Lakruwana Restaurant
Sri Lankan restaurant · Stapleton
668 Bay St, Staten Island, NY 10304
Highlights
Arty Sri Lankan restaurant with elaborate decor and a popular buffet.
Arty Sri Lankan restaurant with elaborate decor and a popular buffet.
"At Lakruwana’s all-you-can-eat, BYOB, $20.99 weekend buffet, we once observed a table of men washing down bites of pork curry with whiskey and coke at noon, and we wondered why we spend Saturdays doing anything else. On weekends, there's often a line for lunch at this Stapleton Heights spot, but once you get a table you will be faced with one and a half hours of pure, unadulterated buffet time. Fill up your plate with Sri Lankan dishes like egg curry, deviled chicken, dal, and a particularly great but easy-to-miss, melty eggplant, which is usually towards the end of the line of warm clay pots." - willa moore
"Most South Asian restaurants no longer offer all-you-can-eat lunchtime deals, but Staten Islander Lakruwana is a holdout. The buffet, deposited in a series of ceramic and wooden pots that snake around the walls of the space, includes at least 20 dishes, breads, and condiments. It’s $20.99 for Saturday and Sunday AYCE lunch and dinner." - Eater Staff
"The knockout Lakruwana is one of several Staten Island Sri Lankan restaurants. It is also one of the most unique restaurants in New York. When the weather allows, take the Staten Island Ferry (itself a completely fun NYC experience), or rope in a friend with a car, and head here. There’s is an all-you-can-eat buffet and the space looks like it’s straight out of an antique mall." - Emma Orlow
"Lakruwana on Staten Island might have the best AYCE deal of anywhere on this guide, but it’s only available on the weekends. For $20.99, this bright, lantern-filled Sri Lankan spot offers a buffet laid out with exceptional pork curry, several vegetable dishes, dal, and more. The buffet is on from 12:30-9:30pm, and if you show up at a peak meal time, there will probably be wait. Thanks to a 90-minute time limit, it shouldn’t be too long, and you can reward your patience by eating your weight in egg curry and eggplant under the watchful eye of a Buddha statue. Lakruwana is also BYOB, so bring a bottle of champagne to make your own mimosas." - will hartman, willa moore, neha talreja, bryan kim
"Lakruwana actually opened in Manhattan in 1995, but it moved to Staten Island in 2004 to the Stapleton Heights neighborhood, where it has been ever since. It’s especially popular on Saturdays and Sundays, when patrons take advantage of the all-you-can-eat buffet. Full of Sri Lankan staples like kale mallung with coconut, onion sambol and black pork curry, it offers a wide variety of tasting options. The weekend buffet is cash-only and is available from 12 to 10 p.m. Call for reservations." - Eater Staff
