Updated October 26, 2026,first published November 11, 2024
13.5/20Kurumba
Sri Lankan$$
Where a tropical bounty of bold island cooking and well-crafted cocktails await.
The restaurant-raised De Hoedt family aren’t shy to share their treasures: generational recipes rooted in Sri Lankan heritage, reworked for a contemporary wine bar. Pickled plums glint like gems in a peppery black curry of Berkshire pork from Bundarra Farm, smoky and rich with roasted spices.
The gravy is perfect dipping material with hoppers, those deceptively complex bowl-shaped crepes that here are lacy-edged and soft-centred with a sweet tang from fermented rice flour and coconut milk. Desserts prove the family’s pastry-chef pedigree: the coconut-scented watalappam is light and lush, the custard pudding finished with a lick of dark, woody kithul.
Service isn’t the smoothest, but the cocktails are, and reason enough to come; the Kurumba Sour is a textural mix of aquafaba and arrack, a Sri Lankan spirit distilled from fermented palm flower. Calamansi and pandan-laced sips beckon another round. Why not? You’re on island time.
Good to know: Skip snacks and save space for more curries and hoppers.
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Last visited: April 2026
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See all storiesMore:
- Surry Hills
- Kurumba
- Sydney
- Sri Lankan
- Accepts bookings
- Family-friendly
- Good for solo diners
- Good for groups
- Good for a first date
- Private dining room
- Gluten-free options
- Vegetarian-friendly
- Outdoor dining
- Separate bar
- Restaurant
- Reviews
- Good Food Guide
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Source: The Age
At a glance
- Topic
- World
- Country
- 🇦🇺 AU
- Publisher language
- EN
- Added to Allnira