The Ceylon Tavern
About The Ceylon Tavern
It may be just minutes from Clapham Junction, but in terms of food and atmosphere, Lavender Hill's Ceylon Tavern couldn't be further away from those grey, puddled platforms. Step inside and you'll be treated to a taste of a long gone era of British colonialism - a time of tea, cricket and imperialism - thanks to chandeliers, wicker aplenty and the odd piece of Sri Lankan art for good measure. Grab a Sri Lankan brewed beer and peruse the menu which is bound to excite those tastebuds with its impressive selection of dishes from traditional 'shorteats' to hoppers, a kind of pancake, and of course those gorgeous curry and rice staples.
Sample a la carte
Starter
- Selected fish cutlets (bread-crumbed spicy fish and potato cakes served with caramelised tartar sauce and salad) £3.50- Lamb rolls (crisp fried spicy lamb and potato bread-crumbed crêpe parcel, served with sweet chilli sauce) £3.50
- Vegetarian patties (crisp fried potato and seasonal vegetable filled pastry served with chilli sauce) £2.95
- Chicken mulligatawny rasam (robust pepper corn, garlic and turmeric light soup with chicken morsels) £3.45
Other starters are available.
Main Course
- Lampries (a Dutch influenced 'festive dish' of flavoured samba rice, chicken or lamb, fish cutlet, aubergine moju, seeni sambol and boiled egg wrapped in a banana leaf and slowly baked to give this dish a unique flavour) £11.00- Kothu rotti (a Sri Lankan street-vendor specialty originating from the north eastern province of Sri Lanka, prepared with shredded 'rotti' tossed and stirred with sautéed onion, green chilli, egg, and lamb or chicken) £6.95
- Sea food string hopper kothu (steamed rice noodles tempered with sautéed onion, green chilli and a grilled spiced seafood cocktail) £7.95
- Biriyani (associated with the Sri Lankan Moorish community, an aromatic combination of saffron, local herb and spice flavoured ponni samba rice and succulent pieces of chicken or lamb sprinkled with cashew nuts) £7.95
- Vegetable briyani (subtly spiced combination of saffron and herb flavoured ponni samba rice and selected vegetables sprinkled with cashew nuts) £5.95
- Thara pirattle (duck breast pieces marinated in a mixture of dry red chilli, garlic, ginger & coconut cooked in 'arrack', ghee & sugar with cinnamon stick, rampe' leaf & lemon grass served with rice) £11.00
Other main courses are available.