Until earlier this year, one of my favourite takeaways in Cardiff used to be Family Choice in Cathays.
Unusually, this Sri Lankan takeaway also doubled as a convenience store so the business’s open kitchen was nestled behind shelves of crisps, booze and energy drinks.
Such was the value and deliciousness of their food that a friend of mine was known to order upwards of three takeaways a week.
Read more: The Cardiff restaurants which closed down in 2021
However, on the back of their success, the convenience store closed a few months ago for a makeover and recently emerged as a fully fledged Sri Lankan restaurant called Curry Hut.
Whilst the business has changed its name and its appearance, there's still an emphasis on bargainous and spice-packed Sri Lankan food. Starters average around £3, mains around £6.50 and desserts £3.
Whilst my other half enjoyed a bottle of Peroni (£3.69) to drink, I tried a Sri Lankan Lion stout (£5.99). Chocolatey and a little bit sweet and roasty, it hid its 8.8% ABV exceptionally well.
Starters were two of the standouts of the meal.
Paneer 65 (£4.50) saw cubes of lightly battered creamy cottage cheese flecked with fragrant deep fried curry leaves and a heap of ferociously spicy green chillies, which I cannily avoided.
Golden crumbed mutton rolls (£2.50) were stuffed with intensely spiced cubes of tender meat and soft potato. With their combination of meat interior and a breadcrumbed pancake exterior, they always remind me of a luxury Findus Crispy Pancake.
A complimentary bowl of poppadoms had a lovely bubbly texture and were served with a thick mango chutney.
Onto mains and a pair of chicken dishes were very tasty, in spite of both their meat elements being a bit overcooked.
Chicken fry (£4.49) combined robustly spiced pieces of battered meat flecked with crisp onions (that leaned towards a shade of brown too dark), chillies and fragrant curry leaves.
Chicken kothu roti (£4.99), one of my all time favourite comfort food dishes, saw soft shreds of flaky flatbread stir fried with onion, egg, curry leaf, carrot, chicken and a mix of mild spices.
The highlight of the mains were cubes of golden crusted devil paneer (£5.50) joined by crisp peppers and onions bathed in a sweet and savoury sauce with a good punch of chilli.
An aubergine curry (£5) was clearly the result of a long cooking process as the tender aubergine and soft caramelised red onions almost melted into the rich and buttery sauce.
A big bowl of fluffy grained vegetable biryani (£5.50) was well-fragranced with cardamom, chilli and other warming spices. However, the only element I wasn’t quite sold on were some pieces of meat substitute with a curiously bouncy texture.
For dessert, delicious fried bananas with palm syrup (£3.50) avoided being either greasy or too rich. The soft and sweet fruit pieces were coated in thin batter and drizzled with a light and almost floral syrup. The only thing which was missing was some ice cream but fortunately I was able to nick a scoop of vanilla (£2.50) from across the table.
Whilst not everything quite hit the mark, we had a lovely meal at Curry Hut. And the clincher, our three course meal for four people including drinks came to just £63.
If you're looking for cracking value and well-spiced Sri Lankan food in Cardiff then I'd highly recommend visiting Curry Hut.
The Details:
Address - 96 Salisbury Road, Cardiff CF24 4AE
Telephone - 029 2022 0522
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