I should start by saying that this place doesn’t actually have an official name; this was just the name the friendly guy who runs it gave me when I asked him. There’s no signboard, no specific address, and no phone number. It’s a little cabin on Thimbirigasyaya Road opposite the Anything.lk building (about half way between Kirula Road and Fife Road) and does short-eats and a selection of dinner-time curries.
The short-eats are great: packed with different flavours and about as fresh as they get. The guy making them stands next to the guy who serves you, churning out Chinese rolls, samosa, and roti at a hell of a rate for the steady clientele of this popular ‘fast-food’ joint. The fillings vary depending on whatever it is they’ve most recently made, but expect fish, egg, veg, beef and chicken on rotation. I’m used to getting short-eats from shops and restaurants that taste almost identical no matter where I buy them Island-wide (maybe a-little-more-oil here or have-been-sitting-in-the-sun-a-little-longer there), so this place is a real breath of fresh air and definitely worth a visit.
‘The Takeaway’ offers a few meat and fish curries which are alright but not particularly outstanding. We had chicken curry, dhal, and a potato curry from there this week. The chicken was a tiny bit chewy though. Good, flavour-wise and the dhal was nice enough, but the potato curry was really bland; the only thing you could really taste in it were curry leaves. Potato curry aside, this was a pretty good, basic meal. I won’t be eating curry from here all the time, but I would definitely eat it again.
‘The Takeaway’ is a good alternative to the nearby Sen Saal (if you aren’t too fussed about the lack of variety in comparison) as their short-eats are almost half the price. So it’s worth heading that extra 500 metres down the road if it’s a few Chinese rolls you’re after. The curries are pretty cheap (we paid Rs. 360 for ours, curries for two people; without rice or pittu), and although not overly exciting they do make a decent meal.
