Lankan Filling Station in Darlinghurst

Good food but very spicy & pricey.

Such interesting flavours. Beautiful quality. Gorgeous staff

This Sri Lankan restaurant is a true and hidden gem in Sydney. The flavours took me straight back to my SriLankan mum s cooking authentic, comforting, and full of life. Every dish we ordered, including the sides and sambols were all perfectly prepared, with a refined touch. The setting is elegant, and the service is attentive and warm. A beautiful experience that blends tradition with sophistication. Can t wait to return!

Absolutely superb experience from start to finish. One of the best meals Ive ever had. Sensational flavours and variety. Thank you for helping us celebrate our anniversary, well be back!

Wow amazing food

rich and vibrant flavours

Was excited to check this place out but was feeling ill on the day and they graciously cancelled my booking after I called a few minutes after they opened. I then get a call in the evening asking if I m still coming at which I said no I called earlier. Then the person goes can I ask why? , as if I ve done something wrong lol. Get your employees on the same page and save customers from being on the receiving end of a bit of unjustified aggressive behaviour.

12$ for 2 cola, then explain me that I have to leave the place WITH my cola if I don t eat (I ask before if I can just have a cola) it s ok it s a mistake but you should let us sit for a minute, not like if it was full.

Great spot with very tasty food.

Incredibly delicious food and beautiful service. We ll definitely be back.

Absolutely recommended

Really good, just note they dont serve hoppers on weekdays now

Recently ordered 20 Sri Lankan lamprais to be picked up frozen. A number of them gluten free and vegetarian. The interactions through ordering to pickup and eating were perfection. Lucy and the team were incredibly accommodating to my dietary needs and the lamprais tasted beyond amazing. Every person who ate them (a fair few of us Sri Lankan or certainly had lamprais before) loved them and they were super fresh, tasty and authentic and not a crumb was left behind. Thankyou to all the team at Lankan filling station. Dietary restrictions: Cater amazingly for gluten free requirements

Have been coming here for years now, one of my favourite restaurants in Sydney! Authentic flavours with a beautiful spin on presentation. Cant recommend this place enough!

Food was yummy! Waiter was lovely and very good at his job...a little bit of up selling... excellent. Will be back.

I do enjoy going here. Very pricey though so be prepared. No kids menu but a few options. Our 9 year old liked the creamy Dahl and hoppers. We pre ordered one of the cakes for a birthday, and it was absolutely delicious! Still have leftovers in the freezer.

Delicious and speedy delights. Friendly and helpful staff. Great location with some street parking. Must return!

$400 for 4 ?? Could feed a family of 10 in Harris Park and enjoyed it. Extremity over rated

The first Sri Lankan restaurant I tried in Sydney and this sure reminded me how tasty the food where I come from. However not the most authentic food. There is usually a 30-45 min wait during peak hours. So better get their early. However, I would say the place is bit overpriced.

Service and food of the highest order. Can t wait to return

Lankan Filling Station offers a limited selection of Sri Lankan cuisine, but unfortunately, our experience left much to be desired. Despite ordering a decent variety including the string hopper and Kiri set, red lentil rice, yellow dhal, and a crab varai, we found the food to be disappointingly average. The kiri lacked depth and the lentil was basic. What compounded our disappointment was the steep pricing; $22 for six string hoppers felt excessive, especially considering their flimsiness and lack of filling. While I understand the restaurants pricing strategy due to the absence of competition in the area, its difficult to justify spending $70 for a meal that likely cost the restaurant a fraction of that, perhaps only $15-20. Overall, while the cuisine may satisfy a craving, it falls short in value for money.

Brilliant food, best Sri Lankan we ve ever had in a small but comfortable place with a great vibe. Get on this, Lankans and non-Lankans!

What a discovery!! We saw this place while walking around the neighborhood and thought it was interesting. We went today without a reservation and the girl very kindly accommodated us. The food was spectacular, everything we ate was delicious, especially the shrimp curry and the pork belly curry. Of the vegetables, cabbage. And the service was equally good, both the girl and the man who served us, too friendly and good at explaining the menu. We will definitely return!

Fantastic food. Lots of gluten free options. Dietary restrictions: Gluten free- lots of options. Food : 5/5 |

Thought it was excellent. Often find attempts at Indian/Sri Lankan food a bit bland around Sydney. This was excellent. We went for spicy options according to their gradings, were warned, but everything was tasty-hot. Great use of whole spices and long cooking. Tasty cocktails and even enjoyed the natural wines. Best meal out in ages and will be back. Cant do much about the table spacing if they want to make the most of the space.

Unbelievably small portions. Probably the smallest portion size in any Sri Lankan food restaurant. $6 for this tiny little cup of polsambol

If you want one of the best Sri Lankan dining experiences available in Australia this is the place. Authentic food with flawless presentation and service. Good well priced wine and beer list

I have a fairly biased palette towards southeast Asian flavours and I am a sucker for spice. Absolutely loved everything we ordered. Crab Varai - great balance of flavours. Devilled Cashews - I ve had spicier ones, but these were great too. Plain Hopper, Egg Hopper - definitely go with the egg. Oozy yolk for the win. Prawn Curry - love the subtle opera played by the chilli in this one. Rice & Curry Plate, Fish Curry - one of the specials. All this was smashed by 2 people.

Was a good meal, intense, robust flavours. But not necessarily me leaving very impressed with any particular dish (I felt some dishes were too one dimensional and didn t get the layering of flavours)- it s a good spot if you re craving for a hit of spice!

Fantastic experience. We came in late, hadnt booked, so were lucky to get a table. Staff were friendly, efficient, super helpful, quickly wrangled us into what we needed to order as we were just chatting. Food is very good, and exceptionally reasonable. Highly rated. Vegetarian options: Lots of good veggie options.

OMG! I have never had Sri Lankan and now I crave it every day. I loved how thoughtful the team was with explaining hoppers and the menu with us. We had several hoppers (delicious) and eggplant sauce (yummy slow heat). We also had a filled roti that was a special. We were so impressed by the flavors and the drinks were homemade and delicious. I think she blended the rhubarb lassi to order :) just wow! I miss this food already.

Matt Moran said to the staff The food was excellent as he walked past our table and I couldn t agree more.

Loved the food and the ambiance. Best hoppers, yummy spicy curries (get the raitha to help balance the spice) and great beers and cocktails. Shout out to the amazing staff. 10/10 recommend. [also the spiciest dish here is totally manageable for the Indian/Asian palate so go ahead and order the extra spicy ones, they re all delish!] We ve found a place to frequent whenever we re in town! One thing I do regret is not ordering the ginger and turmeric gelato coz we were too full by the end. This ll be my reason to go back next time Vegetarian options: Plenty of vegetarian options on the menu

Food is excellent but poor packaging. Cant get the test of spill off food.

4 hoppers which was burnt and a curry which was just spicy hot water. Pathetic food quality and completely inedible. Seating is horrible right next to the lift. The dessert was garbage. More ice than ice cream. Save your money and eat at home. Ambience was poor too.

Dietary restrictions: Majority of the menu is gluten free, and staff were extremely accomodating; asking the right questions and making adjustments to the menu based my (GF) on my partner s (VG) diets. Highly recommended. Food

One of the best Sri Lankan Restaurants in the city. Hands down. I recommend the black curry with meat and godamba roti. Even if you don t get the curry, get that roti. You need to try it. It s amazing. It s very filling. I have tried the cashew curry, it s sweet and really great. I have tried the friend potato thing, it s really good and love the spicy sauce that comes with it. It s a really cute date night restaurant. Candle light tables, but GET A RESERVATION.

Average at best. Nice atmosphere and cozy. But food ehhhh...

We came here for a late lunch on a Saturday. The food, drinks and service were all amazing. Great vegan options too! Highly recommend!

My wife and I went for our anniversary and loved it.

Very poor customer service. Not enough space for be full service restaurant. Service personnel were not helpful at all. I don t recommend this place for Sri Lankan food.

Great food, casual dining

I can t overstate how much we loved tonight. We were married in Sri Lanka 20 years ago today so wanted somewhere special to celebrate. The banquet menu was wonderful - such sophisticated execution of classic dishes and so much variation. Those aromatic pan rolls and the prawn curry (and everything else). And such a fun wine list. We can t wait to come back.

Absolute gem of a place! Lip smacking Sri Lankan flavours. We had only vegetarian food but they have non vegetarian items too. Their main offering is hoppers (basket shaped or string shaped) to pair with a variety of vegetarian and non vegetarian curries. They also change around some curries from time to time (weekend banquets/weekly specials). Flavours were authentic to the T! Service was warm too. Had a great experience. Definitely going back.

Food was very disappointing and staff member recommended wayyy too much food than was needed which needed up costing a lot. Service was also a bit of a let down.

Been meaning to go here for yonks. Finally got there and kicked myself - I should have come years ago. It was really, really good.

Sensational food, staff are very helpful explaining the menu. Cant wait to return.

Great vibe and just delicious - love the hoppers.

To much money driven staff, food tasted ok We were seated next to an elevator shaft with people walking in and out. The staff were not helpful when asked about dishes and keep pushing us to order drinks and extra food to increase our spend. When booking the page on the site said it was a $50 per head hold fee charged if we do not attend. When we ordered we were told we had to order $60 per head. It was far more than we could eat and were forced to order take away for two to take home for the next day. We were told the food was already prepared and would be packed cold for us meaning none of our dishes were freshly made i am to assume.

Excellent Sri Lankan place. Hoppers are great. Clam curry was great. Dahl was exceptional. Fish curry delightful. Pork curry was a little tough. Disappointments was the coconut drink (tasked unusual and sour ish) the elephant cocktail (strange blend of flavours). Will come back for the curries though!

Delicious quality food made with love, when I ate here it felt like a big warm hug

Went here as a last minute decision and do not regret. Great food and friendly staff. Vegetarian options: Plenty of options.

Tasty, homestyle food but not good value for money and the staff are pushy about minimum spends, and vacating your table on time..not very attentive either.

Yeah Cuttlefish (less veggies) Chicken curry Nah Hopper noodle Egg hopper Maybe Fish curry Sambal plate

This is one of my favourite restaurants in Sydney. Authentic, punchy, unapologetic Sri Lankan food. However the recent change in a minimum spend of $60 per person when booking, regardless of group size has left a sour taste. We had ordered the right amount of food for 4 people but were urged to order more to fulfil the minimum spend (not including drinks!!) and ended up having to takeaway exactly what we had over-ordered. The experience became less about enjoying the food and more about stuffing ourselves to not waste anything. The minimum should more realistically be $40 or none at all.. a true shame as this is where I bring all people visiting Sydney and I m not sure if an unreasonable spending value is an enjoyable experience anymore.

A lovely narrow nook of a restaurant on a quiet street in the city. The service was unbelievably, top notch friendly- e.g., staff took the time to go through the menu, explain the options in turn, and gave solid recommendations. I couldnt tell you if the Sri Lankan dishes on offer are genuine to home cooked meals, but I can say that their hoppers were crisp and airy, their dhaal deliciously creamy, and their desserts uniquely spiced and sweetened. Be warned that their spice rating is no understatement, though some raita will help significantly. Portions were smaller than expected, but surprisingly filling, and I walked out full and satisfied for a decent price. An experience worth travelling out for specifically- I certainly will again. 4.5/5.

Nice looking restaurant with cozy ambiance, but servers were a bit snarky. The roti and curry were quite good, but nothing mind blowing. The hoppers fell short - too grainy and doughy in the middle, too flaky on the sides to the point where it broke in the curry. The sambols were okay. Overall, doesn t feel super authentic.

They are very strict about the $60 per person minimum food order value. We were 4 vegetarian adults who ate to our heart s fill, but still had a $120 shortfall. We were forced to take away food which we didn t want. Not a great way to spend a special occasion, doing math rather than enjoying the food. Wouldn t return or encourage friends to go.

Went for lunch - great food great service

We came to Lankan Filling Station hungry, and Im so glad we did. The delicious food was plentiful and courses came out at fast clip. Good service, helpful explanations, and yummy drinks list all complemented the wonderful food. We did the banquet and added the hot buttered cuttlefish, which was dish of the night amid tough competition. They also overhead me mention my partners birthday and finished with a little cake and candle - lovely touch thank you.

Kinda odd experience. Pushed towards the banquet as its $85 pp and it s easy for them or a minimum spend per head on food $60 pp so instead of relaxed fun ordering we had to get the calculator out and massage items to get the price up enough. Food was ok.

This has been on the list for quite some time, it is SO hard to get a table. We got a park in the parking station close by. It is known as one of the best Sri Lankan food in Sydney. It s a long skinny restaurant with as you can see lots of red and purple lighting. An industrial type look, very busy and bustling. Service was very good, everything was well explained for our first time there and the spice explanations were really good. We tried the house sodas, SPARKLING ROSE - Delicious rose syrup, sweet & aromatic $6. I love rose sodas, especially with this cuisine. They have plenty of booze free options, tea and coffee, beer, wine and cocktails. They even have a how to order section on their menu: TIPS ON ORDERING 1. Start with short eats & bites as your pre-main snack 2. Make your hopper or roti selection (This is the only section not made for sharing) 3. Add curries, vegetables & sambols (Or just order the banquet & let us decide) 4. Eat - using your hands is encouraged We started with DEVILLED CASHEW NUTS Roasted cashews cooked with ghee, mustard seeds & chilli powder $8 these things were addicted and HOT, perfect way to start the meal. Up next what I was most excited about the EGG HOPPER As above, with a soft-cooked egg in the base $6.50 matched with a Sambal plate $20 including POL SAMBOL Fresh & hot - grated coconut, Maldive fish, chilli & lime $6, I think our curry was the hot butter cuttlefish special. All the food was so good! A unique and delicious experience that everyone must try at least once.

Tiny but cosy restaurant. Friendly staff who will guide you through the very authentic menu, where you tick the dishes you order and mark the quantity you are ordering. Delicious food. Definitely a place to check it out and taste Shrilankan cuisine.

My friend and I went there for dinner few weeks ago. We had a bit of an unpleasant experience as we were forced to order more food saying their portions are tiny. We both are well accustomed with Sri Lankan cuisine, so we knew the size of our appetite and what we wanted to have. So we did not like being pressured to order what the waiting staff thought was best for us. We found our table waiting staff to be quite hostile. In terms of food, it was nothing extraordinary for the price you pay! The hot butter cuttle fish was a hot oil mess, end of. It was hard to enjoy the dish. Coconut roti was tasty but very small. Coconut sambal was dry and lacked authentic flavour. It seemed to be a mix of desiccated and raw grated coconut. Authentically, it should be only raw grated coconut. String hoppers were delicate and it came with a decent serving of Kiri hodi. Egg hoppers batter was undercooked beneath the egg. Chicken curry for $35 was overpriced, as it came with just 3 pieces of chicken that were less than half the size of a palm. Our waiting staff pushed us to order 2 chicken curries, which we initially thought was too much. But when the dish arrived, we understood why. The decor was nice with little details relating to Sri Lankan culture and cuisine, but the food did not live up to our expectations.

We made a booking at 12pm for my husbands birthday. When we walked in at 12 almost everyone was busy arranging the place. The waiter with pink hair didnt bother to introduce himself and didnt welcome us. Felt very cold and neglected Totally opposite to typical Sri lankan hospitality

Food was yum. Service was great. Get the egg hopper!! So yummy! Recommended dishes

Excellent food and very friendly and knowledgeable service.

First time here was very average. Felt I ordered wrong, went back and ordered MORE dishes. Amazing experience and flavours. Make sure to order more than 1 curry. Use the sambals. Get a few hoppers.

It was such a sensory pleasure to dine here. It s a small restaurant hence it s good to reserve before you go. You must visit though! We ordered hoppers , rotis of 2 kind. The mustard potato curry, white fish curry and the spicy Sambal. For dessert it was the hopper with jaggery and coconut. Everything we ate was very flavorful and the service was amazing too! Sorry I didn t take too many pics as I was tempted to eat!

Significantly overpriced for the quality of food and service. Although the staff was helpful, they inclined on increasing how much you spend instead of providing useful information about the dishes. The food was quite bland for my palate (and all of my friends) and not what I had expected (having eaten authentic Lankan food elsewhere before) This place may be okay for someone trying the cuisine for the first time and does not mind spending $ but for people looking for authentic Lankan food, I wouldn t recommend this

Delicious food all round. Some of the best curryI ve eaten! The staff (waiters and chefs) were just lovely! I was eating alone and so sat at the bar so I was able to see the food being produced and it was amazing how efficiently the chefs work! The waiter that served me (Edward) was also very passionate about making sure I understood the menu and the food/what was be best for me. I would definitely recommend if you re visiting the city ! Vegetarian options: I ordered the cashew curry and it was genuinely one of the best curries I ve had.

Surprisingly authentic flavours. Wasnt expecting that from an up market Sri Lankan restaurant

Order the cashew curry it s fantastic

This is where I discovered the hopper & fell in love with dhal. The service was attentive. Had the banquet Food

Had been looking forward to coming here for some time and loved the food. Particularly the fish curry. Couldn t get too excited about the hopper that we had heard so much about. What I didn t appreciate was the min spend on food which has been mentioned in some other reviews. Two of us were struggling to eat $120 worth and this seems an irresponsible and unsustainable approach to dining. I had failed to notice this was a requirement and was wondering why the waiter was so keen for us to order what we considered to be an excessive amount of food. Perhaps allowing drinks to be included would be more reasonable. Food waiter was good, drinks waiter wasn t. Would love to return for the food but the overall experience means we won t be in a hurry.

Dined here on a Wednesday night without a booking, and managed to get a table straight away. The food was delicious and the service was great, although they did forget the string hoppers and the roti until we reminded them, this didnt interfere with the experience though and would definitely return again (hopefully soon).

If you are looking to try authentic quality Sri Lankan cuisine please do yourself a favour and avoid this place. My partner and I were looking forward to visiting this place during our short Sydney visit and were grossly disappointed. Upon arrival we were greeted by an older Australian man who was very rude and honestly looked like he didn t want to be there. Overall impressions are that it is a white washed restaurant with over priced Sri Lankan titled dishes (i.e $11 for A fish roll) marketed towards non Sri Lankans and this was very evident with how we as well as another Sri Lankan couple were welcomed and seated as compared to other guests. Following this experience, I jumped online to read their Google reviews and funnily enough, all their 1* reviews experienced the same. Appalling!

Unique Sri Lankan restaurant offering something special in the Sydney restaurant scene. The dhal, hoppers and sambal plate are must haves. And I m obsessed with the cocktail served in the elephant cup. Service is great and the team in the kitchen looked young and dynamic. The restaurant is small so love to do a walk in lunch sitting as not as busy.

The food was great and it is super authentic. Prices are reasonable as well when compared to the portions. Cocktails could have been better. I was served a slushie with just a spoon and no straw and we had another cocktail that was served hot without any guidance that it was a hot drink. That being said, the food is so good that I would recommend this place!

Good food! Very tasty and they dont skimp on the spice. The beef roll is awesome and are the hoppers and godamba roti. Worth the visit!

what a treat

Good vibes. Innovative Sri Lankan goodies. The special fish wings on the night was a banger That butter sauce with roti Worth a visit and more Good wine list and beers on offer

A tad disappointing. Food was nice but cost was over the top. $2 a piece for a string hopper smaller than the palm of your hand, $20 for 4 thimble like containers of symbols and slightly burnt pan rolls. Pricey curries. Hard to reconcile that this food type originates from a poor third world country. I think Ill stick with the various venues around Seven Hills for more authenticity. Service was great though.

My family and I enjoyed the food and experience! Great service by the staff

Awesome once again.

Delicious! You can t go wrong, order everything.

This restaurant has a very bad business policy of requiring a minimum spend of $60 PP excluding drinks. This was not disclosed to us via Resy, nor at the time of dining (its in small print on the back of the menu). Its only apparent when we tried to pay. Three of us ordered a lot of food and were very full. We ordered two entrees, three hoppers, two rotis, three curries and two sides. We couldnt eat any more food. I understand needing a minimum spend...but why cant drinks be included? Drinks carry a higher margin for the restaurant anyway. We otherwise would have had a great experience but this bad business policy put a very bitter taste in our mouth at the end of the night. We wont recommend this place or return -- there are so many options in Sydney.

Great food. Just know before you go that if you book a reservation it s a $60 minimum per person. Bummer way to end the dining experience as we were full and didn t want more. Not accommodating and they gave us no warning. Drinks were not included in minimum either.

Pretty unfortunate ending to our dining experience here . My sister is in town visiting my husband and I from America and this is a spot we (used to) like to take visitors. We had a great meal, ate until full, and then asked for the bill waitstaff informed us that since we made a booking (which is encouraged in Sydney) that we had to spend a minimum of 60 dollars per person. This was not mentioned on resy when we made the booking OR when we ordered the food. We had 24 left to spend so my husband ordered a cocktail that was 24$, even though we didn t want to drink and were very full and tired. They came back saying drinks don t count super frustrating, it s still money going towards the restaurant and a better margin for them! So we just said ok, just charge us the extra and we won t get anything .we didn t feel like dessert or any other food. So they ended up charging us $189, we said it should be $180 and they said no you got a lassi drink which doesn t count towards the minimum! This was a very unpleasant way to leave a nice meal, they just lost two loyal customers very unfortunate!

Exceptional flavour with modern twist and friendly staff. The taste is well balanced, leaving you not able to stop eating.

Please open for lunch once a week!

We had so been looking to our visit to The Lankan Filling Station, what with a friends recommendation we knew we would be onto a winner. However whilst the food was very good, the ambiance and the service was not. Our table was near the entrance to which the door was left open all evening, on a particularly cold night. We knew there was a minimum spend per person, however we were pressured to order more food as 6 dishes was considered on the light side. We then ordered our final drink and asked if we wanted a dessert when we were told to vacate our table for the next guests (total table time all up 1.5hrs.. .really not long enough if youre eating 4 courses....). We were then relocated to seats at the kitchen bar, which was really lovely and warm tbh, in order to finish our drinks (we said no to dessert) but were given the bill after 2mins....Honestly its not Maccas....its an $190 meal...reconsider how you treat customers, and stop treating them like tourists - just rude.

Food was incredible and service was wonderful, will definitely go there again

Innovative, delicious food. Great service. Could not have been happier. Vegetarian options: Lots! All delicious. Food : 5/5 |

Have been wanting to try LFS for awhile and finally made it. Food was tasty and fortunately not as spicy as the chilli ratings show (though depends on your personal chilli thresholds). Had a nook table but suggest avoiding the specifoc table as its located right next to the building elevator.

Fantastic food, Hoppers with the Fish Curry was sublime

Incredible spot. Wife is Sri Lankan, and even she was impressed with the quality of the hoppers. And the cuttlefish was tasty. We had to roll ourselves out, we were so full. The cocktails were also spot on.

Everything we tried was delicious. Friendly and attentive service.

I made a reservation via Resy for 4people, but had to change my booking fairly last minute. Long story short, i accidentally cancelled the booking via the app and had to call the restaurant to reschedule it. I was incorrectly charged $240 as a cancellation fee however the restaurant reassured me that this would be reimbursed. After over a month of following up and being assured the money would be reimbursed, i received a very rude email from a staff member, bluntly refusing to reimburse me. Not until i wrote an official letter of complaint and threatened to go to the ACCC and NSW Fair Trading did i eventually receive the $240. This staff member sent sent me a number of extremely passive aggressive emails and treated me like i were trying to pull off some major scam. Im sure the food is great, but the customer service is abysmal!

My 2nd visit here, and it didn t disappoint. Best biryani I had here in Sydney by far. The prawn curry was amazing too, like it s really made from scratch and not the usual instant curry, though I would maybe request to have it a bit more spicy next time if possible. As with the staff, they are all accommodating and friendly, those who say that they are not, all I can say is that, you can t be all too frowny and feeling special and expect to be smiled at. You get whatever vibe you give out. *wink Went home with a smile. :-)

We had a great time here. Service was personable and attentive. Banquet more than met my expectations. However, Im only giving 4 stars in solidarity with others who have commented that the $60pp minimum spend is a real headache and a step in the wrong direction. I encourage Lankan Filling Station to be more inclusive of all budgets and appetites.

the fact u have to eat food worth 60dollars minimum is a big rip off, not worth it ..like forced eating lol

We love Lankan Filling Station. Best Biryani!!

Fabulous food, banquet menu was delicious and very filling. Good drinks menu too, with some Sri Lankan local beers and spirits to try. Service was impeccable. Good for a special occasion, or a treat. Wouldn t go for a casual or cheap eat at this price point. Vegetarian options: Easily catered for a vegetarian and gave personalised service so they could enjoy the entire meal

Be careful!! We took a visitor here (one of our go to spots to take people) and we won t be going back. Terrible service with making you order a certain amount. We ate a lot and were full and they kept saying we can order more to take home! We didn t want to. So we ordered a drink that would have put us over the min spend and then they told us drinks don t count. We ended up just having them charge whatever else we owed without getting anything extra and leaving pretty upset. Bad business model!! It s not disclosed either when they seat you and I believe it s only this way if you make a booking, so you get punished for making a reservation.

Great Food and Great Service

Interesting food and staff that actually knew about each dish and how its made Vegetarian options: Plenty of choice for vegetarians Food : 5/5 |

Stuart looked after us from the beginning to end. He was so knowledgeable about the food and made our experience memorable. The food was so flavourful, like going to my mother in laws for a feed. Brought back lovely memories, each dish we thoroughly enjoyed. The pan rolls and string hoppers were a favourite. We will definitely be back, we loved the food.

The food is awful and the waiter, Stuart, is rude and aggressive. Any question you ask him, he would be stand offish. I have just looked at the other negative reviews and I see I am not the only one with this experience. The only thing that was nice was the atmosphere of the restaurant - its cozy. I wish everything else was good as well. I am sad I wasted money in this awful place. Wont be visiting again.

What a wonderful night. had never tried Sri Lankan food before visiting here and now Im in love with a new cuisine. The vibes, warm and snazzy. The staff, super friendly and helpful when it came to me explaining I was a coeliac. Very helpful, I felt very at ease eating here. The food was ridiculously delicious. HIGHLY highly recommend.

Very flavourful and delicious food, the owner was very nice to me.

I am Sri Lankan and this was legitimately the worst Sri Lankan food I have ever had. The hoppers were undercooked in the middle and almost dripped with soft batter. Nothing was even remotely spicy or especially flavoursome, and to top it off it cost 2-3x as much as a meal in any other Sri Lankan restaurant (each dish was on the smaller side, too). The only positive was that the staff were all very lovely. I think most of the positive reviews are from people who have not had much/any south Asian food. If you are used to authentic south Asian food, I would recommend going anywhere else.

Absolutely phenomenal experience. All the staff were incredibly welcoming and friendly. Edward in particular made our dinner especially memorable, his recommendations were fantastic and he was so helpful and patient with the ordering process even provided us with a 10/10 gelato spot. Food came fast and was so very delicious. If you re thinking about visiting Sydney this is a must do. Will be recommending this little place to everyone. Can t wait to come back!

Amazing Sri Lankan restaurant, must try their hoppers and fish curry. Also, arakku and toddy. Great service, very polite staff

The great food and great table service was unfortunately marred by a policy requiring a $240 spend and purchased alcohol does not even count towards this. We were told that the rule is made so that people dont come an buy one curry and sit for 3 hours, which is understandable. However, half the restaurant was empty and wed spent about $100 on food and $80 on drinks. I think discretion in these situations is key. There was just a really awkward situation as we sat there full, and had to decide how to hit the minimum spend on food.

One of the worst experience. Food was average. Service was pathetic and no one bothered to explain what is the menu is. If you

Wanted to try this place since a while now, went in for their Buryani Mondays. This time it was Chef Danielle Alvarez. Lovely spread for the buryani banquet menu. The service was good and attentive. It was a delight to see chef getting the plates out herself and explaining to each patrons about the flavours and ingredients used for almost each courses. Over all a nice place, small and fills up really quick. Their regular ala carte menu seemed pretty interesting as well would love to come back to try their ala carte. Especially their prawn curry that looked very tempting as just the table next to us had ordered that and we got a glimpse of it .

Delicious food. Great setting...

Loved the sambol plate since you get a bit of everything. The waitresses were both very nice and friendly but the waiters were condenscending

Seriously great, punchy flavours happening here. Giving very Melbourne vibes. The waitress was so knowledgeable about the wine list, a rarity I find these days! 100% recommend.

This place is as hip and now as it ever was ...wait, is that a tautology or just ridiculous? Anyway, this is my third visit, and its consistently good. The package; ordering, service, portions, wines are as slick as a tanker spill. The food itself neither wows nor disappoints. The wine too. All in all, its a good choice, if your wallet is ok with the price of a potato curry...

outstanding food

Beautiful food. Very well explained by the staff who are friendly and attentive. Highly recommend the banquet/tasting menu. So tasty and really good value.

Delicious Sri Lankan cuisine, prepare for fire breathing chilliness

Food was amazing...the spice level was perfect for my taste buds. They did not water it down to suit others and maintained the authenticity of Sri Lankan flavors. If you are ther please do try their banquet menu as it really brings out a nice full platter of meal and it is well balanced. Very unique find was the tumeric and ginger gelato. Couldnt take much photos as i was too busy eating. Overall great place!

Small portion, a few vegetarian options, most things have butter, but according to staff they can do it without butter to make it vegan. Delicious and can be spicy. Dont come hungry, I came on my own and it was around 2 hopper, 1 curry, 1 side, 1 entree and 1 small dessert and it cost almost 50 Better come to share... not enough veg options to come often though

Staff charming & helpful. Food delicious. Menu so interesting, hard to choose! Intriguing drinks list worth exploring.

After reading the reviews from Timeout i went with high expectations, but quickly realized is far from the reality, food is average..not bad but no great either, nothing really that blew me away, the restaurant is also a bit dark and small ...so a bit disappointing wit the whole experience, yes the service is friendly and they take you for every single plate and explain bla bla bla..but im here for the food not a speech.

Sensational food, and vibes, great service!

Was excited to try this Sri Lankan restaurant, but came away a bit disappointed. First off service was good, and provided good suggestion. However, the food was a bit of a let down. The flavours were there but the execution was a bit disappointing. We ordered 2 hoppers, a coconut roti and a normal roti to go with our two curries. The curries were great, but the hoppers were not crispy, coconut roti was small and the normal roti was single layered and thick for a roti. We also ordered a Faluda, a drink with sago, pandan and rose in coconut (yum), but the sago and pandan were undercooked. The food is still tasty but it is a bit expensive for what you get. Still a fun place to impress a date

$75 set menu is the only thing available when we went and well lets just say it was not worth the price tag. Whilst the food was lovely, the general portion sizes were a joke. 1/2 a pan roll each surely they could have stretched the budget to give us a whole one! The reason for the the rating is due to the additional charges on the bill.... 2x$75 then adding an extra 10% for Easter, then asking for servers tips on top of that add a few drinks and suddenly youre looking at a bill for + $200 for two people!

Lankan Filling Station has filled up on its own hype. The hopper was hopless, surrendering to the curry sauce almost immediately, causing the 2 to blend into obscurity. Pork curry danced its way through the chilli, the way a 50yr old dances to barnsey at the pub on a tuesday night. He gets it done, but no one pays more than a cursory glance at his mediocrity. The pan potato roll saved the day. On its own with the accompanying chilli sauce, it would be 5 stars. Unfortunately its mates brought that rating down. Dont they always?

Lankan filling station is a lovely dinner spot. Stylish decor & fabulous service. 2 of us shared a couple of starters, three curries meat, eggplant and cashew (I wasnt a big fan of the cashew but my companion loved it) and breads with mixed side sauces. We shared a delicious bottle of wine and left absolutely satisfied.

Great food for casual dining or for something nicer.

Bottom prices and top service

Food is unbelievably delicious and the staff are amazing.

Lankan Filling Station is as close to an authentic experience of South Indian/ Srilankan food that you can get in Sydney. They dont hold back on the spice, and their hoppers are to die for! Must visit for people who are looking to expand their gastronomy. I know Ill be back soon.

Wow, that was delicious!

Good food, good vibe, good service

Unfortunately our experience from the beginning was a let down. The waitress asked us are you guys Sri Lankan or something which wasn t quite welcoming to begin with. From there the service was ok until part of one of the dishes we ordered didn t get delivered until just before we finished the whole meal. And that was after we had followed up twice. As for the food, overpriced and lacked flavour badly. Coconut sambol and the rice was unpleasantly dry. Food overall lacked salt. Overpriced. $35 for 3 pieces of chicken??? $1.90 for a string hopper? The portion sizes are shockingly small. Even then it would ve been ok if you delivered flavour. Message to the management, if you are Sri Lankan, you know how good the Sri Lankan flavours are. Hope you will put more effort into your dishes. Because for people who know the authentic Sri Lankan food this is a disappointing experience and for those who don t you re kind of deceiving them whilst overcharging them. And please have a chat to your wait staff on customer interaction. People are not things.

A bit disappointed. While the flavours were bursting (loved the combination of spices used!), the portions were quite small and very expensive. The waitress kept talking about the hoppers, but they were quite bland and tiny and definitely not worth it compared to a rice dish. The small plates were VERY small indeed and weren t special.

Went there with high expectations but the food was horrible (Not Sri Lankan) and not worth the price at all. Very disappointed and felt a bit disgraced to our food. Especially the way they over charge these small dishes which do not even have the Lankan taste at all. So sad. The portions were very small and everything is overpriced. Usually you cannot go wrong with our food, but this was such a big disappointment. Even those small street food stalls in Lanka have better food and taste than here. FYI - A Samahan was $5 (It was funny and sad at the same time, those who know will know). From this may be you can get an idea about here.

Wanted to go here for a while did not disappoint. The food was exceptional everything was so flavourful and fresh. And honestly one the best Sri Lankan food I had. The service was great aswell. Highly recommend this place.

We went with high expectations and Lankan Filling Station delivered! We ordered a variety of starters, curries and rotis and everything exceeded our expectations. Highly recommend the fish curry, the pan rolls (both types), the daal and the delicious Arrack Attack!

Good as a first time shrilankan feed, not many around so it was nice to try something new. decor is cosy thanks to pink lighting.

Luv it.

We went in knowing very little about the food, we chose the banquet to sample everything and the staff is very helpful with the explanations. The hoppers are delicious and unique. The sambols and the curries took some getting used to with the unfamilier flavours and the full on level of spice (and i can tolerate spicy good), they were delicious too. Interesting food, good vibe and friendly staff. Although very different than what I expected, it was a good experience.

Sri Lankan food served in upscale atmosphere - if that s what you are after. Tight space, three of us had to struggle juggling dishes on a table that would normally sit one individual. Food was okay, but far from authentic Sri Lankan taste. Hopper was long way to go, and eggplant curry was oily and tasteless. Overall portions are small.

Great food

Flavour, Flavour, Flavour!! Lots of colours and aromatic spices in the dishes. Great and friendly service. Nice ambience and atmosphere. Recommend

I ve never ever had such bad Lankan food even living in Lanka for 18years. I ordered 1 egg hopper and 4plain hoppers, a hot butter cutter fish. The curries were prawns and potato. The hoppers came out, it s usually a white batter it was red.. idk what flour was used it didn t give that feeling/taste of a hopper. I thought at least the curries would be good. The prawn curry was sooo flavorless, it just tasted like prawns boiled in water, I m sure if u guys watched YouTube u would have done a better job. Feel bad for the prawns that sacrificed their lives for a curry that tasted so bad. I know ur clients are local.. u can reduce the heat/chili and still have good flavor in food. I was expecting a potato curry which is usually with milk, I m not sure what oil was used to make the potato it was so strong and so bad. And I cant believe we had to pay extra for lunumiris/katta sambal these come for free even with hopper sold for $3-6 each(in melb). The extraordinary price on the hoppers are so pointless, even if it tasted good I won t be writing this review. And guys do u even know what hot butter cuttlefish is???? We just got some cuttlefish with a small coat around and drenched in oil The food was soo bad that I felt like buying the chefs tickets to Lanka or Melb since either u guys are born here or never had Lankan food. It s a shame. The only good this was ur Falooda..

What an incredible dining experience. Wonderfully charismatic and warm staff, a knockout menu I m still dreaming about, with an approach to food that is filled with love and integrity. Feel so lucky to have this restaurant in Sydney.

Great staff, delicious food although some of it is quite spicy. We had the banquet $75pp. Lovely experience but Im not sure Ill be hurrying back.

Had the best experience at LFS. Special mention to our server (beard, shaved head with two-tone specs - sorry I didn t get your name!) for exceptional service. I had dietaries which he was mindful of throughout that service, in addition to being warm, professional and highly knowledgeable about the menu. Will definitely be back!

Incredible food, wonderful service, can t fault it. The staff are genuine, very friendly and so helpful- they really want to help you have the best experience with their food.

Highly recommend people read the reviews from Sri Lankans left here - I should have before coming. Came with my Sri Lankan mother and our family, and will not be back again. The curries were either bland (fish) or cardamom central to the point it was overpowering (chicken). Prices were high for curries with a small amount of meat. Egg hoppers were not fab, the egg was over cooked so you couldn t dip your hopper or curry into the yolk. Service was also not the best. The waitstaff had little to no knowledge of Sri Lankan food (one waitress pronunciation of roti will be something I ll laugh about for years to come), including asking us if we d want our hoppers and roti to arrive before the curries, which was super strange? Another then tried to take our carafe of rose with half a glass left in it back to the bar before we stopped her. All in all, definitely won t be returning and recommend anyone looking at this review to go to Lankan Railway Cafe in Mortdale instead for authentic, cheaper Sri Lankan food with better service.

Amazing! Great food, great atmosphere, great service! Sit at the bar kitchen and watch the masters at work

Loved the vibe, attentive and yet casual staff, delicious and surprising banquet. Chicken curry is spicy but tasty. Can t wait to go back for Tuesday night biryani!

Its different experience. Place lacks value for money

Fantastic service with yummy food. This was an experience

Have been wanting to try both Sri Lankan food and this restaraunt for a while and a birthday was the excuse to come for the mud crab special. And the mud crab us special, we must of had a huge one because it was only just finished while we left everything else pretty untouched. The crab was delish and the sauce was perfectly spiced. All the side dishes were a compliment to the meal and lovely on their own. Will definstely be back trying a larger portion of the menu. Thx for a great night.

Really delicious, flavorful food at a reasonable price. The staff was friendly and helpful with the menu and had some great recommendations based on our taste. Atmosphere isnt anything too exciting but everything was comfortable.

Really cool vibe inside. It is quite small, but adds to the intimacy of it! Our server was super helpful at explaining the menu, ensuring dietaries were catered for and helped us pick out our dinner to not order to much!

Incredible food and service! We mustve ordered ~6 drinks between the two of us (alcoholic and non-alcoholic) and they were all amazing. The owner happened to be waiting tables and looking after us that day and we bought her book because we loved each and every course. Had the crab banquet which I recommend to experience but they give you the whole crab and its a bit fiddly to take it apart, so not for people who want a romantic, clean meal! Would love to come here again!

We had a lovely night out last night for my Dads birthday. I was surprised they were fully booked on a Tuesday night but thankfully they found space for us. Wonderful service, tasty food & great menu. Thankful for the great night :) We will be back!

Very nice food

Tasty food. Lamb curry was very spicy Real Sri Lankan flavor . All the other foods were delicious. Quick service with very friendly staff. Recommend this place to everyone

Had a long lunch here sitting outside on a beautiful day. Staff were friendly and welcoming and helped guide us through the menu and the drink options. Food was something different yet somewhat familiar at the same time, enjoy all the little bits and pieces as well as the platter of various pickles which helped tweak dishes. Would definitely recommend.

Very mediocre

Good food. Great service.

It somewhat taste like sri lankan food but there are many missing taste aspects. Definitely oily and under seasoned. Needs to be more authentic and true to self rather than overly washed out

!! Please read this before booking !! My friends and I were excited to eat here as it had great reviews, so we booked ahead of time. HOWEVER there was a $60 PER PERSON MINIMUM when booking. This EXCLUDES drinks. We managed to order up to $130 worth of food between 4 of us and we were FULL and unable to finish our food. However they insisted we order takeaway as we still had a lot to spend. I do understand the struggles that pandemic has caused for businesses, but I dont think this was the right approach to solve that or to encourage people to come and eat at your restaurant. The team should make the booking condition very obvious to avoid customer disappointment. P.S. For $60 youd expect some top tier sri lankan food, but the flavours werent very impressive..

Beautiful delicious food which was a real experience. The service given to us by Stuart was the best we have ever received. Attentive, knowledgable and kind. Would absolutely recommend this restaurant.

First time here the other night and was pretty impressed. Food was delicious, super tasty. Service was also attentive and efficient. We booked for a Saturday night and we did have to have the $70 banquet but that seemed like good value considering the food you received and you dont have to think about what to do. They also accept part payments - we paid part cash and credit card. I did have trouble locating it as the name is not visible outside, just a logo. Its located next to Red lantern on a corner. Google maps wasnt very clear.

Awesome tasty meal. Staff were fun, helpful, beautiful people. I even bought the tshirt!! Thank you for a brilliant meal shared with my gorgeous gal pals.

Expansive, and the food lacks spice. Ok at best. Not authentic at all.

Went for Crab Sunday lunch November 2021. Delicious food, terrific service. Everything was perfect.

This was the best and most unique curry I ve had in years. Absolutely delicious!

One has to really work hard to get around the crab curry set menu which is delitefully delicious and worth the price. Will return again and again.

Food is great, the combination not so much.

Nothing named sri lankan except for hopers good if you going for a drink. Should add Sri Lanka s signature koththu to the menu. Dont have much space either.

Amazing food with plenty of flavour. Can cater for food restrictions really well and great staff to top it off. Will definitely go back.

Dropped in for brunch as I had heard so many good reviews. Unfortunately my experience was not great . We ordered Thosai and found the texture sticky and unpleasant and well over priced . Thosai should be crisp on the outside and light . The egg curry flavour was very nice but the eggs were chewy . I am so sorry this is not a good experience of Sri Lankan cuisine

I ve heard so much about this place and was so keen to try it. Although the service and atmosphere/interiors of the establishment was awesome. I felt the food was a bit of a let-down we had the cashew nut and chicken curry. The flavours were a bit mellow and the kick I was expecting never really came. It was also served warm rather than piping hot. I never had hoppers before however it seemed to go well with the curry and side offerings. A positive though is defs recommend the mu mu cocktail with your meal, it seemed to have a lassi style texture and flavour which is a great complement to the meal.

We ordered via Providoor, I am sorry to say we were quite disappointed with the food. We had the prawn curry, cabbage mullung and snake bean curry. The cabbage was okay but the flavours in the rest werent right. The prawns were spicy and we could taste the tamarind but it lacked a lot of flavour otherwise. I managed to some eat some prawns, I had a tough day working in the yard on a hot afternoon. Normally when I am hungry I can eat anything but this was not edible. I dont think I will ever eat from here again.We live in an area of Sydney with a large Sri Lankan population and many casual type Sri Lankan restaurants and this food doesnt compare and was much more expensive.

Went to a Sri Lankan restaurant for the first time. The servers were really friendly. To me, the most interesting item is the White Chili. I was expecting it to be spicy, but it actually tasted quite salty.

Friendly and welcoming small Sri Lankan restaurant with very good food.