Lakruwana
“I can't wait to come back and try the sunday buffet which features around 8 vegetarian options.”
“For dessert, get the traditional Watalappan, which is a type of coconut, custard, nut milk pudding.”
“I could write a verbose essay describing the greatness of the goat lamprais dish I got, but words won't do it justice.”
Lakruwana
Takes Reservations: Yes
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Has TV: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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I finally got to try this restaurant after years of having it bookmarked. I was waiting for the opportunity to go with my cousin and her husband who is from Staten Island. The experience was nothing short of memorable. The Saturday night buffet was fully stocked, had amazing options to try, and service was incredibly pleasant. I was a little taken back by the fact that none of the staff had socks on but I guess it was a cultural thing and not that big of a deal. What I was expecting from Sri Lankan cruising was a lot more spicy but all of the flavors here were pretty mellow and nothing was impossible to eat in fact nothing was not spicy at all. Everything was tasty and they let us bring our own wine. I definitely would advise anyone to try this place once.
I don't like buffets and I've never had a reason or desire to go to Staten Island. So this place is defying all the odds.
Came to Lakruwana because there is a disturbing lack of Sri Lankan food in the other boroughs. I heard there is a $14 buffet which sounds too good to be true but is both good and totally true.
First of all, this restaurant is a trip. You walk inside and it's like you're not in the Western Hemisphere, let alone Staten Island. I counted no less than 5 Buddha statues alone. The chairs are about 5 feet tall and look more like long limber boats than seats. All the food is hanging out in clay pots instead of catering hall trays. So ambiance wise, it's special to say the least.
The food is pretty stellar. I tried a shrimp kotthu roti, which is on the menu and a great staple dish. But I really came here for the weekend buffet. On Saturdays and Sundays, if you choose, you get access to all those wonderful clay pots filled to the brim with rices, curries, vegetables, and deviled chicken and pork. If you're a vegetarian you're going to have a great time – the standout dishes to me were all vegetables, including the eggplant which is almost like a marmalade, the green bean and lentil curries, the sambols and the coconut kale. So much flavor and heat, so little room in my rapidly filled up stomach. There's also a dessert bar which includes mango and chocolate mousse, and a caramel flan which was quite tasty and a nice addition to the buffet line up.
Like I said, I don't like buffets because they take away both your money and your dignity, but I left here with plenty of both. If you've never had Sri Lankan food, or if you're hesitant to try it, scrounge up $14 in cash and make your way to this corner of Staten Island so they can convince you to love it like I do.
Best brunch spot in NYC, period.
Saturdays and Sundays they serve a buffet for 13.95 that includes 3 kinds of rice, 7 kinds of curries and 5 kinds of dessert. Best part is, the ingredients are fresh and, no matter where you call home, this food tastes like home, because of how flavorful it is.
I do think the veggie curries were significantly better than the 2 meat curries that day, which were black pork and devil chicken. The pork especially was dry and overcooked. But the vegetable curries were spot on. My favorites were green beans and yucca. Now for the life of me I did not think i would be able to eat yucca at a sub-$15 buffet. It was cooked tender but still had that firm chew. Best part is, for the first time I actually had yucca that was flavorful.
Some dishes were misses. I wasn't a huge fan of the kale but I am glad it was there (hashtag fake health hoe). I also didn't understand the egg curry because it tasted like a plain hard boiled egg to me (The only hard boiled egg that stands above all others is chinese tea egg).
Desserts were also well made. Try a bit of each and you'll leave extremely satisfied.
The place has a sign saying 1. it's better to eat Sri Lankan food with your hands which I think nobody here does 2. you should keep your buffet time under 1 hour. But honestly I was full after a plate so I didn't go for seconds, neither did the couple sitting next to me. I definitely got the bang for my buck for the entire 30 minutes that I was there. Service was nice. Location is easy to find.
It doesn't hurt that this restaurant has an all-day weekend buffet, but what is even better is the incredible décor inside, reasonable buffet price and, most importantly, the great food!
We happened upon this restaurant after seeing its popularity within the Yelp circle, specifically the fact that it was probably the most popular Sri Lankan restaurant in Staten Island, if not NYC. I also saw that they offered a buffet for only $13.95 for lunch and dinner on weekends, so that plus the great reviews made it a no-brainer for me to have to check it out!
We visited on a Saturday evening at around 8:15pm. If you're driving here, parking is pretty easy to find around the corner as it is mostly residential. Once we walked in, we were immediately thrust into this amazing environment, full of statues, relics, decorations all over the place. It was really visually overwhelming and beautiful. We were greeted by a gentleman who sat us in the middle of the small dining room. We were still trying to take it all in as to where we just stepped into! The restaurant was not crowded, but about 1/2 of the restaurant was occupied by customers.
Since we came for the buffet, we immediately went to work! The set up was simple, we started at the back and worked our way to the front. There was an outdoor sink near the dessert table where we could wash up. Directly next to the wash sink were the plates. We first started with the rices, which there were 3 of — Basmati, Red Basmati and Vegetable Fried Rice. Then we worked our way to the entrees, which there was a plethora of dishes to select from — various Curries (Pineapple, Egg, Green Bean, Black Pork), Chicken, Eggplant, Dal, Kale + Coconut, Papadam (Crispy Fried Flour) just to name some of the items we saw.
We had never tried Sri Lankan food so we could not confirm if this was an authentic meal, but from the reviews and awards they had won we assumed this was very close to it. We will say the food was very good though! The flavors took us everywhere — sweet, spicy, salty — you name it they had it. I can't say we loved every item, but we loved most of them. There were things here and there where we weren't a fan of the flavors, but from an overall perspective it was a great meal.
My favorite items were probably the Papadam, Egg Curry and Black Pork Curry. Beware of the Deviled Chicken as it was a bit spicy. Also, we felt the Basmati rice was the best of the 3 rices offered. Although the Red Basmati rice was something new to us, we weren't huge fans of it as it tasted a bit undercooked.
As for the dessert, there were a few to choose from — Sago Pudding, Chocolate Mousse, Mango Mousse, Gooseberry Mouse and Caramel Pudding. Since the desserts were not very cold, we were not huge fans of them. In addition, the Sago Pudding was not liquidity enough as it all stuck together and the texture was not very inviting. The dessert was definitely the biggest disappointment of the meal.
Still, the food was something new that we had never tried, relatively inexpensive for dinner and very fresh. We felt the curries and meat were very well cooked and this was not the usual off-putting buffet food, but of a very good quality instead. Also, the décor was something to behold and quite beautiful. We couldn't help but keep staring at the walls and decorations all over the restaurant as we chowed down. Even the cups, water pitchers and chairs were something we had never seen. Definitely not the typical buffet and well worth the trip for this neighborhood buffet!
P.S. The buffet is cash only so make sure to bring some with you!
I always like to go and experience a different type of culture and food. On this occasion, I came here for a Brunch with my Rotaract friends.
One of my friend that was born in Sri Lankan, told us that is very hard to find an authentic restaurant in NY that cook real Sri Lanka meals and that is not Americanized.
To find to this place you must take the famous Staten Island Ferry and then after that you must take the S76 bus towards Oakwood Mill Road and get off at Bay Street/Thompson Street stop, the bus stops right in front of Lakruwana.
They have a great option of a buffet for the brunch that I highly recommend because it makes it perfect to taste every different type of plate that Lakruwana can offer and how time as your belly can take.
Some of my group experienced eating as they do in Sri Lanka using their hands, while I gave it a try I ended eating with my utensils.
The staffs were friendly and helpful and the amount of delicious food you get for the money is unbelievable.
3.75 stars.
I had never had Srilankan food before, until coming here with a group of friends. The place is spectacular… more like a museum that a restaurant. There are artifacts everywhere, and the atmosphere is fantastic. We were served by a welcoming family that did everything they could to make us feel comfortable. We came for dinner, although their weekend brunch is an outstanding deal. I didn't find the food to be as memorable as most other yelpers, but it was good nonetheless. I would totally go back for the brunch.
Mango lassi: delicious and very rich.
Mulligatawny soup: very delicate; tasty.
Lentil soup: interesting snd spicy.
Assorted appetizers: 4 croquettes with mixed vegetables and fish… a lil dry.
Lamprie with lamb: except for the meat – which was tough and dry – the rest of the dish was very tasty, especially the eggplant…truly delicious. It was an interesting combination of flavors, which I highly recommend. Maybe I wouldn't get the meat next time.
Kottu roti with vegetables: very flavorful; a lil too starchy for me, but it's just my preference… the dish was well prepared and presented.
Egg hopper with fish: underwhelming.
Fish biyriani: just ok; flavors didn't stand up as much as I had expected, and the fish was very dry.
Watalappan (coconut custard): not as sweet as I had expected, but still an interesting choice.
Overall, it's a solid place, wonderfully managed, and an experience itself just to walk inside.
Such an amazing discovery! I was originally planning to come to another restaurant however it was still closed by the time I got there; Yelp led me here.
Sri Lanka food was something I have never tried yet always craving about before. Buffet was served during weekends so I got to try each different piece of it. Highly being influenced by Indian food, Sri Lanka food indeed offered lots of curry sauces – made by eggplant, by pineapple, by kale, everything. They even had egg curry! Haven't yet satisfied, I went ahead and served myself homemade pudding with mango and gooseberry flavors, both were fantastic without going extremely sweet.
Inside decor was so Sri Lanka-like, with elephants everywhere, even for the teapot! You cannot miss this place if you prefer something exotic and would like to embrace changes.
The best, most beautiful food experience I have had in a while.
This restaurant is like a treasure trove of Sri Lanka and the place is decorated so intentionally that it is like a museum by itself.
FOODIES:
IF YOU DO NOT COME HERE, YOU ARE MISSING OUT ON ONE OF THE BEST EXPERIENCES OF YOUR LIFE.
In addition, the owner was the man who served us, so we were able to get a very knowledgeable person to teach us about the food, the culture and the art he keeps in his beautiful abode.
Everything we had was GREAT and I will never, ever forget the moment I got my meal– it was like unwrapping a holiday or birthday gift.
Just go, already. Check out my pictures + videos. I can't capture this experience in words.
Love,
Renee Rises