Spicy Zest - Restaurant & Bar

Amazing food, music, and hospitality from the owner who is so proud to share his culture with guests. We are avid travelers and tried so many delicious foods that were new to us! Definitely worth the drive from Dallas. We can't wait to go back!

The one and only Sri Lankan restaurant in the DFW area and the food is great.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 5

Service: 5

I love Indian Food, and this was even better. The dahl is a must. The biryani had a great taste, and the fried chicken with it was the best I ever had.

We went here Sunday, January 11, at 12:30 p.m., and ordered a la carte instead of the buffet. The server was super friendly. You will love this place.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Best authemaut Sri Lankan food. Prepared fresh and tasty. Spread on the buffet is incredible, over 25 items on Saturday lunch. Well worth the money.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Spicy Zest takes it unique approach to the types of cuisines in Dallas. Sri Lankan food is rare to find and they do a good job of making it accessible. Very aromatic flavors and certainly unique.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 4

Service: 3

Wanted to give Sri Lankan food a shot. Maybe it's just us. Didn't like anything much. Things felt a bit salty and over cooked. Even the Nasi Goreng didn't hit the right spot. Wished much better. For the price, not worth it.

Atmosphere: 2

Food: 2

Service: 4

Friday night buffet was amazing. Great service and vibe all around. Would recommend to anyone!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

A MUST when you are hungry for some delicious food!!! 😋

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

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 they have artificial plants by buffet line which have lot of dust and could use cleaning

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 4

Service: 4

I don’t take 5⭐️ lightly - we arrived early and had a chance to interact with the staff, super friendly, coupled well with the food - tons of flavor and great spice levels.
Celiac (gluten allergy) - took good care of us

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

The food and service were simply amazing!!

We were on a road trip from Canada to Texas when we came across Spicy Zest, and wow—what an incredible find! The food was absolutely amazing. The Lamprais was the perfect portion and packed with flavour, and the egg rotti was so good we couldn’t stop talking about it. Honestly, I could go on and on about how delicious everything was.

We came to Texas excited for some classic Texas BBQ, but Spicy Zest impressed us so much that we ended up visiting twice during our short stay. That says it all!

Food: 5

Service: 5

Spicy Zest Restaurant & Bar serves the best Sri Lankan food I’ve had in the USA. We came from Canada and decided to try it and it was so good we ended up coming back again before heading home. Every dish is packed with authentic flavour, and the staff are genuinely warm and welcoming.
We will definitely be back again when we are back in TX.
Highly recommend this place to anyone looking for real Sri Lankan taste and amazing service

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Couldn't wait to try this place and was so happy when we arrived that only two other people were there (normally means faster service) during lunch service (non-buffet day).

Mohan is very nice and has great energy. Food was fantastic, yummy and fresh! Everything is cooked to order and authentic with just the right blend of seasoning and ingredients. Spent $25 for the meal, can of soda and tip (average price).

I did experience a couple of challenges:
+ Just about every appetizer we tried to order was not available. The appetizer Mohan suggested we order ended up not being available either (found about about 10 minutes after we ordered).
+ My food (not a custom order) arrived 25 minutes after everyone else’s food with no apology, reason, etc. Everyone at the table had pretty much finished eating by the time my food arrived. It was fresh and good when it finally arrived, but at a minimum there should have been an explanation or acknowledgment.

If I go back I know to ask what is actually available on the menu and if they plan to serve our food around the same time.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 3

Restaurant person's review: What a hidden delight this restaurant is! I have had Indian many times but this Sri Lanka food tops it all. So apparent it is made from scratch.
First time to dine here and we were met by a delightful friendly young lady who was eager to answer any and all questions and point us the right way to do the Saturday buffet. Pro tip: Get some punch which is by the door before you go through the buffet. The buffet is in a tiny area and is awkward for more than two people fyi. The Saturday buffet is offered from 12:30 - 3:30 and we arrived at 2:15 and some of the items were picked over already or gone completely fyi. To be completely honest, the two people at the table behind us had 12 plates of food just during the time we were there (yes, I counted) and numerous glasses of the punch as they called it. These were not large people either. It was shocking to us. I say this because as I mentioned, there was several item that had been devoured and nothing left for anyone else. I could say more but I won't.
That being said, there was a young girl who made a bowl looking thing with an egg in it on site like an omelet station! The people behind us had 4 or 5 of these bowl things but with no egg in theirs. The stars of the buffet were the shrimp #1 followed by the curried beef. There was a Biryani that was supposed to have goat according to the label but others had eaten all the goat out of it so there was only the rice left. I would have liked to try it. There was also this mashed veggie in puff pastry that I was lucky to snag the last one that I shared with my husband.
The restaurant was small but very clean and the restrooms were also although no paper towels for hand drying as I prefer to use that so I can hold it to open the bathroom door to exit for sanitary reasons. Staff were friendly and attentive. I caught a glimpse of the owner but he did not introduce himself nor speak to us.
We will definitely go back for the Saturday brunch but perhaps go earlier before the people eat more than their fair share and leave nothing for others.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 5