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Unlimited hoppers, a large hand-washing station and diners ringing service bells guarantee that dinner at new Sri Lankan venue Hopper Joint in Prahran will be quite unlike eating at other Melbourne restaurants. That’s exactly the aim of owners Brahman Perera and Jason Jones (also behind Entrecote), who are transferring the generosity and rituals of Perera’s family gatherings to a contemporary restaurant setting.

“They’re always loud, everyone talking over each other a little tipsy – it’s just fun,” says Perera.

Perera, an interior designer who grew up in Doncaster with Sri Lankan parents and a south Indian grandmother, has planned the 80-seat restaurant for eight years with partner Jones, a career restaurateur.

Distilling family memories, holidays to Sri Lanka and their Melbourne sensibilities, they hope to bring an exciting addition to the city’s booming South Asian restaurant scene.

At the walk-in-only Greville Street restaurant, opening March 22, guests will be greeted by Perera’s mother Sushila, directed to a hand-washing station and thrust into the sights and sounds of hoppers being cooked to order in the open kitchen.

Illustrations by artist Edwina Thomson on the walls and the menu guide diners on how to eat the fermented rice pancakes the way it’s done in Sri Lanka: with your hands.

“It’s ritualistic. It’s physical. It feels primal. It tastes better,” says Perera. “The instrument of the utensil is kind of an impersonal interruption to the joy of eating hoppers.”

Hoppers come with two curries at Hopper Joint (choose from up to 10), plus sambols and a bell that you ring when you’re ready for the next hopper. Side dishes, such as grated cucumber and coconut with mustard seeds, are additional.

Perera’s mother has taste-tested each of the curries on offer, with the recipes, from dry black pork to okra, based on her own mother’s cooking and verbally translated to chef Ronith Arlikatti (a 2023 finalist for The Age Good Food Guide Young Chef of the Year).

Short eats, the fried Sri Lankan snacks that kick off most meals, are also on offer, including crumbed beef brisket crepes known as pan rolls. They’re joined by other small plates including prawns in Jaffna curry butter, spice-dusted pineapple (a popular roadside snack) and tuna crudo in a mild curry dressing.

Perera, who designed the venue, says the minimalist meets tropical look is inspired by Sri Lankan architect Geoffrey Bawa. Deep-red cork floors, grey cobblestones like those on Colombo streets, indoor plants and teak window shutters meet flourishes like saffron-coloured glass waterfall chandeliers and custom-made wall sconces that are moulded on the hand movements of Bharatanatyam dancing.

Cocktails are heavily influenced by Sri Lanka. The Lotus Blossom combines arrack, hibiscus and bitter lemonade, while a lassi-inspired drink uses clarified yoghurt, mango, vodka and cardamom.

The same drinks and short eats will be joined by live DJs at upstairs bar Ceylon Cricketers Club when it opens in April, all going to plan.

Hopper Joint is open from Friday, March 22, Mon-Thu 5pm-late, Fri-Sun noon-late.

157 Greville Street, Prahran, no phone, hopperjointmelbourne.com.au