Lankan Filling Station

Lankan Filling Station is a Sri Lankan restaurant in Darlinghurst from chef O Tama Carey (Billy Kwong, Berta).

The menu covers Sri Lankan staples including pan rolls filled with spicy beef, a variety of sambol and sauces, sweets like a love cake with cashews, semolina, spices and rose, and refreshing gelato—we love the ginger and turmeric flavour.

Flaky roti and hoppers (for which O Tama had a following at the Carriageworks Market prior to opening Lankan Filling Station) are for dunking in curries, which come in varying degrees of spice, and vegetarian or with prawns, fish or pork.

There’s an $85pp banquet ticking off all the highlights, and Lankan Filling Station hosts crab curry sessions on the last Sunday of every month, and Mondays are for Buryani Night, when pots of fragrant oven-baked buryani can be shared alongside requisite papadums.

Cocktails offer a little nod to Sri Lanka, like the crowd favourite Mu-Mu with arrack spirit  coconut blended with jaggery caramelised pineapple and lime, served in an elephant, and there’s a diverse wine list and selection of spirits that complement the menu.

Lankan Filling Stations’ interior evokes Colombo nightlife, with cool neon lighting, a spice-fragrant scent and everything served in a style that’s best suited to tearing and sharing.

Image credit: Lankan Filling Station | Instagram