If you’re a fan of Curry Hut, the delicious and bargainous Cathays-based Sri Lankan restaurant, then you'll be interested to know about Ceylon Spicy Pot.
This recently opened Sri Lankan restaurant is owned by the same couple who first ran Family Choice, the takeaway which was hidden at the back of a convenience store, before the business was returned to the owner and transformed into Curry Hut.
Now, they’ve struck out on their own and taken over the former site of The Broadway Cafe, just off Clifton Street in Adamsdown.
Other than changing the sign on the front door, it doesn’t look like there’s been much sign of refurbishment. But, there’s a definite charm to the lack of slick interior design flourishes, which look so good on the ’Gram.
With a menu featuring string hoppers, biryani, kottu, fries, curries and a Saturday special of lamprais, there’s a lot of tasty sounding stuff on offer. And the absence of Devil paneer meant I was forced to order something different for once.
Whilst Ceylon Spicy Pot is applying for an alcohol licence, it’s currently bring your own booze. As we lacked that nugget of information before our visit, we instead enjoyed a pair of delicious mango lassies (£2.50) with plenty of fragrant tropical fruit.
Despite there only being ourselves in the restaurant and a small takeaway order to deal with, we had a bit of a wait for food. I can imagine if the place was any fuller then things could get interesting.
Piping hot crisp mutton rolls (£1.99) were filled with tender curried meat and potato with a big blast of chilli. Somewhat ironically, a bowl of sweet chilli sauce served to temper the spice.
Runny yolked egg hoppers (£1.50) had a hyper-crisp lacy edge and were seasoned with a good twist of black pepper. It was a little bowl of katta sambol that really brought the dish alive - combining red chilli, plenty of citrus, and the salty savouriness of dried fish flakes, it was a deliciously complex condiment.
King fish fry (£6) combined seriously crisp crusted pieces of meaty fish, topped with golden fried onions and little green chillies, which I dared not to eat. Whilst the fish pieces were a little bit dry in places, there was still something very compelling about the dish.
Aubergine curry (£5) was the star of the meal. Long-cooked pieces of soft and tender aubergine and sweet tomatoes that had been added at the last minute were bathed in a copper coloured gravy with layers of warming spice and good thrum of chilli.
Egg kottu (£4.50) was a lovely example of one of my essential orders. Combining soft paratha shreds, scrambled egg, carrot shavings, soft sweet onions, it was a corking bowl of comfort food. Whilst the recipe eschewed curry leaves, it made up for it with its bold spicing.
It was also accompanied by a dinky pot of ferociously spicy mutton gravy which was lovely poured over it.
We really enjoyed Ceylon Spicy Pot - they serve great value Sri Lankan food that's cooked with a lot of love and I’m certainly looking forward to exploring more of their menu.
The details:
Address - Ceylon Spicy Pot, 10 Broadway, Cardiff CF24 1NF
Web - https://www.just-eat.co.uk/restaurants-ceylon-spicy-pot-cardiff
Telephone - 07455 192175
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