Mr. & Mrs. Chefs Palmy — Restaurant in Palmerston North

Disclaimer: I and my family dined here at half price via First Table.

Upon reading the many glowing reviews here, I was very excited to be able to be able to try what many have called authentic Sri Lankan cuisine, of which I have near zero knowledge and experience. Unfortunately, the food did not meet the high expectations we entered with, but this might not be any fault of the restaurant itself.

For our mains, we ordered the eggplant moju, baked fish parcels, string hopper deviled chicken kottu, dry lamb special, and an egg rotti.

The eggplant moju was described as a sweet and sour dish. We were surprised at how sour the flavour was, with an almost imperceptable sweetness. This was not to our taste, but, when asked about it, the chef confirmed that the flavour was indeed correct.

The baked fish parcel was a little on the bland side, but the flavour of the white fish stood out enough. The accompanying mashed potatoes were quite good, with a hint of creaminess and butter.

The string hopper deviled chicken kottu came as a towering pile on a plate. I was pleasantly surprised by the serving size, and was eager to get stuck in. The seasoning and spices was aggressive, which was great to begin with, but it got rather overbearing about halfway through the plate. As someone who enjoys a range of spiced foods, I was rather shocked at this. The chicken came on the bone, which is fine, but the meat was a bit on the dry side.

The dry lamb special was one of the most unique curries I have ever tasted, in a good way. However, despite its name, it was not dry at all. The sauce was very oily, which made it difficult to finish.

Finally, we come to the egg rotti. This humble side dish was the best part of our dinner, being deliciously simple and a great complement to the other dishes.

Overall, I would definitely return to broaden my experience of what this restaurant has to offer. Hopefully, I will be able to amend this review in the future to reflect a...

Edit : We ordered 2 kotu, 1 devilled chicken and 4 paratta. The pieces of paratta in the kottu was half cooked and so was atleast 3 of the 4 parattas.I never said the portions weren't enough and neither did I say the chicken wasn't cooked rather it was overcooked or reheated such that it became dry and rough. If you didn't want a 2 star rating you should have atleast cooked the food properly. As for the excuse you provided regarding wait times- the person who took the order was the one who made the food and I can understand that cooking takes time but it is worth it only if the food is cooked properly at the least. I did not see multiple chefs as you mention. If there were multiple chefs at the time well then they did a terrible job didn't they? Like I said, I had heard nothing but good reviews but unfortunately for us our order had issues. We had to make do with what was provided as is life. Take it as a constructive feedback so as to avoid such ratings in the future. Best wishes.

Original review: Didn't expect to get terrible food after a long wait on a Saturday late evening. I had heard good reviews about this place but unfortunately for us we got food that was partially cooked and that either did not have a fair amount of chicken or the chicken seemed dry and rough. We ordered mixed (lamb and chicken) kotu, devilled chicken and paratta. We are sad to have experience this but it would be better for the owners to provide what you can do at least good enough if not best. Not giving a 1 star in the hope that you won't provide such a service to anybody else. You've got potential please use the opportunity. Palmy needs a good mix...

Minimal service, the food is similar to any food court quality. Don't mind about the shared toilet, but it had no hand soap. No indication of how to access the toilet. No explanations of the menu when we were seat.

Seasoned Calamari rings: +ve spicy mayo -ve factory processed squid rings, definitely NOT homemade, no mention of the added heat in the sauce in the menu.

Secret Master Prawns: +ve good serving size, good amount of tasty sauce. -ve Tiger prawn intestine has not been removed, shell has not been half peeled, flesh has mushy texture. The vein carries toxin and waste, ruined the flavour. No thought of any presentation on this dish, difficult to peel and messy to eat. No flavour infused to the flesh.

Crispy Pork Belly: +ve Tender, good portion size. -ve not at all crispy.

Went there on a Thursday night, 2 tables of diners and some takeway orders, no excuses for the sloppy food and service. No one returned and asked how the food was. I had to ask for a finger bowel to wash my hands after the messy encounter with the badly cooked prawns.

The music was terrible. I would rather listen to some authentic Sri Lankan music. There are too many different styles of food in the menu, but I think the chefs should just focus on authentic Sri Lankan style food and make it more unique, improve the cooking techniques, drawing more customer for authentic Sri Lankan food. I should have trusted my instinct to order a curry, I thought I would try some different, but extremely disappointed. An experience I...