After gaining a loyal following from a three-table spot in Van Nuys, a Sri Lankan restaurant known for its traditional food and modern fusion dishes has now gone Hollywood in a new location that opened on Feb. 27 with the goal of making diners feel right at home.
“Sri Lanka is all about hospitality and I wanted people to feel at home and my whole vision at Kurrypinch is that we cook as if we’re cooking for loved ones,” said Shaheen Ghazaly, the chef and owner of Kurrypinch, who is now cooking from his new 52-seat spot where people can get traditional Sri Lankan dishes and Ghazaly’s own takes on the country’s street foods and his homestyle recipes. “Sri Lankan cuisine is very vibrant with diverse flavors. Every dish has its own spice blend,” he added.
Ghazaly, who was born in Pakistan and raised in Sri Lanka, spent years traveling the world working on a cargo ship with his father and later as an adult, which is where he developed his love for food when he stopped at various ports.
“It gave me the ability to try different cuisines. Every time we were in a new port I tried new foods,” he said.
He moved to the United States in 2006 and after working in IT he finally decided to follow his passion and opened his first restaurant in Van Nuys in 2018 before closing it and relocating to a bigger spot in Tarzana. He closed the second location in 2024 for the move to his new spot near Thai Town in hopes of attracting a wider audience to his Sri Lankan cuisine.
“Something I wanted to do from the beginning is letting people know about Sri Lankan food. In London, Australia, Canada, a lot of people know about it but in the states I don’t think they know much about it. So I wanted to bring Sri Lankan cuisine to a fine dining environment and I wanted to infuse other flavors to the cuisine,” he said.
Among some of the must try items at Kurrypinch is the Aligatapera juice, which is made with avocado blended with milk, salt, and sugar, served alongside ice cream.
“It’s just a very simple recipe. It’s like a smoothie but it’s not a smoothie,” he said.
Another menu highlight is the Kottu Roti, a traditional street food made with roti, which is a round flat bread. The dish includes stir-fried cabbage, leeks, carrots, red onion, house curry seasoning, scrambled eggs and a choice of protein, all chopped on a griddle.
Also on the menu is the mashed potatoes with Ghee, an Indian butter, and mustard seed, which was a favorite at his prior locations that Ghazaly wanted to bring to Hollywood.
“We use our own seasoning for this with roasted garlic. It will have that roasted mustard flavor with a creamy texture to it,” he said.
And only available on the weekend is Lamprais, a traditional Sri Lankan meal with Dutch and Portuguese roots made with rice, curried meats and vegetables wrapped in banana leaves. Seafood lovers meanwhile will want to try the Jaffna Prawn Kurry, a hefty dish made with prawns simmered in Jaffna curry powder and coconut milk. It’s served with roast French bread and pol sambal, a spiced coconut relish.
“When you taste it you will have the flavor of the roasted curry flavor with that pinch of coconut accent,” Ghazaly said.
Find it: 5051 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles. 323-407-6176 or kurrypinch.com