My daughter and I had an amazing experience at Spicy Zest. We were greeted promptly by our formally dressed and friendly server. He gave us great information about the menu and was very attentive. For drinks, I ordered a Sri Lankan Milk Tea and a watermelon juice. My daughter had the Dalgona coffee. All of it was incredible. The juice was super fresh and adorned with a slice of watermelon. For starters, we each had a vegetarian patti. The heat builds adding to the savory flavor journey the pattis take you on. For our entrees, I had the Sri Lankan vegetable soup and it was the most comforting, delectable soup I think I have ever eaten. I have my daughter a bite and she was also wowed. Believe me, we've eaten some soup, so this is saying a lot. I dream of the soup now. It's an issue. I'm looking forward to going back for a fix next week. They make it fresh, so as the server warned us, allow twenty minutes for them to prepare yours. My daughter had the chicken zesty bowl and loved it. It does contain shrimp--very nice looking shrimp. The ambiance was fairly quiet and a unique blend of casual and formal. Hard to put a fine point on it. It was clean though some of the furniture was a bit worn. Nothing that detracted from our experience. Everything tasted memorably amazing. The service was superb. Go get hooked. I am. read more

See all

Great family oriented Sri Lankan establishment. Ample seating and parking. Amazing pricing and homey atmosphere, would highly recommend. My only gripe was the wait. While I do understand it is family owned and nonetheless amazing food, waiting 20 minutes just for waters kind of offset us. Waiting for fresh food was understandable, and when it DID come out they were great dishes. We ordered the Family Lamb and Beef for 5 people, all the sides (Lentils, Beets, and Kale) were great and complementary to the entree. My personal favorite was their Mango Lassi, one of the best ive ever had. read more

See all

Overall Rating: 8.7 out of 10 From Hoppers (both sweet and savory), Patties to Pani Puri, Biryani, Beef Curry to Mango Chutney, Jackfruit Curry, you get to try an amazing variety of foods @spicyzest And oh, they have some amazing desserts too ! Atmosphere: this was my second time here. We went here, on a Saturday, for lunch. Our group was fairly large. Like last time, the place was packed to the brim. People seemed to have been enjoying themselves. Relaxed, happy faces all over the place. Unlike last time, they did not have live live music. I am guessing that's only reserved for the evening buffet. Rating: 8 out of 10 Food: the buffet was somewhat limited, but what they had tasted pretty good. Everything seemed fresh. They even had a live Hopper making station. A drink was also included in the buffet. The Hoppers were the highlights for me; the sweet one slightly more so than the savory one. Pro tip: eat the savory hopper with some beef curry. Trust me, you won't regret it. Rating: 8 out of 10 Customer Service: even though the place was pretty packed, the Chef/Owner personally came over and talked to us. He even gave us three bags of freshly baked Fish Patties, which tasted really good. Apologies to the servers for our repeated requests to them to make us fresh Hoppers; they were very patient with was. Simply amazing! Rating: 10 out of 10 read more

See all

This is our first time eating Srilankan food in DFW. Service- Staff were very welcoming and they explained menu to us, esp helped my wife who is vegetarian to indicate which food has meat. We loved most of the dishes, mango curry, Chicken Kottu, shrimp curry Appetizers were the best part of the buffet. Kids loved the desserts, the choco mousse stole the show. Although, our only suggestion is about the artificial plants by buffet line, they have lot of dust and could use some cleaning. read more

See all

So my job offers two vendors each day to order food from, different ones each day. Yesterday, one of the options was Spicy Zest, which I had never had before. I ordered a beef curry burrito. Let me tell yall something: this burrito does not lack ANYTHING--seasoning, meat, rice, you name it, it's in there. The burrito is the size of my forearm. Let's talk about the flavor: I usually have to add a dash of seasoned salt to most dishes, but not this one. This burrito legit has me pining for the next time my company offers Spicy Zest (and no, it was NOT spicy). It also came with a side of raita that was also delicious. read more

Spicy Zest - Restaurant & Bar - Beef curry burrito - Sri Lankan Near Me - Farmers Branch, Texas

I love Sri Lankan food but it's not the easiest cuisine to find in the states. We decided to come for the Saturday buffet as it's the best way to sample all the different delicious dishes. It was my first time having pittu (recommend to dip it with coconut milk) and it was so much fun to be able to sample so many traditional dishes in one setting. They also have a hopper station where the staff can custom cook it based on your liking. This is the best Sri Lankan restaurant in DFW. You don't want to miss it! read more

See all

Omg talk about a mouth orgasm. I forget what it was called but it was the most amazing food I'd had in a while. Then we got this corn stuff with pita that ok. The chef suggested this dish and I was very happy with his choice for us. read more

Spicy Zest - Restaurant & Bar - Sri Lankan Near Me - Farmers Branch, Texas

Ambiance was comfortable & cozy, with upbeat music. Service was perfect. Great food suggestions and always with a smile! I had the #3 Devilled with chicken and it is my new favorite!!!! The fried rice was delicious too. Im definitely coming back so I signed up for their reward points! read more

See all

This restaurant was on my list to try and finally got around to visiting with my Yelp buddies. The place is casual with a bar that offers beer, wine and cocktails. They offer a buffet during the week and an à la carte buffet on Saturdays. The drinks were made fresh, and we tried the sambol bun, egg hopper and cutlets for appetizers. The table ordered different dishes ranging between the biryani, curry and rice, beef bowl, lumprais and roti combo. I tried the fish curry and rice, which had a complete homemade flavor. Cannot ask for anything more! The only call out I would have is the portion of rice is too small if you are really hungry :). Everyone enjoyed their dishes and had great feedback on the flavor and presentation. The sambol is a must try. The restaurant was fairly busy and service was a tad slow. It did look like they were understaffed. Family run establishments that make good food are always great. Who cares if the service is a bit slow ;) Plenty of parking is available and the hoppers are made in the open kitchen which is nice to watch. Pricing : Moderate Will I return? : For sure! read more

See all

First time trying Sri Lankan food, the lamprais with chicken was yummy but the chicken was a bit overcooked. I noticed that the buffet wasn't served during lunch on weekdays. read more

Spicy Zest - Restaurant & Bar - Sri Lankan Near Me - Farmers Branch, Texas

This was a great Sri Lankan experience. The decor was so cute! We did the a la carte buffet. I had the Sri Lankan rolls, the coconut sambol, and the roti combo. Everything was very fresh and authentic. It was such a great experience. read more

See all

Traveled to Dallas for business and found this gem. The Saturday Buffet was amazing, quality, variety and athletic Sri Lankan cuisine. A bit of everything from Hoppers, pork curry, chicken curry, too many to list. Highly recommend trying it out. read more

We had Spicy Zest cater an event in Sugar Land, TX recently. These guys did an amazing job. They arrived on time traveling all the way from Dallas. They were well prepared. Setup live action stations for fresh hoppers & kottu roti along with a fantastic array of Sr Lankan Hors d'oeuvres and curries. It was an outdoor event. They were very professional. Very clean. They came well equipped and did all the prep work independently. Dealt with a few minor weather related setbacks in stride. We were very impressed with their service. Our guests were raving about the food! Sri Lankan restaurants in the US are few and far between. Restaurants that are run well are even rarer. Hoping to see them around in the long run. We'll definitely visit when in Dallas. read more

I tried very hard to love this place. I know I did. But... it just didn't end up impressing me as much as I wanted it to? I can't tell whether the food is "authentic" since this is my first experience with Sri-Lankan food. Those who've read my other reviews will know that it is seldom my first priority anyway. Hence, I'll simply attempt to comment on the taste from a neutral perspective. So I had the mixed kottu, a fish bun, a dalgona coffee and a curds dessert. Not the best flight, but I felt it was diverse enough for a try. The mixed kottu on its own is pretty good. Spicy (in the "lots of spices" way), al dente, and delicious. I ordered it with cheese, though I didn't notice much cheese. It wasn't a big deal, though. It could've just blended in with all the hot meat and eggs. I did taste a certain creaminess to it. However, when I was having this dish, a constant thought kept crossing my mind: "Hold on. Isn't Pad Siew just this but better?" Yeah. Having lived in Fort Wayne, Indiana for a long time - a place with a large Burmese population, lots of whom can cook a mean Pad Siew, it was hard for me to be impressed. Maybe I just wasn't sure what I was expecting, but I did expect some new flavors and tasting what amounted to an imitation of Burmese-Thai cuisine of all things did disappoint me a little. The fish bun and the dalgona felt pretty much the same. The fish bun has too much bun and too little fish, and the fish paste they used had a quite fibrous texture that made it feel more like pork floss than a piece of fish to my tender teeth. I guess "fibrous vaguely-fish-flavored curry bun" just didn't roll off the tongue too well. Meanwhile, the dalgona coffee looked a lot better than it tasted. It didn't taste *bad*, it just tasted like a Starbucks frappe. The curds dessert, on the other hand, was easily the worst offender in my book. It didn't taste like much else besides yoghurt smothered in honey - a VERY SOUR yoghurt, at that. Again, I have no idea if this is supposed to be authentic, but every rendition of the Halloumi and Honey dish has been more enjoyable to me, while feeling quite similar. My friend had a chicken yellow rice and complained that the chicken was a bit salty. I only had a bite of it, but I'm inclined to agree. The chicken meat itself didn't seem to be anything special, either. It was breaking apart like everything you get from Tyson. Service is ok. Atmosphere is ok. Neither really stood out either way to me. TL;DR Sri Lankan cuisine is quite curious. However, I don't think the place stands up very well on its own. read more

See all

We came here to celebrate my cousin's birthday and I thought it was a great place with great food. The buffet has an array of different things for you to try and the food tastes so fresh! My kids are picky eaters and they enjoyed the food very much. The service was amazing, and our waiter went above and beyond to take care of our group. We each got a free mimosa and the staff made me two Egg Hoppers to try. The ambiance is family friendly. The owner was a very friendly guy, and he even brought my cousin a complimentary dessert for her birthday and joined in to sing for her. Great place! read more

See all

I am in the process of moving to Dallas from Los Angeles and decided to try this Sri Lankan restaurant close to where my last meeting was. Boy am I glad I came here. I sat at the bar since I was alone and enjoyed some scotch along with the beef kottu and the lumprice with lamb curry. Both dishes were exquisite and I ordered way too much for one person but I am glad I did because everything was perfect. The restaurant is beautiful and inviting. I was helped by Mohan who was very welcoming with both my drink and food order. His suggestions were spot on. I am relatively new to Sri Lankan cuisine but I feel that its popularity will keep growing as more people get exposed to the wonderful flavors and textures. I highly recommend this restaurant to all foodies and Indians like myself who want something that is familiar yet so unique. read more

See all

My first time trying Sri Lankan food, but it will definitely not be the last! I visited Spicy Zest in Farmers Branch and every single item was absolutely delicious! It is most similar to Indian food - which is not a surprise given the proximity of Sri Lanka to India - with a bit of a twist. I had the Lumprais, which is Fried Rice with Cashews, Mustard Seeds, Curry Leaves, Cinnamon, Cloves and Garlic wrapped in a Banana Leaf with Eggplant, Fried Egg, Plantain Curry and a protein of choice. A very unique dish with many unique flavors throughout. I also tried the Kottu and the Yellow Rice, both equally tasty. The restaurant was clean, the service friendly and they also have a store in the back with Sri Lankan items for sale. There is also a bar, and they do offer a buffet during the weekends. If I have any criticism, it's that I would prefer a little more spice. That said, I wanted to experience the food in it's traditional way for my first visit, and they also brought me some chili sauce at my request. There is another location in North Richland Hills, but I understand that the menu is somewhat different. If you like to try new cuisines, or have never tried Sri Lankan food, you owe it to yourself to try Spicy Zest. If you do, leave a note in the comments to let me know what you thought of it. read more

See all

Tried this place for the first time and the food was delicious! Definitely a great place for me to try new food. Service was a bit slow but everything else was good. read more

Spicy Zest - Restaurant & Bar - Sri Lankan Near Me - Farmers Branch, Texas

This is not a fancy place, at all. But it's a slice of Sri Lanka. The service on our visit was excellent and very friendly. The buffet offered a surprisingly large array of choices, including a couple of made-to-order items. The decor has many, authentic Sri Lankan touches. And they had a singer/guitarist performing live Sri Lankan music. But it has a fusion element, too. The entertainer also played Western music, including Willie Nelson, the Beatles, and Johnny Cash. He even threw in that famous Jimmy Buffett song. Speaking of Margaritaville, they offered free margaritas with the buffet. How cool is that? I guess that made it a Buffet buffet :-) The place was packed, and all the guests seemed like they could have been from Sri Lanka or had roots there, which added to the ambience and authenticity of the place. They all seemed very friendly and were all having a good time. We were glad to be a part of it. read more

See all

Mohan was our waiter and he embodies the Sri Lankan hospitality I remember from back home. He was joking around with us and making us feel just like home. The food was terrific. I am not a huge kottu fan but the kottu was really tasty here. The mixed meat one had delicious fatty pork in it cooked to perfection. I do not like the lunumiris that accompanies the meals. It is a wet type that seems to be blended maybe? It has a bit of an odd taste but not that bad. I got a beef curry for my roti and it was okay. I asked for a fried egg and some green chili on the side and the nicely made roti was then the perfect meal. I asked for a 5 in spice level and it was not really spicy but because of the good flavor I did not mind just getting the green chili on the side for the kick I was looking for. The deviled chicken was amazing. If you are going to order egg hoppers ( ) ask them not to break the yellow part of the egg. I am sure you will enjoy it with a spicy beef curry and some lunumiris. The milk tea with ginger and jaggery was very good too. We went here two days in a row to try the buffet out and was able to sing some nice Sinhala songs during karaoke night. The owner offered and made us all some nice tea towards the end of the night. The buffet is so reasonably priced for having "cooked to order" egg hoppers and kottu. They also had crabs and fried fish at the buffet table. The buffet includes one alcoholic beverage (margarita or Carlsberg). THIS PLACE IS AWESOME. Money WELL spent. Best "bang for your buck" as some may say. read more

See all

We wanted to try this place out because 1) I saw the great reviews and 2) I wanted to try something new. This was an absolute winner. I've never had Sri Lankan food before, so every bite was a flavor bomb in my mouth. What we got: Hopper: This was like a super thin, crispy, crepe with crushed onion and chili. It was amazing how delicate but flavorful this dish was Kottu: This was another super interesting dish. Chopped up slices of thin roti with vegetables and a meat of your choice. Holy smokes this was quite the dish. It took me a while to comprehend the roti pieces in the dish. Delicious. Lumprais: A banana leaf-wrapped rice dish with spices, meat of your choice, and veggies. This was an amazingly prepared dish and definitely on the spicier side. The dishes come in large portions and will definitely fill you up. The staff are super friendly and proud of their food, as they should be. Looking forward to trying their other dishes the next time I'm in the area! read more

See all

Lamprais and the buffet are amazing. Great service as well. Always feel welcome whenever I go here.

Wow! This is a must visit every time I'm in the area now. The food is a delight on my senses, every bite made me wish for more. If only I had a bigger stomach haha. The service is very efficient and kind. I loved eating there with my mom. The vibe is nice and a perfect place to chat while you wait. read more

Spicy Zest - Restaurant & Bar - Mango Lassi, Rice & Curry - Sri Lankan Near Me - Farmers Branch, Texas

The food is very closely related to Indian food. It wasn't great and it wasn't bad. I tried 3 of their fried appetizers one of which they got wrong, but I didn't make a deal of it. Since it was a cool day, I got the chicken stew with a spice level of 1. If you don't do spicy, ask for no spice because 1 was too spicy for me to enjoy. read more

See all

The owners of this establishment are actually Sri Lankan, and the servers are so helpful with the ordering for those of us who were trying this particular type of food for the first time. For each item I ordered he asked what level of spice I wanted (1-5...1 being no spice, 5 being I'm on fire, please put me out). Their buffet is more of a multi-course meal, but even so, they have a good menu with a lot of variety. The selections were all good sized portions and it was all very fresh. I started my meal with the chicken pattis. It was fresh, hot, and the perfect amount of spice (I am a 2...a self-professed wimp). In case I should actually start to ignite, I ordered a yummy mango juice to go along with my meal. For the main course I ordered the shrimp biriyani with raita. Again, everything was so fresh! I ordered the biriyani with a heat level 2 and it had good flavor but not too much heat. I probably could have gone to a 3, but it wasn't necessary for the flavor. The shrimp were large and juicy. Probably my only complaint is they didn't remove the tails. The raita is sooooo fresh and cool; It reminded me of a chunky Greek yogurt salsa. Outstanding food and service at a reasonable price...yeah, we'll be back! read more

See all

We have been going to Spicy since they opened up 9 years ago. As a Sri Lankan living in another country, having authentic Sri Lankan food means so much. We have loved watching them grow from a small restaurant to what they are now. Nimudu & Chamari are very hard working and very welcoming. They are always happy to talk about the food if you have any questions. If you are not familiar with Sri Lankan food, but want to try it out, I'd say definitely check out their buffet. They have a Friday night dinner, Saturday & Sunday brunch. The food is mild and there is a huge variety. Our favorites are Yellow Rice, the Godhamba, deviled chicken or beef, fried noodles, my husband who is American likes their Zesty bowl. They make a killer crab curry, but this needs to be ordered at least an hour in advance. And don't forget to get a nice cup of Sri Lankan tea! read more

See all

Great Sri Lankan restaurant ! I remember first going to spicy zest when it was a tiny establishment about 8-9 yrs ago. They had served great authentic Sri Lankan dishes. They have now moved location and expanded their restaurant! I'm so glad they're doing so wonderful! Especially since we don't have any options for Sri Lankan food. On sundays they offer buffet, since my friends and I don't know much about Sri Lankan food, we wanted to try to buffet in order to try many of their dishes! I loved all their curry options, korma chicken and Biriyani. A lot of their buffet entrees are not spicy, which I did not expect. I expected more spicy dishes. They did have some sides condiments that are VERY spicy that you can add such as the coconut sambal. The buffet did have lots of non Sri Lankan opts for kids or some people who want something a little more American. Best part is the lady who's in the middle making fresh egg hoppers! Omg! It was amazing! Very thin and crepe like with a runny egg in the middle to dip. Would not mind coming back for regular dinner. read more

See all

What a fun evening of culinary exploration we had at Spicy Zest! An old college friend and I wanted to meet for some kind of interesting food and I randomly found this gem on the map. Neither of us had tried Sri Lankan food and what a treat it was! We arrived to a packed restaurant on a Thursday night. Not a seat left and people waiting outside. We were first told there was no way we would be able to get in, but with patience, persistence and a little willingness to stand and have the buffet and eat it on a countertop, the lovely staff accommodated us, then as people left, treated us to such TLC and found us a great spot at the bar where the bartender made us special hot chai to drink. The staff was so kind. We even met, Nimidu, the owner and his intelligent, beautiful wife. They put so much passion into the food and service. We learned more about the Sri Lankan food we were trying and hospitable Nimidu even treated us to a digestif liqueur that is a signature drink in his homeland. We had such fun with him and every single thing we tried was excellent! Make sure you try the crepe dessert, the biryanis, and the robust tasting curries. All excellent! But the star of the show here is the truly lovely staff. You can see their passion for good service and taking care of people, which is rare these days! read more

See all

I came here on a Friday afternoon to order take out. I waited for over 30min for 3 entrees. There were more than plenty staff, but they were all busy watching cricket on TV. They ignored me, and when my order was ready, they were still ignoring me. I finally got my food after 40 some minutes, the server entered my order into the system, told me to pay, and walked away to keep watching TV. Never coming again read more

SOS friendly! Just ask for NO Salt, Oil, Sugar. Everything made fresh from scratch, so they are happy to accommodate SOS request for any item on a menu! We had Vegan SOS meals, but you must be specific and request not to use any Salt or Oil or Sugar. read more

See all

I love this place. Always great service and the food is spectacular. Go for the weekend brunch and you can try everything. It's so good Don't forget the egg hoppers. I like it runny. read more

See all

We have gone here five times and each time the food has been good and fresh. Specifically the buffet variety works well for our family with some vegetarian only preferences. The staff is friendly . We have been curious about music night and Sunday brunch but have not experienced it yet. read more

I was just there to pickup food for a small party and i ended up staying there for longer talking with fellow Sri Lankans and ordering short eats. They had Karaoke night and i was able to talk to a few people and it was really pleasant. Mohan was our waiter and he was super friendly. We were from out of state but he made us feel like it was home. We ordered few Fish buns, and rolls. They were pretty good. Inside the store we saw there was a Appa (String hoppers) station, Kottu Station, Live music and grocery section in the back with Sri Lankan wall art/decor. read more

It's been about a month since the visit. We went for Sunday buffet. Small place in a little strip mall so parking might be rough. Our waitress was so nice and friendly. She even went over the menu with me to help choose items guaranteed to not be in contact with fish or shrimp. It's the first place to even tell me do not eat from the buffet which meant less money I spend there ... but she was explaining ordering my own item is promised to be the safest. That really means a lot when you have a serious, dangerous allergy. It's nice when the place does care about customers and doesn't mind to help explain the preparation methods. Really appreciate that so much. read more

This was in Dallas Observer's top 100 list and I've been tackling all the spots, so I paid SpicyZest a visit! I'm not super well versed in Sri Lankan food, but the staff here were incredibly friendly and polite, even helping with describing some of the dishes for me and what they'd recommend. I ultimately landed on the Kottu given the dish's popularity and portion size. I really enjoyed it. The curried meat, strips of flatbread and veggies are all very well seasoned and mix together comfortably. The curry flavor itself is distinctly appetizing and not too overwhelming like I've had among other dishes. Also, the spicy sauce gets served on the slide of the plate which I appreciate, and it's got a slight sweetness to it. Really liked the mix of that sauce in with the main dish. Lastly, portion size is LARGE. I took quite a while to eventually down it all. Very pleasant meal overall, glad I got to try! And again, all compounded by fantastic service. I'd come pay a visit again, worth the drive. :) PROS: - wide assortment of dishes to choose from, and they have baked goods! - staff are incredibly friendly and polite (great recs) - kottu was high portion size, tasty curry flavor and all the ingredients mesh well - family restaurant interior kinda feel - prices are reasonable relative to dish size CONS: - none! :) read more

Spicy Zest - Restaurant & Bar - Kottu - Sri Lankan Near Me - Farmers Branch, Texas

Pro tip - enjoy all varieties of the traditional egg poppers which are made to order on the buffet. Be sure you know the buffet hours, also.

I'm still drooling over that lunch buffet I had over a month ago. I think that means it's time to go back, ASAP. All the food was great. There were a few things on the buffet I didn't love, but there was so much more that I did. Especially the hopper. Not sure where those have been all my life, but so glad I finally found them. Probably need to go for dinner sometime also. read more

I was really impressed with the service. The owner is very friendly and welcoming! We started with the Shrilankan cocktail and fisn buns. For entree, we shared chicken lamprais which is their specialty. It was delicious with perfect amount of spice. I loved the sides of eggplant and caramalized onions, they were packed with flavor. We also got Godambe with egg roti to go. I was surpsised how well the roti reheated in the microwave the next day. Over all, it was a great experience. read more

We came here on a Friday night hungry after a wine walk. They do cocktail specials at 5:30p with a local Sri Lankan liquor, Araak. We started off with a lamb patty and veggie Sri Lankan roll. Each order comes with just one piece. Both were pretty good, with me favoring the lamb patty. We ordered the nasi goreng and a Sri Lankan curry that is marinated for 48 hours. I don't recall the name but I got the lamb version of it. I would say the nasi goreng was better. Unfortunately, both lacked spiciness even after asking them to make it hot. However, the curry is worth the try if you haven't had it before. It was flavorful. Overall service was good. Staff is very friendly. Karaoke night began a little into our night there which was entertaining. Definitely a good time to be had there. read more

Spicy Zest - Restaurant & Bar - Nasi Gorang - Sri Lankan Near Me - Farmers Branch, Texas

See all

Tasty food items and very good service. The owner is very nice and helpful with a new cuisine I have never tried. Everything is fresh and amazing tasting. From the foods to the drinks everything is top notch. Great food and service all around. Will definitely be back! read more