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    Spicy Zest - Restaurant & Bar

    4.6 (240 reviews)
    ModerateSri Lankan, Grocery
    Closed 11:00 am - 9:30 pm
    Updated 3 weeks ago

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    SPICY ZEST - RESTAURANT & BAR ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Quiet
    Casual
    Classy
    Outdoor seating

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    Beef curry burrito
    Tiara L.

    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.

    Hopper
    Anna S.

    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!

    Laura M.

    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.

    Old Fashioned
    Leslie S.

    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!

    Lampris with fish
    Arun P.

    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!

    Travis T.

    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.

    Sri Lankan roll
    Michelle G.

    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.

    Kottu
    Sanjay S.

    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.

    Dalgona coffee
    Hong Phuc N.

    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.

    Egg Hopper
    Lily M.

    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!

    Sri Lankan Iced Coffee
    Don R.

    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.

    Jocelyn G.

    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.

    This wall poster includes a photo of one of the dishes they prepare fresh at the buffet.
    Lowell O.

    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.

    Deviled chicken (level 5 spice)

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    5 months ago

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

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    2 years ago

    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.

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    6 years ago

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    Nimidu G.

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    Page 1 of 6

    Ask the Community - Spicy Zest - Restaurant & Bar

    What time do they start serving the evening menu during the week?

    4pm to 9.30pm

    Don’t See Your Question? Ask Away!

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    Tom Thumb

    Tom Thumb

    3.0(65 reviews)
    2.1 mi
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    I've always liked this store. It's clean and well stocked…read more Now, the Bakery is what I want to mention today. My daughter brought me a donut this weekend, it was sheer bliss! It was Dubai chocolate donut filled with the most delicious pistachio cream you can imagine! The cream has Kadaif in it which gives it a lovely light crunch and the chocolate on top is like a thick layer of silk.They are made on sight! If you get the chance make a stop at Tom Thumb in Addison, you'll be so happy you did!

    Awkward customer service here. It was my first time walking here from Dutch bros. I got a drink…read morethere! I just had came in and was minding my business looking at TOMS good pricing on their ready to go meals, costing only $3.55 for breast and veggies and so my intention was to buy but this employee was hunting me from over my shoulder and I guess he was tryna flirt but it came off passive aggressive and wait a min, I had my beats on and was listening to music so I didn't even hear him and so I had to take my earphones off and he made this big deal about NOTHING LOL THRU ME COMPLETELY OFF, and then he got me to buy some tenders which was fine but I totally forgot to pay for my salad and water enhancer when I got to the register and I walked out and this BLACK LADY came outside to tell me I forgot to pay and she said it nice and I said sorry forgot lol and then I gave her back the salad and I called the store director to tell them my experience and he was so nice and didn't fault me and listened to my customer service experience and I told him I wanna remain anonymous and he said he will talk to all 3 employees lol anyways the store is clean and good products but dang do the sure over stock everything but I can say there is a lot of people living in the area so I'm sure ppl shop here! Nice AC unit blowing as it's 90 degree weather which throws ppl off too but anyways I did buy the chicken tenders for my salad at home and left with a good experience of sampling those! But otherwise get ur employees in check sir! Haha

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    Tom Thumb - Hello from feminine products aisle

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    Hello from feminine products aisle

    Spicy Zest - Restaurant & Bar - srilankan - Updated May 2026

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