New York has no shortage of South Indian restaurants, but Sri Lankan food remains surprisingly underrepresented for a city this diverse. That is part of what makes Lungi worth seeking out. Located on the Upper East Side, the restaurant from restaurateur Mervyn Winston and chef Albin Vincent brings together Sri Lankan and South Indian cooking through a menu built around hoppers, kothu, curries, short eats, and biryanis rooted in regional traditions.
Atmosphere
“Lungi,” a Sri Lankan friend once explained to me, refers to the garment many men wear at home throughout parts of South Asia: practical, comfortable, and tied to everyday life. The restaurant carries that spirit naturally. 
From the outside, Lungi stays fairly understated aside from the bright yellow lettering glowing onto the avenue at night. Inside, the room opens up considerably. Woven pendant lights hang above the bar, wood-paneled ceilings warm the dining room, and cane-backed chairs soften the more polished design details. Toward the back, the enclosed patio fills with hanging greenery and natural light filtering through the glass overhead.
The Menu
The kitchen’s team draws from deep regional experience. Chef Albin Vincent brings influences from both Kanyakumari and Sri Lanka, shaped in part by lessons from his grandmother’s cooking. He works alongside Andrew Simethy, who focuses on Kerala specialties; Thirunavukkarasu, a dosa master; and Rushdhun Ramzy, whose modern touches never pull the food too far from its roots.
Before getting into the food, the cocktail menu is worth noting. These are not your typical cocktails, but that is exactly the appeal. Built around ingredients like curry leaves, jaggery, cumin, coriander, and kallu, the drinks lean earthy, spiced, and savory in ways that pair particularly well with the menu. Some highlights include the Lungi Old Fashioned, which uses jaggery and cardamom to build warmth that works well alongside curries like the Duck Chettinad. Meanwhile, the Malli-Rita balances roasted cumin, coriander, and citrus, making it a strong pairing for the short eats and fried dishes like the Fish Cutlets or Medhu Vada. On the other hand the Palm Paradise — made with kallu, curry leaves, lychee cordial, and lemon — is brighter which helps to cut through spice pairing well with dishes like the Devilled Paneer or Eggplant Moju.
Now for the food. Some of the highlights across the broad menu include the Medhu Vada, savory lentil fritters made from ground urad dal. The dish arrives golden and crisp outside with a soft, airy center, alongside sambar and chutney for dipping. Similarly, the Fish Cutlets make for an equally strong appetizer. Fried croquettes of tuna and potato, they carry the same comfort as Caribbean fish cakes or saltfish fritters: deeply savory, snackable, and nearly impossible to stop reaching for.
Next the Devilled Paneer. Unlike the saag paneer preparations many diners may know, this version leans fully into heat, sweetness, and tanginess at once, coated in a glossy sauce with banana peppers. It’s not better than the saag paneer just a different way its prepared and one that will easily become another favorite.
The Eggplant Moju is perhaps one of those understated dishes that you would have regretted not ordering. The aubergine is tossed with sesame, curry leaves, coconut, and Sri Lankan spices until it develops a sweet acidity that deepens across the palate. Diners familiar with achar, escovitch, or other pickled spice-heavy dishes throughout South Asian and Caribbean cuisines will recognize the same balance at work here: acidity, sweetness, and spice keeping each bite lively rather than heavy. It pairs particularly well with the plain hopper, one of the menu’s staples. Crisp around the edges with a soft center, the hopper works less as a standalone dish and more as a vehicle for soaking up curries, chutneys, and sauces on the table.
Anyone who grew up around roti shops, hibachi counters, or open kitchen griddles will recognize the appeal immediately. Considered one of Sri Lanka’s most iconic street foods, kothu is traditionally eaten by hand and delivers a little of everything in each bite — paratha, vegetables, egg, and spice chopped together into one steaming mound that somehow becomes even more satisfying the messier it gets.
While the vegetarian dishes like the Eggplant Moju and Devilled Paneer are absolutely worth ordering, that is not to say the meat dishes should be overlooked. Some highlights include the Duck Chettinad and lamb biryani. The Duck Chettinad arrives tender in a thick sauce layered with black pepper, toasted spices, and curry leaves, the aroma alone recalling long-simmered stews and braises that linger through entire kitchens. Ordering paratha alongside it is a “trust me” move.
The lamb biryani moves in a different direction but is just as satisfying. Fragrant and deeply spiced, the rice arrives layered with tender pieces of lamb throughout, each spoonful carrying richness from stock, spice, and slow cooking without becoming overly heavy. Like a well-made pilaf, jambalaya, or arroz dish, part of the appeal comes from how the rice absorbs everything around it, making it the kind of plate people continue picking at long after insisting they are full.
Dessert features a Wattalapam, the Sri Lankan coconut custard often compared to flan, though darker from jaggery and warmer with spice.
Lungi
