Raj Perera’s second Banana Leaf location is finally open.
The owner, who also operates a Banana Leaf in New York City, opened the new District location over the weekend with a grand opening party that featured guests from the Sri Lankan Embassy.
Perera originally hoped to open in June, then in August, but kept pushing back the opening date as inspection problems arose.
The restaurant features a wide range of Sri Lankan cuisine, which includes banana leaf-wrapped meat and rice dishes called lampri’s, curry dishes and biriyanis—meat with basmati rice cooked in saffron yogurt and Indian spices. Perera also serves as the restaurant’s chef.
The walls inside the restaurant are painted bright green and there’s space for about 50 diners. There were about 10 people inside the restaurant Wednesday afternoon during lunch.
The restaurant doesn’t have a liquor license yet, but an employee said they plan on getting one in the next month or two.
Banana Leaf is located at 5014 Connecticut Ave., Chevy Chase, D.C. The location is the former home of Clover Market.
You can expand the menu photos by clicking on them.