
Recommended dishes: Sri Lankan Crab Curry
I loved this restaurant. Highlights for me and my friends were the special vegetables, the chicken and goat curry (goat was a little tough for me but great flavor), dhal amdThe banana leaf rice. The flavors were intense and believe me when I say that if you like your food spicy, medium spice is as spicy as you need to go. This is BYO and cash only. Our waiter was really friendly and helpful with how much to order. We ordered so much food and only spent $35 each with tip - bargain! Would def return and recommend.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Kotthu Roti, Chicken Curry, Dhal, Curry
I want to come back and try more food here. We got the fish cutlet, cuddle fish curry and pittu; I’d try the kingfish curry instead I think?
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
The food here is AMAZING! Authentic and properly spiced! Their lamprais is my most favorite meal ever! Wow wow wow!!! I was so worried when I heard a rumor they’d close down after Covid but I’m so glad they’re open. This lamprais is my death row meal.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 3
Fantastic, yummy appam with coconut sambal, idiyappam byriani.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Aappa AAP-PA - Hoppers, String Hoppers Kotthu
DELICIOUS, FLAVORFUL, PERFECTION!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chicken Lamprais, Kotthu Roti
We were looking forward to a good srilankan meal but were disappointed. The string hoppers were too thick and didn’t seem fresh, same for the hoppers. The Kiri Hodi and sambol was barely enough for the amount of string hoppers. We tried watalappan and caramel pudding for dessert and those were good.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 2
Cozy hole in the wall style restaurant with excellent authentic food. Everything was so flavorful -- it was our first time eating Sri Lankan food and I enjoyed everything.It should go without saying but all the meals are richly spiced. You can ask for the curries mild, but they'll still have a bit of a kick.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Dhal Vade, Chicken Curry, Curry
Cash only establishment. Very tight space but manageable. Servers were friendly. We were a party of 4. We ordered aappa, chicken kotthu roti, ulundu vadai, cuttlefish curry, black pork curry, and beef veggie stew. There was virtually no space left on the table once everything was served. This was our very first time trying Sri Lankan food. Everything was packed with heat. If you cannot handle spicy foods, this is probably not the place for you. One of my friends cannot handle even a teensy bit of spice and she couldn't eat anything except rice and cuttlefish curry. The cuttlefish curry was underwhelming. It was on the blander side for us. The beef in the beef veggie stew was really tough. We didn't really touch it. My favorite combo was a piece of the aappa topped with chicken kotthu roti, some rice, and a glop of the sauce that came with the ulundu vadai. I genuinely hope this isn't an offensive combo because it really was yummy and I'd go back to the restaurant just for that.
Restaurantji Recommends
The service and food were sloooooow, but everything was forgiven when the food was served! I haven't had Sri Lankan food but holy hell... The roti with the coconut sambol were unique in flavor and texture, delicious nevertheless. I also had the black pork curry, medium spicy, and nasi goreng(I think that's what it was!). The black pork curry had deep flavors, the pork was still juicy, and the spice was perfectly medium; spicy enough to make my nose a bit runny but not enough to overwhelm my palette. The nasi goreng was fabulous; all the flavors incorporated were delicious and they didn't skimp on the meats! So many juicy pieces of shrimp, Scallions, squid, pork... Slightly sweet and sour with a bit of a kick. Honestly cannot wait to go back and try more dishes!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
Cash only.No drinks here. BYOB. There is a store downstairs with a v tiny wine and a little bigger beer selection.Small place with just a handful number of tables.Some entrees take 30m of prep timeWhen they ask you for spice levels - I felt burned at 3 out of 4. Ill do 2 next time. And yes, I can eat v v hot food!But I loved all of it!As good as it gets - Legendary• Chili PasteMust order again - LOVED• Dhal Vade- lentil wada. And that chutney! He said it’s sambal• Prawn Curry - Sri Lankan style. Has shells on it. Loved it. So so spicy at 3 out of 4. Which was Spicy level, not Extra Spicy. Ill do 2 out of 4 next time• Basmati RiceCould do again - liked• Pork Stew - pork was meh. Could do another meat which would make this rank higher. Enjoyed the curry and tomatoes etcAverage - ok• Appam - very dry and skinny
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Underrated spot especially for their $30 curry crab which comes in a healthy portion for two people! Loved their pepper pork and curried jackfruit as well! It’s a small operation so service may be intermittent but it’s sincere. Remember that it’s cash only but they do accept Venmo!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Sri Lankan Crab Curry
We ordered the string hoppers and chicken rice and curry. The string hoppers were soo thick. You get coconut gravy with it and coconut sambol. The coconut sambol is enough for one string hopper. There were 10 thick string hoppers. The red rice was hard and very dry. We got lentil curry, Cucumber curry, Lotus root, papadam and Beetroot with the rice. The curries tasted good, but the portion size was not at all enough ! It was sample size. This is mostly westernized considering the portion sizes. If you are a Sri Lankan, take the ferry to Staten Island and you will have much better choices there. Was not happy with the amount we paid for such little food.Also,There was one guy working the cashier who was not very friendly. The other guy was really nice. They accept cash and Venmo.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 4
Really interesting and delicious food. The dried fish curry (beduma) was very tasty and very spicy (even medium hot). Mixed veg curries included lotus root and beets, the first creamy and the second tangy. Appa were good but could have been warm (? not sure how they are supposed to be served). One recommendation is to clean and spruce up the toilet - it’s a little grim.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5