Sri Lankans will often tell you food tastes better when eaten with the fingers. Here, you’ll use the fingertips of your right hand to mix rice with a little dahl, turning it into a mouthful at once energising and comforting. It’s part of a thali, a spread of dishes arranged on a glossy banana leaf, available as an all-you-can-eat Sunday special.

Chef and owner Jay Mahendran appears with refills spooned from serving pots: a little more dark goat curry, another scoop of golden spiced potatoes, round two of slivered carrots and beans in a turmeric-tinged gravy. Parottas are flaky and extra-puffy, the beneficiaries of a savage squishing with two hands once they come off the griddle.

Northern dishes, such as the seafood soup odiyal kool, make special appearances. This is truly a family business: you taste the passion as much as the spices.

Good to know: There’s no liquor licence so keep things fresh with nelli crush, a key northern Sri Lankan drink made with gooseberries, pineapple and basil seeds.

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