Sri Lanka’s award-winning crab restaurant, Ministry of Crab founded by chef-restaurateur Dharshan Munidasa together with Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara opened its first outpost in Australia on the 10th of April, making the restaurant in Melbourne its 10th restaurant opening.
Ministry of Crab, Melbourne is located at 226, Flinders Lane, a 5-minute walk from the iconic Flinders Street Station in the heart of the Central Business District. Flinders Lane is one of the city’s most popular culinary hotspots, known for its mix of eclectic, high-end, and inventive dining experiences.
The restaurant is situated in the 100-year old art-deco Invicta House, a former silk factory. A palette of orange (representing crab) and green (the sea) dominate the interior, and there are elevated banquettes and counter seating overlooking the open kitchen, where the centerpiece is Ministry of Crab’s now-famous crab board, showcasing all available crab sizes right up to the 2kg Crabzilla.
Partnering with Dharshan, Kumar and Mahela on this restaurant are local restaurateurs Harsha Kumarasingha and Jayantha Warnakula. The duo’s HCJ Restaurants previously coordinated Ministry of Crab’s Melbourne pop-ups in 2022 and 2024.
The Melbourne restaurant features signature dishes from the flagship in Colombo, reimagined with the best of Australia’s catch. In keeping Ministry of Crab’s commitment to freshness, the hero- ingredient is the wild-caught Australian mud crab from the Northern Territories. The restaurant also celebrates other local seafood such as leader prawns, oysters and clams, combining them with Sri Lankan spices and Japanese culinary philosophies to plate up the flavours Ministry of Crab is synonymous with.
Speaking at the opening Chef Dharshan said, “Provenance of ingredients is very important to me, and Australia having the mud crab is the reason we are here. I want to serve the best crab of Australia, in Australia and that’s how we brought Ministry of Crab here!”.
Ministry of Crab Melbourne is open for dine-in from Tuesday – Saturday from 12:00pm – 3:00pm and for dinner from 5:00pm to 10:00pm; and on Sunday from 12:00pm to 5:00pm. Reservations can be made via email at reservations@ministryofcrab.com.au
