Explore the magic of Sri Lankan cuisine at Stones Corner newcomer, Walkway to Ceylon
Late last year, Stones Corner welcomed a new resident to its midst – one dedicated to showing off the best aspects of Sri Lankan cuisine. Walkway to Ceylon has become a cult favourite amongst foodies, with crowds coming out to devour piles of buttery roti, flavour-packed curries and moreish street eats. We popped in to get a closer look at Walkway to Ceylon’s offering – here’s what we saw …
When was the last time you ate Sri Lankan food?
The cuisine isn’t strongly represented in Brisbane, especially when compared to the foods of its geographical neighbours. This means that there are a lot of folks that might be unfamiliar with the magic of Sri Lankan cooking. If you’re one of them, the team at Walkway to Ceylon would love to feed you.
Walkway to Ceylon is a new Stones Corner eatery that is all about giving diners that island feeling. Owned and operated by chefs Sam and Nirosha and their son, budding front-of-house superstar Shane, Walkway to Ceylon is framed as a literal pathway of discovery for Sri Lankan cuisine.
“At Walkway to Ceylon, you get to walk all over Sri Lanka, pretty much,” says Shane.
Though the restaurant only opened late last year, the Walkway to Ceylon story stretches back to 2020, when Sam and Nirosha hit the streets of Brisbane, selling Sri Lankan delights from the back of their food truck. The food truck became a fixture at markets across Brisbane, until the pandemic forced the family to pump the brakes and consider other options.
“I had an idea and asked my dad, ‘Why don’t we start a little cafe that sold shorties (also known as short eats, or quick snacks) and a few baked goods?’,” recalls Shane. “We found a location in Coorparoo, just across from the Dendy Cinemas, and we opened a cafe called Cafe 299.”
Cafe 299 served a concise menu to start, encompassing shorties, Sri Lankan street-food staples, a rice and curry dish, and fried rice. Soon, the cafe became a local hot spot – with the venue’s 16 seats occupied most nights. While Sam and Nirosha eventually expanded the menu – showing off a greater range of Sri Lankan specialties – they couldn’t expand Cafe 299’s seating capacity. In February 2024, the family decided it was time to find a new home for their cafe – one that would allow them to finally showcase the true breadth of Sri Lanka’s culinary splendour.
Walkway to Ceylon occupies the space formerly home to Yum Yum Duck on Logan Road. A slick refurb has transformed the space, which has seating for 100, applying a clean scheme of black and yellow with timber accents.
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Now, with plenty of room to work with, Walkway to Ceylon is set to hit its stride. In the coming weeks the restaurant will expand its menu once again, bringing back some old favourites to flesh out the menu, which is already deeply rich with flavour. For those unfamiliar with Sri Lankan cuisine, Shane breaks down the difference between Sri Lankan and, say, Indian food simply.
“A lot of people that have never tried Sri Lankan food before are sometimes scared that it’s going to be super-duper spicy,” Shane tells us. “We tend to say Sri Lankan cuisine is rich in spices, but not overly rich in spice.”
If it’s your first time visiting the restaurant, Shane recommends ordering a mix of Walkway to Ceylon’s street-food-style dishes and traditional dishes. That means you could start with snacks like tempered fish cutlets (Sri Lankan-style croquettes) with potato and onion and crispy chicken crepe rolls, before splitting a serve of kottu (shredded roti tossed with egg and served with fried egg and your choice of protein) or godamba roti served with curry and lunu miris (Sri Lankan chilli sambal).
When it comes to the mains, the best dish for first-timers is the 299 Banana Leaf feast – a quintessential Sri Lankan meal featuring aromatic rice, fish cutlet, papadum, condiments, two vegetable curries and one meat curry. Other must-try dishes include Walkway to Ceylon’s take on nasi goreng and the Ceylon crab curry served with roast paan and rice.
Walkway to Ceylon’s bar is amply stocked, with a clutch of signature cocktails and mocktails joined by a tight wine list and a tidy selection of beers – including Sri Lankan export, Lion lager.
Soon, the offering will be bolstered by the addition of lamb roti wraps and the return of monthly hopper nights – the latter of which have proven to be massively successful in the past.
“It’s gone so well to the point I have to announce we’re doing hoppers two hours before we open,” says Shane. “Otherwise the line’s out the door or I’m getting booked out in like 30 minutes.”
Walkway to Ceylon is now open – head to The Directory for more details.