The grandly named New Star Hotel is a little street kade on the Galle Road of Dehiwala that serves up a mean iced milo, biriyani and kottu. It’s a good stop for a cheap, tasty lunch, if you don’t mind the dodginess.
The Food
Mostly it’s the portions that impressed us. At Rs. 290 for chicken biriyani and Rs. 270 for beef kottu, we got large plates, spiced up well, with typical sides of sambol and pineapple. We especially appreciated the bit of fresh onions and chillies on the side. The beef in the kottu came in plenty of large chunks.
I personally enjoyed the biriyani more. It’s a hefty meal. And the chicken, the hallmark of any chicken biriyani, was roasted, crunchy and smeared in a thin layer of masala.
The iced Milo here at Rs. 150 is pretty good – the Milo flavour isn’t too strong, but it’s blended well and makes for a refreshing way to water down your heavy meal.
Service & Ambience
New Star Hotel is definitely on the dodgier side of the dodgy spectrum, probably because the space is slightly more cramped than in other street shops. It’s one of those places you’d be surprised to see a girl at. It’s clean though. There’s this front area with your typical kade metallic chairs and at the back of the room a small space with wooden table sets. Next to this is a dodgy side-corridor for smokers.
We appreciate the effort they put into interior decor as opposed to the plain walls of similar establishments. There’s this trippy luminous coloured tiles thing going on throughout most of the little restaurant, and then somebody’s adorable attempt at scenic graffiti. Our waiter was quick, if nothing else.
Conclusion
New Star Hotel serves a good, heavy lunch, whether it’s fried rice, biriyani or kottu. The prices are fine. If you don’t care for ambience and want a filling fast meal, it’s a good stop, or you can always do take-away.
