Baja Subs Market & Deli
Sri Lankan restaurant · Northridge
8801 Reseda Blvd Suite A, Northridge, CA 91324
Highlights
Authentic Sri Lankan food, kottu roti, biryani, and curries
Authentic Sri Lankan food, kottu roti, biryani, and curries
"On a sleepy afternoon the reviewer ordered the lamprais (also spelled lumprais or lump rice), described as a baked packet of short-grain rice, sambal, meat curry, eggplant curry, a boiled egg, and frikadeller, a fried ball of minced meat; the entire package is fragrant with banana leaves and balanced with spice (though there’s certainly a good amount of heat throughout the dish). The name, taken from the Dutch word lomprijst, and that hefty meatball are noted as vestiges of colonization, but the reviewer adds that the dish “doesn’t need that moniker or the meatball.” Lamprais is recommended as a great first-time solo dish, and on weekends a wider array of curries and other flavors go on full display in a reasonably priced buffet—worth making the trek into the deep San Fernando Valley on a Friday or Saturday for a cavalcade of deep, spicy, comforting flavors." - Eater Staff
"Another one of our all-time favorites. You could come to this tiny convenience store in Northridge for a pack of cigarettes, a Diet Coke, and a turkey sandwich from behind the counter, and walk out with exactly what you need. But that’d also be missing the point entirely. At Baja Subs, it’s all about the secret menu on the wall filled with exceptional Sri Lankan food. You’ll find dishes like biryani topped with caramelized onion relish, garlicky Sri Lankan noodles, and kottu roti, a popular Sri Lankan street food made with flaky roti sauteed with vegetables, eggs, and spices. This is primarily a to-go operation, and though you can certainly order at the counter, we recommend calling in your order before you head over." - brant cox, sylvio martins
"You’re cruising the Deep Valley. You pop into a strip mall convenience store for a bag of chips and an iced tea, then end up staying for an hour eating spicy banana leaf-wrapped rice, garlicky stir-fried noodles, and other dishes cooked by the couple who run the place. That’s the scene at Baja Subs, a Sri Lankan restaurant inside a sub shop inside a corner store in Northridge. It’s the kind of place where you hope you’re the only customer because that means more one-on-one time with the sweet owners who’ll pull up a chair and pry out your life story. Lines here are blurred in the best way. Is it a restaurant? A store where you can grab string hoppers and a lotto ticket on your way out? Why not both." - brant cox, garrett snyder, jess basser sanders, nikko duren, sylvio martins, cathy park
"You can come to this tiny convenience store in Northridge and find all the things you’d expect at a local corner store—a pack of cigarettes, an air freshener, and the calming waft of AC as you open the refrigerator for a Diet Coke. But what makes Baja Subs different is the secret menu of exceptional Sri Lankan food. You’ll find dishes like biryani topped with caramelized onion relish, garlicky Sri Lankan noodles, and kottu roti, a popular Sri Lankan street food made with flaky roti sautéed with vegetables, eggs, and spices. This is primarily a to-go operation, and though you can certainly order there, we recommend calling in before you head over, as most dishes take 20 to 30 minutes to make." - garrett snyder, brant cox, cathy park, sylvio martins
"It’s hard to put into words how uniquely special of a place Baja Subs is, but once you step foot inside this tiny market/convenience store in Northridge, you’ll start to understand. Yes, you can come here for a pack of cigarettes, a Diet Coke, and a turkey sandwich from behind the bar, but that’d be missing the point entirely. At Baja Subs, it’s all about the secret menu on the wall, filled with some of the best Sri Lankan food you’ll find in LA—including an exceptional biryani rice that comes topped with caramelized onion relish, cashews, pineapple chutney, and a boiled egg." - brant cox
