04/19/08

Great Sri Lankan food

by aronschor

I had the chicken mulligatawny and it was great. It tasted like there were many different spices. It was also BYOB which is nice. Good service.

• Pros: byob
• Cons: can't think of anything

11/28/07

BYOW

by epicure222

Uptownisis is a total b*tch. BYOWater next time wuss or maybe you can't handle the heat. Also, this is a BYOB, why would you be consuming water anyways.

10/01/07

good food at a great price

by jhartvu

Before eating here, I'd never had Sri Lankan food before, so I can't say if this is good Sri Lankan food or bad. What I can say, though, is that this food is amazingly tasty regardless. It's got wonderful spiciness and richness to it; everything I had was delicious.

The restaurant itself is cozy and intimate. The service isn't amazing, but it's adequate I suppose. Your server's not going to wait on you hand and foot, but the food comes out quickly, which is what's important.

Best of all, this place is amazingly inexpensive. Well worth the trip down to the East Village.

• Pros: tasty food, great prices

10/01/07

Good, very spicy food--BYOB, but service was inacceptable

by uptownisis

I liked how small and intimate this restaurant is. It smells delicious and the food does match the smell. I especially liked the BYOB policy which really helped in keeping our bill affordable. What I didn't like is that we had to ask for everything, service-wise. It was relatively busy because pretty much all the tables were occupied but we literally had to flag down a waiter for menus, water (each and every fill up), to order, to get the bill, etc. Since the food is really spicy I think they should've been more attentive to our water level. Overall though I enjoyed it, the prices are reasonable and the food is really good.

• Pros: BYOB, portions are perfect, food is good and spicy
• Cons: small dining area, poor service

09/24/07

A Hidden Find

by missy2silly

My boyfriend and I love eating trying out at different restaurants and we're glad we came across this one. The ambiance is casual and romantic, the service was pleasant and the food was delish! We highly recommend the appetizer sampler (great for sharing) and the kotthu roti (a traditional Sri Lankan dish). To finish the night off we ordered the Kiri-Peni (a must-try) and the sweet mango ala mode (to die for). The whole experience was a real treat and we'll definitely come back for more.

• Pros: Decor, Food, Desserts are Incredible
• Cons: Needed more water

09/21/07

MUST TRY!!!

by wisebrain

This is AMAZING and deserves 5 stars (I rarely give 5 stars). The food is exquisite, the ambiance is great, and the price is too good to be true!

• Pros: Everything
• Cons: Small eating area

08/01/07

Great place

by mr_meursault

This is a very good and inexpensive restaurant, just off the Indian block in the East Village. The food incredibly tasty, albeit spicy. Just trust the waiters as to their recommendations and you won't be sorry. If you come on a weekend night, you, might have to wait a bit, but they place will be pretty much empty on the weekend.

• Pros: Food, Prices

02/17/07

high in sodium and spices

by bajomono

I thought that Sri Lankan food would be very similar to typical Indian food (which I love), but boy was I wrong. The spices are overwhelming and complex, which can usually lead to a good dining experience, but unfortunately that wasn't the case here. After the appetizer sampler (all the sampler pieces tasted the same), my tongue was getting dry and my taste buds were very sensitive to the spices. You know how your tongue starts hurting after eating too much sour candy? That's how my tongue felt after eating the appetizers. The main dishes came and all the spices started blending in together to make my tongue even more sensitive and make eating even more painful. I had to keep drinking water to cleanse my palate throughout the meal and even that didn't really help. To make matters worse, both my boyfriend and I got extremely sick after eating dinner there. In addition, the place was so small that only one person can stand up and walk around at the same time and they hired an overweight waiter who kept bumping into me (without ever apologizing).

• Pros: semi-romantic
• Cons: small venue, too many spices

12/29/06

Spice Up Your Night Out!

by fortunafilms

Very great casual dining experience with a kick! Most people haven't had tried Sri Lankan food before, so it will be a treat when you take your friends to eat here! Not only is the food cheap, but everything is so delicious! Most of the items are very spicy, but in a very authentic way. No crappy hot sauce here. Just the real deal, peppers, spices, etc. The space is really tiny so I suggest you make a reservation. I did so just a few hours before dinner and they happily accomodated my party of four. I stopped by Trader Joe's first and picked up a few bottles of wine to bring in and they corked it for free, no problem. I suggest that you start off with a couple of the yummy appetizers, and when ordering entrees try to grab a variety of things so you can taste eachother's dishes. Overall, I had a great time here, the service was nice and it is a good spot to have a casual yet unique experience with some friends or even a date.

• Pros: BYOB, low prices, authentic
• Cons: small dining area

12/03/06

SOOOOOOOOOO great

by vkburr

I went to Sigiri for the first time after trying 2 or 3 times before w/o reservations. You DEFINITELY need to make a reservation (at least on the weekend). Regardless, it is well worth it. Everything we tried (the pittu - coconut and rice "bread" with coconut sauce, the chicken lamprais, and the string hopper kotthu) was AMAZING. I've eaten at a ton of ethnic restaurants in NYC and this is definitely one of my favorites. Try it out - you won't regret it.

• Pros: the food - it is beyond description (so spicy and flavorful)
• Cons: the service is sometimes spotty