A NEW Sri Lankan restaurant has been so popular, the owners have had to open longer.
Tikiri Cotswolds is the latest business to open on Moreton in Marsh's High Street, and brings a fresh and flavourful cuisine rarely found in the Cotswolds.
The Sri Lankan restaurant has opened in the location of former cafe No 1 Cotswolds.
Harini Perera, from nearby Blockley, owns Tikiri with her brother-in-law, Iranga, and told us how they had the idea of opening the business.
She said: "We saw the demand for Sri Lankan food when we would host our curry nights at the Crown Hotel in Blockley, so we decided we should start a restaurant dedicated to it."
While many people tend to believe that Sri Lankan food is similar to other South Asian cuisines, Mrs Perera explained that is not the case: "Sri Lanka is a small island with its own identity and the food has been passed down through generations.
"We've had influences throughout our history, like when the island was governed by the Dutch and the British, but our ingredients have always been different to other places because of the soil it is grown in.
"People know us for having good quality food and we always value our quality so Sri Lanka does not have huge fields of farms where our ingredients are grown."
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For anyone new to Sri Lankan cuisine, Mrs Perera had some suggestions for what to try: "I would say the black pork curry is a must.
"In this part of the world, pork is eaten very differently.
"That and the coconut roti have been very popular with guests."
Tikiri opened for the first time on Monday, November 18.
Initially, the restaurant opened from 5pm, but was forced to change its opening times just days later due to its popularity: "We've had very positive reviews so far.
"We were going to just do dinner, but we were getting so busy so we decided to start opening for lunch as well.
"Now, we are open from midday until 9pm Tuesday to Sunday."
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