Sekara

Went to Sekara last night with two colleagues and to say we were disappointed would be an understatement. Nobody met us as we walked in, we had to find our own table. it took 10 minutes to supply the menu's and another 10 to get some drinks. We had to choose our wine from the chiller as the waiter seemed incapable of understanding that we wanted 'cold' white wine. Starters arrived reasonably promptly and were 'ok'. But then the fun began, as we waited an hour for them to tell us one of the dishes we had ordered was not available, and then we started to receive our order over the course of the next 15 minutes. When we asked if we could have all our food together we were tersley told "the food takes a long time to cook"! Really, just a thoroughly unpleasant expereance. If you are hungry and you are around Victoria, you are better off going to Burger King at the station than this place.
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bruce
Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 0
Thursday, June 19, 2008

I am a Sri Lankan who has not been home for almost four years. I travel a great deal and look for Sri Lankan food whenever I can.

I went to Sekeras with my daughter today, and I must say we were very pleased with everything. To be truthful, it was late lunch and there were only a few others there, so the service was very prompt and with a smile.

I have nothing by praise for the place and most important of all, the FOOD WAS GREAT!
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Anton Goonetilleke
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 10
Saturday, May 10, 2008

Having lived in Sri Lanka for a while, I was apprehensive as to whether this restaurant would be able to do the fantastic cuisine of the little island justice- I needn't have been.

Whilst it will win no prizes for the decor, the food is amazing. The hoppers were authentic and the dahl was to die for! Sri Lankan food is packed with flavour and very little oil and there is something to meet everyone's taste.

You can even accompany the meal with an arrack (sri lankan spirit made from coconut- similar to whisky) and lemonade.

I would recommend this to anyone.
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Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 10
Sunday, March 09, 2008

Fantastic, authentic Sri Lankan food. the 'string hoppers' are a must!

Owner and staff are utterly charming. Have become a regular.
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P Martin
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Wednesday, February 27, 2008

A Srilankan friend of mine took me to this place, saying it was the most authentic food outside of Colombo, so I went along with high expectations.

I had devilled prawns to start. The prawns were big, juicy and perfectly spicy! For my main I had Chicken Lamprais which was a beautifully fragrant rice dish served on banana leaf that came with several different curries. There was a little side dish of aubergine and I have never tasted anything like it - sweet and tangy - beautiful!

Service was not perfect, a little slow at times, but I found them to be faultlessly friendly and helpful.

I shall definetly be visiting again soon...
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Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Monday, February 25, 2008

I have been here twice in two years. On the second occasion I had forgotten how bad the service is, but it all came flooding back to me.

The staff can hardly be said to be friendly and the clearly need to roster more wating staff for a Friday night. Nor were the few there very efficient: we had to repeatedly ask for basics, like a menu, glass, cutlery. And the food was painfully slow in coming -- even when it did, it tended to be lukewarm rather than hot.

Which is a shame because the food was otherwise very pleasant. So if you don't mind a *very* leisurely meal with an interesting variation on the usual 'Indian' menu, it's perfectly fine. But I won't be going back a third time to see if they've got their act together.
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C Griffiths
Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 5
Sunday, February 10, 2008

Popped in to this place to get out of the rain, and what a pleasant surprise!

I have never had Srilankan food before, and had no idea what to expect. The chicken curry was wonderfully fragrant with spices i had never heard of! And the devilled prawns were fresh and spicy.

The service was friendly and attentive, overall a lovely experience. I shall definitely be going back with my friends!

Sam
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Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 8
Monday, January 21, 2008

Tried to phone to book up despite the previous review... a lady answered again not announcing the restaurant name.. then I asked if they could tell me the veggie options they offer. She told me she was too busy to tell me!!!!! WON'T BE GOING THERE!!! WHAT A SHAME!!!!
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Pri
Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 0
Friday, December 28, 2007

In a nutshell - pretty good food; pretty lousy service. I went - on the back of the london eating reviews - and, to be honest, I'll go back: it's good Sri Lankan food, the menu steers clear of cliches, it's cheapish and it's very near Victoria.

But the sevice left a bad taste in my mouth. First off, when I rang to make a reservation, the phone was answered by an apathetic teenager who didn't even announce the restaurant's name. Small detail but important. But the main thing was just that the service wasn't so much slow but just really dippy. How many times do you need to ask for more glasses and menus (it came on the fourth request - just one, when we'd asked for two)? And then 30 seconds after the menus have *eventually* arrived you're asked if you're ready to order... Well, ok so it's not Marco Pierre White coming storming out of the kitchen cleaver in hand, but it's just shoddy.
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Wendy
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 7
Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Sekara is a superb place to go for authentic sri lankan cuisine. Having lived in sri lanka for a while, I was beyond delighted to find somewhere in london that recreated their amazing flavours. Eat mountains of String Hoppers with Dahl, Chicken Curry, Potato Curry, Pol Sambol & Kiri Hodi. You will be blown away. The coconut milk used in the cooking makes it a million times smoother and more delicious than Indian! I have taken heaps of friends & colleagues there and everyone has loved it. I cannot recommend Sekara highly enough.
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Charlie M
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 9
Wednesday, June 13, 2007