Lakruwana Restaurant - Sri Lankan restaurant in Staten Island - 668 Bay St, USA

*Not to be a missed place in NYC*. The moment you enter, you feel like you are in a museum, it is very very beautiful adorned with Sri Lankan artifacts. The place looks and smells great. It’s not spacious and that makes it cozy, there might be around 12 to 15 tables. For the weekend brunch menu, once you get seated, you can pick up a plate and get started on the unlimited food. It was my first time trying Sri Lankan food and I must say I am quite impressed; plenty of vegetarian & vegan options, along with two meat options (pork and chicken). The only underwhelming part were the desserts. There was sago pudding along with various mousse (mango, gooseberry, chocolate) options, and one caramel custard. That was a disappointment as we expected more authentic & extensive Sri Lankan dessert options. Otherwise, a fabulous place to visit to relish Sri Lankan food and vibe.

Had made reservations for 3 pm on a Sat and the place was at 40% occupancy. The people I was with had tried this place before and spoke very highly about their food. We were seated right away on an 8 person table and the overall restaurant setup is very welcoming. Noise levels were on the quieter side. We tried their $21 buffet ($10 for kids) and one thing you can never go wrong with is the deliciousness that Sri Lankan food brings with it. From the very first time I had Kothu Roti (not on buffet) to trying out their various curries, Sri Lankan food never disappoints. Lakruwana has raised the bar further higher with their amazing buffet selection. Being a vegetarian, I can't comment on their rather inviting Pork Curry, or Egg curry - but what was interesting was my table, who is primarily meat eaters were enjoying their vegetarian entrees more! The Pineapple Curry, Mix Vegetables curry, and Egg Plant (the best eggplant I've ever had) - were packed with spices. Egg plant never tasted better and now, I can never enjoy egg plant any other way! Their Kale salad and coconut salad, along with the spicy chillies brought absolutely fantastic flavors with every bite. Spice levels were on the milder side, and the chicken actually was on the sweeter side (per our table). Their dessert included an extremely delicious Sago Pudding which takes you by complete surprise with its extremely balanced sweetness which comes through in the second or third bite. I will highly recommend this place for anyone who appreciates and likes flavorful food. This was a perfect five star experience for us.

The food is delicious. The people that work here are also kind and friendly as well. The decor is very nice and unique. It’s so nice to try Sri-Lankan food through a buffet. They have a variety of vegetarian and meat dishes for everyone to try. The buffet area is clean and tidy and they replenish it several times during the day. The service is a little tough as you have to catch someone’s attention to order a drink or something else off the menu. They are quick however to help take your dirty plates away and turnover fast which is awesome. The desserts they offer are also tasty especially the tapioca pudding! The only down-side is the funky smell in the back of the restaurant like a smoker who sprayed mist on top to cover it up. All in all, I highly recommend this restaurant.

Small place. Buffet had lot of vegetarian options! Pineapple curry was the highlight. Desserts need improvement. But overall good experience!

Really good Sri Lankan/ South Indian food at very good prices ($19 for buffet and $15ish for most entrees). Tons of options (25+ items for the buffet) and great flavor (easily manageable spice) and a really good ambience with their incredible exhibits. Definitely recommend. Cash only but there are ATMs close by. We went for the weekend buffet and our favorites were the cooked tapioca, deviled chicken, black pork curry, mango mousse, pineapple curry, mixed vegetable curry and the eggplant curry. Nearly everything was very good. Will definitely go back multiple times. The non buffet options are also very good.

The food can improve. The place is amazing, it's like a diamond in Staten Island. Service was good.

I got the buffet and it was excellent. I had never had Sri Lankan food so the buffet was a great way to sample a lot of different things. I thought everything was delicious!

Sep 16, 2023 (Saturday) -- We visited Staten Island for the first time and finally got to dine here for lunch. Lakruwana has been on my list for a long time. The interiors (and exteriors) are Srilankan themed, its a small tightly packed place, we had to wait for ~15 minutes to be seated. I had the buffet for $21+taxes. Apart from two meat/egg based items, all the other items were vegetarian. 1. Red rice and 2. Basmati (white) rice -- These two rice varieties were the only main-dish/staple on the menu, typical of a South-Indian/Srilankan meal. 3. Mix veg stew - Western vegetables (like carrot, brocolli, cauliflower etc.) cooked in a mildly spiced coconut milk gravy. I love such Kerala/Thai-style dishes and rate them highly, but today, despite being tasty, it was no match for the other curries to follow. I suspect the gravy could've been thicker, but that's an American expectation. 4. Eggplant curry -- Indian eggplants fried with excess oil and tangible amount of jaggery. This was so delicious, with an eclectic mix of sweetness, spice, and natural flavour of eggplant. It was easily the best dish in the buffet, and I took multiple servings of this. It reminded me of 'brinjal (eggplant) pickle' that I once ate at Mahabaleshwar in the Wester Ghats of India. 5. Pineapple curry - I am a big fan of fruits in cooked food. The pineapple curry was cooked as a wet-subji. It was fruity-juicy and hot-spicy at the same time, I loved it! 6. Dal (lentils) - Mild and well cooked (i.e., the lentil wasn't hard to bite). Beyond the yellow toor dal, there was perhaps a tinge of kadalai paruppu (bengal gram) also. Very satisfying it was. 7. Boiled yam? -- a no frills boiled and mildly salted starchy vegetable. It was filling and good. There were also Kale salad, and sambal (I understand it poorly as a spicy red onion chutney). Both tasted normal to me, while my family appreciated the sambal a lot. From the buffet, I didn't try the meat-based food and desserts (some flavoured mousse that I don't think has anything to do with Srilanka, and a milk-pudding/payasam that I wish I had space in my stomach to try.) The kitchen was small, and they frequently came out to refill the earthen mud pots/vessels in which the food were placed in the buffet. Outside the buffet, I got as take-away (as my stomach was full) the... 8. Mango Lassi - I am not sure if this is Srilankan, but every South-Asian restaurant now has this in its menu by the following logic. Mango is a famous Indian fruit. Curd (roughly Yogurt) is a famous Indian dairy product, lets combine the two to make a dessert! Cold, sweet, flavourful and thirst-quenching. I ate as much as I could, totally worth the price, and I shall come back again some day.