Colombo: Behind this unassuming frontage, down a side street in Halifax is a real taste of Sri Lanka

In York, Il Paradiso del cibo is the closest you can get to eating in a family place in Naples, complete with plastic tablecloths and Italian footie blasting out on the massive telly in the corner – but the pasta is terrific – the memory of the pumpkin tortelloni with porcini sauce will stay with me forever.

And who can forget eating in someone’s front room at Prashad in Bradford before they moved to the new premises on the outskirts of Leeds – and the dash across the road from the reception area to the restaurant taking your life in your hands. It was always worth the risk though for the finest vegetarian curry this side of Gujarat.

Salvos in Headingley too, which as devotees know wasn’t always the swish, sophisticated place is it today, but in 1976 was a couple of rooms at the end of a row of shops. Those of you of a certain vintage will recall the queues snaking round the block of a Friday and Saturday night. One time my visiting Australian Auntie Maureen grumbled her way round, mumbling ‘I can’t believe I’m queuing for pizza’, an alien concept in Melbourne. She piped down once she had a Quattro formaggio in front of her. And while I’m here – thanks John and Gip for all the decades of fabulous food, parties and Pinu’s operatic arias – and enjoy your retirement.

But back to the present day and Colombo by Ayubowan, a ‘street food’ restaurant on Carlton Street in Halifax. Blink and you miss it – the frontage is subtle to say the least, but inside they’ve gone to town and it’s a riot of colour; rich blue walls and at the far end pops of orange red and gold from indigenous masks. There are booths constructed from roughly hewn wood and quite a lot of fake greenery – it feels like they’ve done it over with a tight eye on the budget which I totally get. I’m not a fan of eating out to fund an interior designer’s infinity pool.

I’ve never been to Sri Lanka so I’m not familiar with the cuisine, but my pal who’s been a couple of times tells me that the food is similar to south Indian cooking in its use of chilli, cardamom, cumin and coriander, but that it has a distinctive taste, characterised by strong spice blends including cinnamon and black pepper, lemongrass, coconut and not a small amount of heat – so I’m banking on dishes with fire and kick. I’m not disappointed.

‘Bites’ include lamb patties, chicken rolls and deep fried lentil and onion fritters along with sweet potato and coriander bhajis and Jackfruit cutlets. We sat up and took notice when the juicy, fat king prawns turned up; the hit of almost overwhelming fiery heat subsided to a glowing, satisfying warmth, and once our eyes had stopped watering, we were set up for the rest of the meal. Despite the initial rush of heat in this dish, the flavours still punched through. Chicken rolls in a crisp crumb coating are delicately flavoured and lamb patties have a fragrant, perfumed mix with another chilli kick.

‘Popular on street food stalls’ says the menu of nasi goreng, which I’ve had elsewhere, and there’s a choice of chicken, prawn and ‘vegan’ but the Kothtu and Devil dishes catch my eye. Chicken Kothtu is Sri Lanka's national dish and it’s a really satisfying mix of shredded godambda roti and chicken. Again, it’s reassuringly spicy but not overwhelming – although it might be that after the prawn baptism, our palettes were now acclimatised. There are few things that can’t be improved with the addition of a fried egg and here it works beautifully – something about the blandness of yolk and egg white that leavened the exotic notes curry leaves and spices.

I’ve never knowingly eaten Jackfruit and here it’s a ‘Devil Dish’ – who knows how fearsome it might be – but it has a lovely sweetness, and acidity too – so a sort of sweet and sour. The temperature is milder and jackfruit is really meaty, much closer to chicken in texture than mango which is what I’d expected. It’s perfect vegetarian food, by stealth.

‘Sides’ include aubergine moju and sini sambal (sweet, caramelised onion) but the standout dish is the humble pol sambal: as is often the case it’s the less showy, easy to miss add on dishes that score the direct hits. Again, intense fiery heat, this time softened with finely grated coconut, and perfectly balanced. The sweet and sour aubergine moju is a dense sticky black mass of loveliness; impressive.

There are coconut pancakes and a sort of chocolate biscuit pudding but we finish traditionally with wattalappam, a set custard of spiced coconut with cashew nuts, and scoops of super-sweet, salted jaggery ice-cream. More than anything it reminds me of sticky toffee pudding – but much lighter. It’s a welcome corrective after all the heat.

I like the bold spices and the sweet, fiery sauces in dishes that don’t pull their punches – like me you’ll be glad there are cold Cobras quench the flames. There are dominant flavours, especially coconut, but there is also a lightness of touch and deftness when it comes to allowing individual flavours to emerge. Ayubowan have branches in Glossop, Sheffield and, as you might expect, Sri Lanka. Welcome to Calderdale, Colombo.

Colombo by Ayubowan, 4 Carlton Place, Halifax HX1 2SB t: 01422 292190

www.ayubowanrestaurant.com/colombohalifax

Wednesday – Sunday 2 – 10, Monday/Tuesday closed.

Welcome5/5

Food4/5

Atmosphere4/5

Prices5/5