The restaurant is nestled away in a central business hub on Charlemont Road in Wellawatte. Situated in-between two prominent buildings; Savoy Theatre on Galle road and KFC on Marine Drive, Kandoori is accessible from both ends. It is the perfect lunch and dinner location for the busy executive as well as for the entire family.

When asked about the meaning behind the term ‘Kandoori’ and its similar relevance to the more familiar term ‘Tandoori’, General Manager Mr. Rushdy Shuaib says that Kandoori was originally derived from The Qur’an. Kanduri is a sacred festival where food is given in the name of the prophet in mosques in remembrance of the prophet. Initially started back in his hometown in Beruwala, the first Kandoori Restaurant has been operating for the last seven years whilst this particular branch has been open for just a year. The restaurant sits around 50-60 people at once but it does not have the adequate parking slots for all its customers. There are about 10 slots of car parking, all round the restaurant. There was less patronage at the time around 2 in the afternoon, but that was an added advantage for the food to come faster.

It's menu has a wide variety of dishes ranging from Indian to Western and other Asian cuisines. A fresh fruit juice would be the ideal drink to consume whilst your order is being prepared. A chilled glass of fresh fruit juice will help you relax and soothe yourself. Their signature dish, the Kandoori Buriyani was unparalleled. Serving the dish with a fair sized piece of chicken, which is not the case in many restaurants, the chicken was tender and delicious. You could add some spice to your meal by ordering some accompaniments like a mutton masala or mutton kuruma. If you have your kids with you and they don’t want Indian? That wouldn’t be an issue since the restaurants’ menu consists of chicken submarines and other burgers to cater to the little ones. The portions of food are satisfactory and are more than adequate to fill your stomach.

The staff at the restaurant is quite backward maybe due to lack of experience but were very humble in taking orders and bringing about the food. A spacious and air-conditioned interior space with washrooms at the back makes the restaurant a fancy little joint for you to enjoy a meal. Open for lunch and dinner everyday except for Friday where, they open at 1.30pm. Apart from the menu, the restaurant has an authentic Buriyani sawan offer going on. Either chicken or mutton, it comes alongside a vegetable curry, maldive fish sambol, Malay pickle and the most famous dessert served alongside Buriyani, wattalappam.

Being hygienic is key for any restaurant. From the tables to the floor and to the waiters personal hygiene should be impeccable but their glassware had some stains but was replaced upon request to some cleaner glasses. A fresh juice, lunch and dessert could be all purchased and billed under Rs.1000 (give or take Rs.200) at Kandoori Restaurant and can be described as a fairly good restaurant experience.

More information on the restaurant can be found on their website http://www.kandoori.com or their Facebook page.

Text and pictures by Migara Wijesinghe