Review: Taprobane, Unley, a new Sri Lankan restaurant

There’s no greater sign of the standard of a restaurant than migrants from the country of the cuisine flocking to it. This new venue is doing exactly that and our reviewer has found out why.

Bar and interior at Taprobane Sri Lankan restaurant in Unley

The flavours and aromas of Sri Lanka run through the veins of Umesh Dhanushka.

He was born, raised and lived half his life on the magical isle. But in his professional life, as a chef and owner of restaurants for more than 20 years, he has served up Greek food, Mexican food, French food … every style of food, it seems, but Sri Lankan.

That, finally, has changed with the opening of Taprobane.

Here Dhanushka and his wife Shreeni Randeniya have fashioned one of the most convincing versions of their homeland seen at this end of the world.

Don’t rely on my word for it – ask members of the local Sri Lankan community who seem to fill most of the seats on the night we visit.

It has taken the couple more than a year of planning and hard work to transform a property at the city end of Unley Rd that for many years was home to Indian stalwart Snake Charmer.

All the fittings, furnishings and decorations, many of them made-to-order, have been sourced from Sri Lanka and transported here in two large shipping containers.

Interior at the new Taprobane Sri Lankan restaurant in Unley

There’s a distinct look to the interiors.

A teak bar at the back is the showstopper, with its intricate detailing and trio of elephant heads, while the walls are covered in original artworks, painted masks and a clever display of hundreds of stacked clay pots and bowls.

Chairs and two-person sofas have more carved timber and plush embroidered upholstery, while elaborate chandeliers hang overhead.

The food doesn’t miss out either. Every bowl, basket and platter has been specifically designed for the particular item it will carry.

Even the kottu, a simple fry-up of chopped roti and chicken, is served in a magnificent ceramic vessel that looks like a clam shell.

On his travels to Sri Lanka, Dhanushka also persuaded two experienced chefs to move to Adelaide and run the kitchen.

Together, they have put together a menu encompassing all of the cuisine’s greatest hits – from multiple styles of curry, to biryani and other rice-based options, to street food and snacks.

A common thread, along with the prolific use of wonderfully aromatic curry leaves, is the lightness and brightness of it all.

You won’t come home feeling as if you’ve swallowed a bucket of lard.

Prawn vadai at Taprobane Sri Lankan restaurant in Unley

Painted masks and interior at Taprobane Sri Lankan restaurant in Unley

If you’re starting with a beer, order the spiced cashews and marvel at how quickly they disappear. Beyond that, it is one new adventure after another.

“Vadai”, fried fritters of chana (split chickpea) dhal and spices, are available plain or with a prawn embedded like a fossil in the top.

Either way they come with chilli relish and a zippy salsa of mint, curry leaf and lime juice.

“Hoppers” are crisp-edged, lacy crepes made from a rice flour and coconut milk batter, fried in a special pan so they come out shaped like an edible bowl, some with an egg set in the bottom. Break off a piece and use to scoop up a potent chilli and dried fish sambal.

The banana leaf parcel known as “lamprais” is unwrapped to reveal a grilled chicken leg, curries, sambals and other goodies, all arranged around a hub of delicate golden rice. It’s the perfect lunch box for a solo diner.

Taprobane’s quest for authenticity extends to picking “thalapath” or sailfish, a species not found in our cooler waters, as the fish of choice for snacks such as the croquettes and stuffed pancake rolls.

A sour fish curry, on the other hand, has cubes of (slightly overdone) yellowfin tuna in a dark sauce that is peppery more than hot and has an appealing sharpness from a paste made with the rind of garcinia fruit.

The colour in a black pork curry comes from a long toasting of spices including cumin and coriander, giving the gravy a deep resonance that will keep you coming back for more.

Not that there is a lot of liquid. This is a drier-style curry with the focus on the pieces of fall-apart shoulder meat.

For dessert, “Kiri Pani” translates loosely as “curd and treacle”, with tangy fermented milk solids set in a bowl and doused in a palm syrup poured from a jug at the table.

It’s yet another discovery at a restaurant that feels like arriving in a far-off destination, helped no end by the radiant personalities of the waiting brigade. Pack those bags and get booking.