Excitement as URY Restaurant Owners Open Sri Lankan Street Food Café in the Grainger Market
Street Food Sri Lanka, an authentic Sri Lankan cafe from the owners of URY Restaurant on Newcastle’s Quayside, is set to open in the Grainger Market in Alley 1 – signaling another exciting addition to the historical Grade I listed market’s bustling food offer.
Owned by Dushantha Alawattegama, the new site will serve traditional Sri Lankan dishes such as Lamb Lamprais, Seafood Koththu and Vegetable Roti – all served by a hand-picked team of Sri Lankan chefs.
The street food cafe will celebrate Sri Lanka’s colourful and vibrant cuisine, where diners can expect to find a wide range of vivid seafood dishes, traditional curry, herbs, vegetables and exotic fruits on the menu.
Dushantha, known as Dush to friends and family, moved to the UK from Sri Lanka in 2003 after enjoying a successful career in international banking. Dush decided to follow his dream of opening his own food business – combining his love for cooking traditional Sri Lankan cuisine and serving diners with new flavours by opening URY on Queen Street near Newcastle’s famous Quayside.
URY is the first restaurant in Newcastle to offer Sri Lankan, Indian and Oriental cuisine all under one roof. The restaurant has gone from strength to strength, gaining popularity with locals and tourists alike, winning numerous awards and was recently nominated for the Best Restaurant in Newcastle at the British Restaurant Awards in 2023.
Now, following the success of URY, Dush is set to open a new street food cafe in the city he has called home for over 20 years. The new stall will celebrate Dinithi – a phrase commonly used in Sri Lanka to celebrate good food, good fortune and good luck.
Speaking ahead of the grand opening of Street Food Sri Lanka, Dush said:
“I have been planning the Grainger Market opening for almost two years. You can see the Grainger Market is something special. There’s an established exciting food community in the Market, it has great footfall, there are lots of traders spanning generations and the exciting plans for the future look great too. It’s the ideal spot to start my new venture.”
Street Food Sri Lanka will be joining the exciting unique food offering in the Grainger Market. With global cuisines ranging from Delhi to the Chinese city of Xi’an and home to numerous award-winning street food traders such as Acropolis and King Baby Bagels, the Grainger Market provides visitors with a unique and vibrant city centre dining destination – where good value food is served at an affordable price.
Dush added: “Sri Lankan food is not as popular in the North East as other cuisines and it’s rare to find Sri Lankan food in restaurants. For a lot of our customers, it’s usually their first time trying these kinds of flavours and we usually receive an extremely good response, which is always pleasing and exciting.
“I have always had a passion for seeing people enjoying my food – I think it stems from Sri Lanka’s warm and humble approach to food. For anyone visiting us for the first time, I recommend trying the Kingfish Curry – it’s a traditional seafood dish with a tomato and coconut milk base, a hint of chilli and chunks of freshly caught fish. Sri Lanka is a small island in the Indian Ocean and for hundreds of years, we’ve relied on the availability of seafood. Various types of fish will be offered on the Street Food Sri Lanka menu to reflect our fishing heritage and the important role it plays in feeding our communities.
“I am really looking forward to opening the new site. It has been a great process to see my dream turn into a reality and Newcastle City Council has been really fantastic – the staff have helped us from beginning to end.”
Cllr Hay, Cabinet Member for a Thriving City at Newcastle City Council, said: “It’s great to hear of another business moving into the Grainger Market and becoming part of the exciting community that exists there.
“This is also a fantastic success story for the city. A popular Quayside restaurant that has also spent time trading at the Quayside Market now opening a different offering in our historic market. It demonstrates that Newcastle is a place that nurtures entrepreneurs, encourages growth and supports businesses to flourish and I am very proud that the council plays such an integral part in this.
“I wish Street Food Sri Lanka every success for the future. The food looks delicious, and I can’t wait to try it!”
The restaurant opened to the public on Wednesday 15th May. It is located in Alley 1, units 45-46, inside the Grainger Market.
