Took 15 minutes to get seated despite a table being free and nobody sat down there the 15 minutes…read morewe waited. We were ready to leave but they said they'd have a table ready for us. The inside is overwhelming full of statues and Sri Lankan decor. It wasn't too big inside but it was big enough despite all the decor. Hated all the meat options here. I saw this on a blog saying it's one of the best buffet options in the five borough. No thanks, I would not come here if you're a huge meat eater, as I am. I love curries, but the meat and meat curry options were just not the best. (Honestly think there was only 2 meat options vs like 6 vegetarian options.I saw the reviews said the vegetarian options were amazing, but I thought they were just okay, but definitely better than the meat options. The best item was probably the dessert. Can't say I loved the food here, but if you're vegetarian and love curries, you'd enjoy this place.

WEEKEND BUFFET REVIEW ONLY…read more Came on a weekend with some friends to try out the much touted weekend buffet. Overall, I think it all just fell short for me. Every dish just felt bland. From the egg curry to the lentils to the kale & coconut, nothing was particularly memorable. I also found the desserts... just not good. The mango mousse and sago pudding were passable, but I think everyone at the table universally though the caramel pudding was terrible. Buffet is cash only. After tax and tip, it shook out to be about $30 per person. I definitely had some buyer's remorse and instead wished I had done a la carte. I saw a few people ordering kottu for example that looked DELICIOUS. Definitely something I'd do if I were to ever come back. The service though was great. Quick to refill water and clean plates. Always checking in on us, these folks were great. The decorations inside the restaurant were also definitely unique. A very rustic vibe. TL;DR - Don't go out of your way to go to the buffet, but the a la carte items are pretty good and worth checking out if you're not too far away. Definitely a very uniquely decorated restaurant with very nice staff and owner!

This was a wonderful spot for Sri Lankan good. This spot is small (can fit parties of up to 4),…read moredidn't have a wait on a Sunday afternoon, and is cash only. I tried their crab curry and it was delicious. Their dishes can have spice levels customized. I have a moderate spice tolerance and got a 6/10 which was perfect for me in a curry where the broth was slightly sweet and briney. My friend ordered a Kotthu Roti which is dry and not very salty with an 8/10 spice level and it was extremely painful to eat. Be warned! Crab was tender, well seasoned, and served with lots of utensils to brake the shells and extract the flesh. This was definitely the star dish. I also tried the aappa which is similar to dosa but less tangy and cupped. It was a nice and light dipping bread. Will definitely come back and sample more of the menu. I think I will stick with the curries as they are more balanced. Service was quick at the start. Order time took ~20 minutes which wasn't surprising to me, especially since the crab can have a 30 min wait. Wish they filled waters as we went through our pitcher of water quite quickly. Overall a good experience and I will keep this spot on my restaurant rotation!

SERVICE - located in the east village on the second floor of…read morea grocery store - very small interior with seats at tables for 2-4 people - tables are not too challenging to get even on a weekend lunch - cash only - server is friendly though keep in mind it is a smaller business so there are not many people working which can make it take longer to get the check or water - food served relatively quickly - ambiance good for a semi casual meal MENU - authentic Sri Lankan dishes meant for sharing - vegan/vegetarian options available - average price FOOD - cashew curry (9/10): soaked cashews and peas in a spicy coconut curry sauce. This dish was unique to Sri Lankan cuisine and being someone who likes cashews I wanted to try it. The portion is good for one person or to share when combined with other entrees. It does not come with rice so you need to order a side dish to eat it with. The curry sauce is warming and spicy with strong punches of black pepper and turmeric, making it a comforting meal for a cold day. The cashews are soft, almost to the texture of steamed carrots. Highly recommend trying this. - indi appam (8/10): ten pieces of steamed rice noodles served with coconut curry sauce and pickled onions. This was one of the side dishes and the server recommended it to me as it paired well with the cashew curry. It feels very similar to South Indian idiyappam. The coconut curry sauce on the side looks similar to the cashew curry broth but has more spices and is slightly tangy. I would have liked a smaller portion of this to better match the portion size of the entree. WOULD I GO BACK? Yes! The food was very comforting and a great meal when you need something warming.

Amazing food and an amazing owner! Everyone was so welcoming and friendly. The milk hoppers were…read moredefinitely the star of the show. so delicious and something I'd highly recommend trying. Everything was so good! Definitely a place I'll be coming back to.

Cuisine: 8 Service: 10…read moreDecor: 7 Value: 9 Overall: 9 This is a truly a family business that I really want to support. Everyone is always smiling, super friendly, down to their youngest daughter who helped serve our large group food a few weeks ago when they started their weekend AYCE brunch. The buffet was full of great items like their Curry Crab, Goat Soup, Eggplant, Okra, String Hopper, Black Pork Curry, and much more. Don't miss out on the station full of different types of condiments and sambol sauces. My entire group of 15 were all quite impressed with the food selection, as well as the service. Everyone left stuffed and satisfied. Can't wait to come back for a formal meal and try more of the regular menu.

If you want good Indian food and normal size servings AVOID this place…read more The service was ok. The ambiance , non existing. The "business manager" is an uneducated worker who can't accept reality Yelb provides customers.

Lungi was a bit of a letdown. The service felt chaotic--condiments were missed, upon multiple…read morerequests arrived when we were nearly done eating. Even the sequencing of dishes was a bit off, making the experience feel awkward. The food itself was a mixed bag. Rundown: - Spicy Mutton Pepper Fry (4.5/5): excellent flavor, but the semi-dry gravy would work best paired with bread or rice. Not as a dry appetizer, as it was served. - Deafman Shop Tawa Fry (4.5/5): Very solid, but definitely on the spicier side--be prepared. - Hoppers (5/5): Perfectly soft, lacy, and flavorful; cools down quickly, so timing matters. - Parotta (3/5): not flaky so just felt dense with the ghee/oil in between the supposed-layers. Not ideal to scoop the curries when it's of this consistency. - Cauliflower 65 (3/5): Slightly over-fried and lacking seasoning. - Paneer Ghee Roast (2/5): Disappointing. The paneer was extremely tough making it inedible, and the ghee roast flavor was muted. - Goat Curry (4/5): Nicely done overall, though the meat could have been more tender. - Kori Ghassi (3/5): Underwhelming. Gravy felt diluted and there were too few pieces of chicken to justify the price. - Wattalapam (5/5): Perfect ending- light, refreshing, and flavorful. Portion sizes lean small, with more gravy than protein across dishes. Combined with the cramped table space, it makes for a tight dining experience, especially if you're ordering multiple items. Try it out and decide for yourself.

My friends who have lived on Staten Island for a long time have described this as the best…read morerestaurant in Staten Island and I have been wanting to go ever since. After finally going, I have to agree. The owner is so sweet and nice, and the restaurant has stuff hanging showing the positive press they have gotten from various food critics. It lives up to the hype - we got the curry goat, fish, roti, kottu, and watalappam. It was my first time having the watalappam wnd it was unique and I really enjoyed it. The roti was some of the best I have ever had and I've had a decent amount of roti. So good, I will be thinking about the roti forever. The kottu was also really good qnd I also enjoyed the curry goat a lot. This was the best food I had that week.

Outstanding. Anthony Bourdain recommended this restaurant and I can see why. The owners welcomed us…read morelike family and prepared a lunch plate for us based on our dietary preferences (vegetarian, spice level, etc.). I had the vegetarian plate with rice, lentils, beans, beets (my favorite!), and jackfruit. Everything was so flavorful, I inhaled my food. My son had the egg roti with daal. The restaurant staff checked in with us regularly and kept offering us random food (try the eggplant, try this chicken). This food is so good and it's worth crossing the Verrazano Bridge to sample a taste of Sri Lankan food. You can absolutely tell when food is cooked with love and food cooked with love is plentiful at New Asha Sri Lanka Restaurant. This was our first time eating Sri Lankan food, but it certainly won't be the last!

During our trip through Staten Island, we stopped at Randi's for a traditional Sri Lankan lunch,…read moreand it was a great find. They offer a lunch buffet with a nice variety of authentic Sri Lankan dishes, along with a selection of desserts. The buffet is located on the second floor. Seating is somewhat limited, but we had no trouble finding a table. Every dish we tried was full of authentic flavor. My favorites were the beef stew, chicken curry, dhal curry, and the freshly made rolls and patties. They also had a small selection of Indian vada, which was a nice addition to the buffet. The staff was welcoming, attentive, and made us feel right at home. If you're looking for authentic Sri Lankan cuisine in the Staten Island area, Randi's is definitely worth a visit. We'll gladly stop by again the next time we're in the area.

We always love a good southern asian food! This restaurant is great for family gatherings and…read moredinner. Easy to find parking around the neighborhood. Restrooms for customers only. We ordered lamprie and couple of dishes. We enjoyed the food as well as the staff are nice.

I always enjoy buying Sri Lankan food from Ceylon Curry. The food is flavorful, fresh, and reminds…read moreme of authentic Sri Lankan tastes. I especially recommend this place for short eats--they have some really tasty options that are perfect for a quick snack or takeaway. Definitely a great place to try if you love Sri Lankan food!

No frills. No elaborate menus. Just understated homey awesomeness. The owners are great at…read moreexplaining things. The food is delicious, just the proper amount of spicing. In the land of Sri Lankan restaurants, this one stands out for its takeout.

My first time trying Sri Lankan food! I found this place when I was looking for Sri Lankan food…read morethat was on the Michelin list that was located in NYC. This place is unfortunately located in Staten Island which was pretty far from Manhattan. This place has a very small grocery store front. There is a back place that contains the restaurant. There were 4 benches with minimal decor. They didn't even give us plates when they brought out our appetizers. They also didn't give us water (they ended up bringing out bottled water for us). The appetizers (fish cutlets, chicken roll, and Seenisambol Bun) came on a tropical leaf. The fish and chicken roll were deep fried. I wish the fish cutlet was spicier. The chicken roll was super spicy. I liked the dip it came with. The 50 Piece String Hoppers was delicious. It is basically noodles that can be mixed with sambol which had a really good coconut/sourish taste to it. The noodles were then put in this daal. We ended the meal with a Chicken Kathu Roti. This dish is amazing. It was whole chicken with shredding roti inside. The dish contained shredded carrots, leeks, and eggs. There was also this spicy and delicious dal that coated the dish. At the end of the meal, we paid for our food at the store front side. This place was overall, a no frills experience with average food.

The food here is really tasty. I had the vegetable curry plate, which came with dal and egg curry…read more The other two appeared to be a mango curry and parsley sambol. Everything was delicious, and each dish was very different. The parsley dish was fresh and light. The mango was sweet and sour, with a really unique texture. The dal and egg were also full of flavors and spices. The food also had a solid amount of heat. The plate came to about $12. They only have takeout at the moment, but the owner told me that they'll have seating soon.

SO happy I came here! I don't think I've ever before had real Sri Lankan food so when I saw this…read moreplace was nearby, I jumped at the chance. I ordered the Sri Lankan crab curry which was perfect! Sri Lankan food, while similar to Indian food, actually has quite a few differences in base taste profile. The curry was bright, stew-y almost, and very authentic, with its prominent chopped spices (cloves, sliced onions, tomatoes, curry leaves). The crab is difficult to eat. Super tasty but be warned that you may have to go 'Darryl Hannah in Splash' to get to all that crabby goodness. This is a new place, opened by a husband and wife-- super nice, btw. Space is small and not pretentious. It really is all about the food. The menu is quite extensive, offering a range of regional fare for food exploration or to return to some childhood favorites. Reasonably priced.

We visited Sri Lanka last year and have been chasing that food high ever since! My husband has been…read moretrying to convince me that we should move there SIMPLY bc the food in Sri Lanka is so DELICIOUS. We've tried other places but VIMA tops them all! It brought me back instantly to our trip and the flavors are yummy yummy yummy! This place is about an hour and 45 mins away from us but we will be back!! Do yourself a favor and fall in love with Sri Lankan food. :)

If you're the type who opens a menu and suddenly needs 10 minutes to emotionally process your…read moreoptions... Curry bhi chahiye. Biryani bhi chahiye. Naan bhi chahiye. Aur appetizer skip karna toh insult lagta hai. That's exactly why Eight Indian Bistro created these Lunch Platters. You literally get a little bit of everything. A Chef Special appetizer. A full on flavorful curry. Garma garam Naan. Eight Special Biryani. And yes... dessert to banta hai. Basically the platter is like"Relax bro... I got you." The Veg Platter for $17.99 and a Non-Veg Platter for $19.99 And it's available Monday to Friday for lunch. So next time you're staring at the menu like "yaar kya order karu..." Just get the lunch platter and thank me later!

A lot of positive reviews and multiple Ads got us to try this place. Was it worth the hype?…read more For starters to test the waters, we ordered our respective favorites for a carry-out - Veg Biryani and Veg Hakka noodles. They have a dedicated parking space in a shared area outside the restaurant, but I'm not sure if they have enough for a rush weekend service. The restaurant had the order ready by the time I got there. The place is not too pricy but we didn't find the food have an USP to its taste with both the dishes and didn't really standout. We may probably give it another try sometime in the future but not immediately.