Sara's Kitchen : the family-run, authentic Sri Lankan restaurant with all-you-can-eat buffet in the 18th arrondissement.

Want to travel to Sri Lanka without taking a flight? Sara's Kitchen invites you to an immersion in the country’s traditional cuisine, housed in a restaurant that feels like a family cantina, offering an all-you-can-eat buffet alongside 100% authentic, boldly spiced specialties.

In the north of the 18th arrondissement of Paris, a discreet restaurant draws in flavor seekers from afar and transports our palates to the heart of Sri Lanka, the Pearl of the Indian Ocean. Adorned with Raksha masks, those tiny demons that ward off the evil eye, and Buddha statues, the dining room revives the culture of the island’s people once known as Ceylon.

It's Saranga, who arrived in France nearly 20 years ago with a solid catering background and hailing from the Colombo region, who turned her dream into reality by opening Sara's Kitchen in 2023, a family affair. Traditional and entirely homemade, the cuisine is warm and authentic, letting the diaspora relive the taste of home, or inviting the curious to discover the flavors.

On the à la carte menu, the variety of options offers a nice snapshot of the entire Sri Lankan culinary richness, decidedly generous. Beyond its à la carte dishes, the best value for money remains without a doubt the buffet à volonté offered at 12.99€ at lunch (13.99€ for dinner and on weekends), including a dessert.

A real steal for sampling a multitude of curries simmered to perfection without breaking the bank! Heads up for the most sensitive palates: Sri Lankan cuisine doesn’t cut back on the chili!

A good number of starters and fried dishes benefit from a boldly seasoned touch, so don’t hesitate to tell the kitchen you’d like to skip the spices, even if they’re usually part of the fare.

To take the edge off the heat, join us in sipping a milk-based drink — the Falooda — a refreshing rose-syrup beverage with basil seeds, or a mango lassi (€4). Note that some dishes are meant to be enjoyed with the hands!

Among the starters (1 to 2.5€), we encounter the hopper, a surprising pancake made from rice flour and coconut milk, with ultra-crispy edges and a genuinely creamy center, offered plain, with milk, or with eggs.

Flaky‑bread fans can opt for the parota, rich with its many layers for dipping into a sauce, or the roti stuffed with beef, a comforting choice. The latter also appears unstuffed, as a flatbread, but it’s spiked with chili—and it’s a real surprise!

You’ll also discover tasty vade shrimp vada filled with red lentils, crispy rolls, or patis, plus delicious tuna-filled turnovers.

On the mains side (€10–€15), you’ll find a crowd of kottu, the savory fried rice served generously, and biriyani, whether paired with seafood, vegetables, lamb, or chicken. If you’re feeding a crowd, there’s even rice heaped up for €55 to feed the whole family!

To finish the meal, the dessert menu highlights local traditions with the watalappan, a coconut-milk pudding sweetened with palm sugar, rich and dense, perfect for a indulgent finale, the watalappan (note: here represented as lavariya in the menu), a caramelized coconut sweet, or Sri Lankan pancakes, priced between €1.5 and €3 per piece.

With very affordable prices from starters to dessert, echoing a commitment to local traditions, for a dépaysante experience in the heart of Paris!

This test was conducted as part of a professional invitation. If your experience differs from ours, please let us know.