Located at 668 Bay Street, Staten Island, NY 10304, you can find Lakruwana Restaurant, a Sri Lankan restaurant. On the weekends, the cost is $22.95 each for a buffet style of different cultural cuisines. Heading inside, there were mannequins, paintings and statues everywhere we turned. They had different seating options, some small tables against the walls, and some larger tables towards the center. The aromas of all the different food options were super strong, wafting around wherever you were sitting. There was a time limit of 1 hour and 30 minutes. We all walked around, taking small portions of everything to try. Above each dish was an engraved sign stating what the meal was in the bowl below. The side dishes were in bowls layered with leaves. The restaurant was quite full around dinner time, explaining the loud environment. The restaurant itself was dimly lit, with the majority of people walking around to get more food.

We tried both the Mango Juice and the Passion Juice, which we definitely recommend ordering if you go here. The sweetness contrasted the spicy and savory flavors from all the different foods. The rice was delicious as a base for all the types of foods, especially helping to absorb some of the sauces that were dripped off the entrees. Overall, Lakruwana Restaurant is worth the trip to experience it, especially on the weekends for the buffet style where you get to have a bite of everything. The restaurant, opening 09/06/1995, the first NYC Sri Lankan Restaurant, has been ranked in the NYT’s Top 100 Restaurants in NYC for three years in a row. It is also all family owned, and all the spices used are authentically sourced or unique to Sri Lanka.