Spicy Zest - Restaurant & Bar

I wasn't quite sure what to expect, but I was eager to dive into the experience. The flavors were unlike anything I've tried before--bold, aromatic, and layered with spices that made every bite exciting. Whether you're a fan of spicy food or prefer something milder, there's something for everyone here. The variety of textures kept things interesting.Overall, a thrilling introduction to Sri Lankan cuisine. Highly recommend it if you're looking for something new and flavorful.

This restaurant was on my list to try and finally got around to visiting with my Yelp buddies. The place is casual with a bar that offers beer, wine and cocktails. They offer a buffet during the week and an à la carte buffet on Saturdays.The drinks were made fresh, and we tried the sambol bun, egg hopper and cutlets for appetizers. The table ordered different dishes ranging between the biryani, curry and rice, beef bowl, lumprais and roti combo. I tried the fish curry and rice, which had a complete homemade flavor. Cannot ask for anything more! The only call out I would have is the portion of rice is too small if you are really hungry :). Everyone enjoyed their dishes and had great feedback on the flavor and presentation. The sambol is a must try.The restaurant was fairly busy and service was a tad slow. It did look like they were understaffed. Family run establishments that make good food are always great. Who cares if the service is a bit slow ;)Plenty of parking is available and the hoppers are made in the open kitchen which is nice to watch.Pricing : Moderate Will I return? : For sure!

This was a great Sri Lankan experience. The decor was so cute!We did the a la carte buffet. I had the Sri Lankan rolls, the coconut sambol, and the roti combo. Everything was very fresh and authentic. It was such a great experience.

I am in the process of moving to Dallas from Los Angeles and decided to try this Sri Lankan restaurant close to where my last meeting was. Boy am I glad I came here. I sat at the bar since I was alone and enjoyed some scotch along with the beef kottu and the lumprice with lamb curry. Both dishes were exquisite and I ordered way too much for one person but I am glad I did because everything was perfect. The restaurant is beautiful and inviting.I was helped by Mohan who was very welcoming with both my drink and food order. His suggestions were spot on.I am relatively new to Sri Lankan cuisine but I feel that its popularity will keep growing as more people get exposed to the wonderful flavors and textures. I highly recommend this restaurant to all foodies and Indians like myself who want something that is familiar yet so unique.

Wow! This is a must visit every time I'm in the area now. The food is a delight on my senses, every bite made me wish for more. If only I had a bigger stomach haha. The service is very efficient and kind. I loved eating there with my mom. The vibe is nice and a perfect place to chat while you wait.

I tried very hard to love this place. I know I did. But... it just didn't end up impressing me as much as I wanted it to?I can't tell whether the food is "authentic" since this is my first experience with Sri-Lankan food. Those who've read my other reviews will know that it is seldom my first priority anyway. Hence, I'll simply attempt to comment on the taste from a neutral perspective.So I had the mixed kottu, a fish bun, a dalgona coffee and a curds dessert. Not the best flight, but I felt it was diverse enough for a try.The mixed kottu on its own is pretty good. Spicy (in the "lots of spices" way), al dente, and delicious. I ordered it with cheese, though I didn't notice much cheese. It wasn't a big deal, though. It could've just blended in with all the hot meat and eggs. I did taste a certain creaminess to it.However, when I was having this dish, a constant thought kept crossing my mind:"Hold on. Isn't Pad Siew just this but better?"Yeah. Having lived in Fort Wayne, Indiana for a long time - a place with a large Burmese population, lots of whom can cook a mean Pad Siew, it was hard for me to be impressed.Maybe I just wasn't sure what I was expecting, but I did expect some new flavors and tasting what amounted to an imitation of Burmese-Thai cuisine of all things did disappoint me a little.The fish bun and the dalgona felt pretty much the same. The fish bun has too much bun and too little fish, and the fish paste they used had a quite fibrous texture that made it feel more like pork floss than a piece of fish to my tender teeth. I guess "fibrous vaguely-fish-flavored curry bun" just didn't roll off the tongue too well. Meanwhile, the dalgona coffee looked a lot better than it tasted. It didn't taste *bad*, it just tasted like a Starbucks frappe.The curds dessert, on the other hand, was easily the worst offender in my book. It didn't taste like much else besides yoghurt smothered in honey - a VERY SOUR yoghurt, at that. Again, I have no idea if this is supposed to be authentic, but every rendition of the Halloumi and Honey dish has been more enjoyable to me, while feeling quite similar.My friend had a chicken yellow rice and complained that the chicken was a bit salty. I only had a bite of it, but I'm inclined to agree. The chicken meat itself didn't seem to be anything special, either. It was breaking apart like everything you get from Tyson.Service is ok. Atmosphere is ok. Neither really stood out either way to me.TL;DR Sri Lankan cuisine is quite curious. However, I don't think the place stands up very well on its own.

We came here to celebrate my cousin's birthday and I thought it was a great place with great food. The buffet has an array of different things for you to try and the food tastes so fresh! My kids are picky eaters and they enjoyed the food very much. The service was amazing, and our waiter went above and beyond to take care of our group. We each got a free mimosa and the staff made me two Egg Hoppers to try. The ambiance is family friendly. The owner was a very friendly guy, and he even brought my cousin a complimentary dessert for her birthday and joined in to sing for her. Great place!

The owners of this establishment are actually Sri Lankan, and the servers are so helpful with the ordering for those of us who were trying this particular type of food for the first time. For each item I ordered he asked what level of spice I wanted (1-5...1 being no spice, 5 being I'm on fire, please put me out). Their buffet is more of a multi-course meal, but even so, they have a good menu with a lot of variety. The selections were all good sized portions and it was all very fresh. I started my meal with the chicken pattis. It was fresh, hot, and the perfect amount of spice (I am a 2...a self-professed wimp). In case I should actually start to ignite, I ordered a yummy mango juice to go along with my meal. For the main course I ordered the shrimp biriyani with raita. Again, everything was so fresh! I ordered the biriyani with a heat level 2 and it had good flavor but not too much heat. I probably could have gone to a 3, but it wasn't necessary for the flavor. The shrimp were large and juicy. Probably my only complaint is they didn't remove the tails. The raita is sooooo fresh and cool; It reminded me of a chunky Greek yogurt salsa. Outstanding food and service at a reasonable price...yeah, we'll be back!

Tried this place for the first time and the food was delicious! Definitely a great place for me to try new food. Service was a bit slow but everything else was good.

The food is very closely related to Indian food. It wasn't great and it wasn't bad. I tried 3 of their fried appetizers one of which they got wrong, but I didn't make a deal of it. Since it was a cool day, I got the chicken stew with a spice level of 1. If you don't do spicy, ask for no spice because 1 was too spicy for me to enjoy.