The Place Opened just last month at 21 Boon Tat Street, Station by Kotuwa is a dynamic offshoot of Sri Lankan restaurant Kotuwa, paying homage to Chef Rishi Naleendra’s heritage. While still celebrating Sri Lankan flavors, Station distinguishes itself with new, exclusive offerings tailored specifically to this venue, with a distinct menu, atmosphere, and vibe. The same space was also what used to be Chef Rishi’s Cheek by Jowl, Cheek Bistro and Fool Wine Bar.  

The inspiration for the name comes from Kotuwa Station located in Chef Rishi’s hometown, a bustling transportation hub which is a vital connection point for people from all over Sri Lanka situated in Colombo’s financial district, known as ‘Kotuwa,’ or ‘Fort’ in Sinhalese.

In terms of dining ambience and interior, the first thing I noticed is that the entrance of the restaurant has no doors but only shutters, to symbolise the incessant flow of people at a bustling train station. The dining vibes is relaxed with a mixed of banquette and high table seating, along with specially curated paintings and furniture.  

The Food The a la carte menu allows flexibility where you can build your meals from the selection of snacks (from S$7), starters (from S$14), mains (from S$22), sides and condiments (from S$4), as well as desserts (from $12). For the undecided, go for the Station Feast (S$68 per person), a set of must-haves put together by the team. 

Beverage choices include artisanal arracks (from S$16), as well as a new selection of cocktails ($22 each) and exclusively selected wines (from S$19 by the glass | from S$100 by the bottle). 

⁠For a start, I had the Pineapple and Green Olive Pachadi (S$8) and the Oysters, Achcharu Granita (S$7) where freshly shucked oysters are paired with a tangy lychee achcharu granita, a Sri Lankan-style pickle turned into a refreshing icy topping.  

One of my favourite snacks on the menu has to be the Babath Crispy Tripe, Smoked Chilli, Lime (S$7) where I like the crispy texture of the tripe which is nice with that slight hint of babath spice. 

A lighter starter option to try is the Beetroot, Shishito Pepper, Malay Pickle, Curd (S$14) where roasted beetroot cubes goes with pickled shallots, pickled shishito peppers, malay pickle dressing and labne yoghurt.  

A crowd pleaser though, is the Kaliya Chicken Liver, Egg Roti (S$14). This dish is a take on Kaliya, an earthy traditional Sri Lankan Malay curry; sometimes commonly served with chicken liver. The chicken liver here is cooked in a kaliya gravy along with added fresh coconut milk. Finished with fried onions, raw shallot rings, fried curry leaf, and lime, alongside an egg onion roti prata. 

On to bigger plates, I had the BBQ Prawns, Fermented Mango, Roasted Chilli (S$22) where the prawns are marinated with house made pachadi paste and grilled over binchotan charcoal.  

For protein, I enjoyed the Roasted Half Chicken, Devilled Butter, Red Onion (S$34), a simple dish to understand even if you are not familair with Sri Lankan food. Tender chicken thigh and breast meat here served with Sri Lankan curry gravy and red onions. 

Alternatively, there is also the Braised Beef Cheek, Blackened Coconut Gravy (S$36) where the beef cheek is braised in the oven with Asian herbs like lemongrass and pandan leaf, mirepoix, and chicken stock until tender. 

I do recommend trying the Grilled Pumpkin, Cashew Nuts, Coconut (S$28), where you get a nice and tender pan-roasted pumpkin served with Kaju Curry, a light spiced cashew-coconut gravy, alongside a fresh herb salad with toasted shredded coconut. 

Complete the meal with a range of sides and condiments like Rice ($6), Roti ($4), Tempered Dhal ($8), and Cucumber and Bitter Gourd Salad, Fermented Green Chilli ($10). 

On to desserts, the Valrhona Chocolate Biscuit Pudding, Arrack Chantilly (S$14) is a rendition of a very traditional Sri Lankan classic, where a rich pudding of biscuits is soaked in milk and arrack, layered with chocolate mousse and topped with arrack spiked crème Chantilly. 

Alternatively, the Falooda, Vanilla Ice Cream, Pistachio (S$12) is Chef Rishi’s favourite dessert beverage, where the version here is a colourful mix of red agar jelly, nata de coco, basil seeds, sago pearls, rice vermicelli, rose syrup, evaporated and condensed milk, topped with crushed pistachio and vanilla ice cream. 

Rants Nothing in particular. 

Will I Return Again? Overall, I enjoyed the flavours here which are quite robust. Many dishes come with gravy and curry, but they are not too spicy, which makes it easy to enjoy. We also do not get many accessible Sri Lankan restaurants in Singapore and Station by Kotuwa is definitely one to check out.  

TheRantingPanda says:
Taste bud: 4/5
Hole in the pocket: 4/5
Ambience: 4/5
Overall Experience: 4/5 

Station by Kotuwa 
21 Boon Tat Street  
Singapore 069620 
Tel: +65 6221 1911 

Opening Hours 
Lunch: 12pm to 3pm, last order 2pm (Wednesday to Friday) 
Dinner: 6pm onwards, last order 9.30pm (Tuesday to Saturday) 

Ranted by The Ranter