Words by Grace Mackenzie · Published on 09 Oct 2025
The date is set, Sydney: October 25. That’s the final day for you to get your fill at O Tama Carey’s Sri Lankan restaurant on Riley Street.
“The initial spark for Lankan Filling Station came about purely because of my own wants,” Carey tells Broadsheet, a few weeks out from closing. “I needed to eat more hoppers more often, but there were very few people making them in Sydney. And business-wise, a Sri Lankan restaurant seemed like a good idea – there was a hole in the market that I was singularly qualified to fill. Also, at the time I needed a job.”
A seed was planted. First thought: a simple hopper shop. But, armed with the desire to put a Martini on the menu, it “grew into a proper fully fledged restaurant,” Carey continues. “From conception there were several years in the wilderness testing things out with pop-ups and market stalls before we found our home on Riley Street. And here we have remained for over seven years.”
Since 2018, the teeny kitchen has pumped out punchy sambols, oft-talked-about crab curries and countless hoppers. There have been guest chef Monday biryani nights, exceptional lunch specials and hot, hot slices of kade paan straight off the grill, slathered with Carey’s “special magic flavour”: curry leaf butter.
Kade paan with curry leaf butter. Photo: Grace MacKenzie
“So much has been crammed into this tiny space in that time: brunches, lunches, dinners, crab curry Sundays, biryani nights, guest chef appearances and collaborations, takeaway meals, endless curry powders that we have toasted and made, added to curries and sold in jars, lamprais packets sold frozen and hot.”
Lanka Filling, Carey’s second cookbook, has just arrived to ease the sting. “Both books were resplendent with gold,” the chef says. “ The first reflected the beginnings of the restaurant and a need to explain what Sri Lankan food actually was, particularly the food from my Burgher family. The second [is] a continuation of that, what comes next when you cook traditional food in a modern context, much like the restaurant has evolved over time.
“There are so many things I have loved about my restaurant that I will miss – the people I work with, the food, the smell of spices in the air, having another home, and my customers, many of whom I hope will remain friends. And there are other [things], which I will miss less. The greatest joy, though, is when other Sri Lankans – whether born on the island, born here with family from there, or born anywhere else with some bit of Sri Lanka in their souls – feel a familiarity here and a knowing of the food. Apart from getting to eat hoppers whenever I want, when these people thank me for sharing our food culture with Sydney, this is the greatest reason I have for Lankan Filling Station.”
While the flavours of the restaurant have been big, it’s the generosity, warmth and charm of the chef that shines brightest. Here, a collection of chefs, food writers and friends share what Lankan Filling Station meant to them and Sydney.
Photo: Jiwon Kim
What a wonderful soulful restaurant serving up some of Australia’s most delicious food. We’ll never forget sitting at the bar one Sunday lunch, diving into a delicious crab curry, or hosting a Hungarian biryani night and working with the wonderful team. Tama is one of the best cooks in the country. While this chapter is closing, let’s hope another will open.
It’s tough to single out just one great thing about Lankan Filling Station – there are so many things I have loved over the years. The smoky, charred shreds of the cabbage mallung, for instance, have been a long-time favourite. A friend speculated that maybe it’s a LOT of ghee that makes it taste so good. I looked up the recipe in Tama’s first cookbook, Lanka Food, and it’s 30 grams – so not exactly microscopic, but not a mountain either!
I think the reviving freshness of the grated coconut and the punchiness of the black mustard seeds deserve some credit, but it’s probably also the way the cabbage gets deftly pan-charred and crisped that is key to the magic.
I was also compelled to send Lankan’s jars of curry powder to a friend in Tokyo, because the restaurant’s flavours deserve an international audience. I always love a midweek takeaway of cashew curry, and the LFS Bounty Bar – where puffed rice, coconut and a whisper of cardamom are coated in chocolate – has to be one of my all-time favourite Sydney desserts.
Pan rolls. Photo: Courtesy of Lankan Filling Station, Nikki To
I had my first hopper here and it was a revelation. O Tama created a beautiful space with love and care that was fun, nurturing, generous and warm – very warm if you count the chillies. I will miss Lankan Filling Station a lot, but I know O Tama is working on a precious new project – Lenny. It’s such a joy to see her with her partner Mat [Lindsay] and [their child] Lenny, mostly at AP Bread & Wine. And I suppose there’s always her books, Lanka Food and Lankan Filling, to drool over. Hopefully her mud crab curry nights find their way onto the AP menu? O Tama is your favourite chef’s favourite chef.
It was when Jeff [Lusis] (ex-Poly) first asked if I could reserve two seats for two guests. One being for his boss Mat Lindsay, and the other being [Lindsay’s] dear partner O Tama Carey. I remember feeling so grateful and proud that the people who were behind our favourite restaurants would be interested in our family’s food. Jeff did warn us: it wouldn’t be Mat that would be the tough critic. This was the start of a special relationship.
O Tama is a beautiful individual. She is strong and she is smart, but most importantly, hidden behind her charismatic aura, lies an endless bundle of warmth. So much pride, integrity and self-worth. She shows great respect for our family and our food, with the deepest sincerity. I know this is not easily shown from someone with so much experience and success.
What O Tama did with Lankan Filling Station was not easy. We possibly share the same motifs [as] to why we opened our restaurants and why we decided to shape it the way we did, the frustrations we both face, as with the happy moments that make us not regret our decisions.
This chapter deserves all the congratulations you can get, O Tama. I know we’ll be friends for a very long time – at least as long as Lenny keeps kimchi in his daily diet. I am grateful for our friendship, thank you and congratulations. Love, Kenny and family.
For me, it was all about the sambols. I always ordered the mixed plate of four, even though it was usually way too much for whatever else was on the table. But in my mind those sassy sambols were the main characters and everything else was a supporting act. The coconut pol was the prima donna, of course: toasty, textured, salty and sweet, and I’m sorry to see her take her final bow. Start an at-home range, Tama, I’ll be first in line.
Sambols. Photo: Courtesy of Lankan Filling Station, Nikki To
Lankan Filling Station: food layered in history, intelligence and flavour that was built with a strong identity and personality that did not waver – just like its mama O Tama. Her soul-drenched dishes will be sorely missed but will live on through the spice mixes that are perched front and centre in my pantry.
Tama will leave a big hole in Sydney’s Sri Lankan food scene when Lankan Filling Station closes. It is not only delicious, tasty, spice-driven food but also, at its heart, beautiful produce cooked with great craft.
It is really sad that Tama’s wonderful food will leave Riley Street, where there were wonderful textures, flavours and importantly a restaurant run with love and care. I hope Tama will pop up somewhere again in the future so that sophisticated, produce-driven, spiced foods in the hands of a wonderful restaurateur will once again be accessible.
Lankan Filling Station, for me, redefined what it means to bring culture to the plate. O Tama doesn’t just serve Sri Lankan food – she tells stories through her menus and her deep, genuine connection to heritage. Every dish reflects a profound respect for flavour, memory and identity, and every moment at her table is infused with passion and soul.
I had the absolute pleasure of cooking alongside her last year for a special biryani evening – a collaboration that only deepened my admiration for her craft, her generosity and her unwavering commitment to authenticity.
Like her spirit, her food is bold, uncompromising and full of heart. Every bite speaks of tradition, reimagined with care and clarity. She’s created a space that feels as welcoming as a family home, where eating with your hands is encouraged and conversation flows as freely as the curry.
O Tama isn’t just a chef. She’s a cultural bridge, a curator of flavour and a quiet force shaping Australian dining with honesty, originality and the utmost care. Long may her fire burn.
Thank you for being such an important part of Sydney, and for making food that is not only inspiring but nourishing. Thank you for celebrating people and cultures that are often overlooked but form such an integral part of our culture and community. Thank you, thank you and thank you.
Photo: Jiwon Kim
The saying “you don’t appreciate things until they’re gone” came to mind when I was asked to write about Tama and Lankan Filling Station. But I’ve since realised it’s incorrect. So many people – cooks, staff and friends – who came through its doors will forever cherish and appreciate LFS and what Tama and that little spicy spot in Darlo achieved in its time. I, for one, will forever remember the beautiful, aromatic smell of their red curry powder and the delightful sweetness of kithul.
It’s a huge loss for Sydney, but it’s a legacy that will not be forgotten, especially for those who have a copy of the book.
The arrival of Lankan Filling Station in 2018 was a gift to Sydney’s east. No longer was a trip to Toongabbie on the cards when you needed a great pan roll or a laced, coconutty hopper. Instead, the flavours of Sri Lanka were found through the doors of their snug spot on Riley Street. My first time there, I sat at the kitchen counter with my mum who was visiting from out of town. It was exciting to show her a cuisine she didn’t know much about, fun to talk about the crisp pan rolls, dip into the chilli sauce with caution, tear into the hoppers and scoop up coriander seed and tamarind-scented eggplant and mop the most gentle, fragrant dal.
Now that it’s (nearly) over, I seek comfort in her cookbooks – toasting spice blends and impressing friends with Tama’s beautiful recipes. Whatever she does next, I’ll be ready and waiting.
Lankan Filling Station is a special restaurant. Not only is it a place I’ve always loved to dine at, but I also had the pleasure of working there, in between gigs, back in the day. It was one of the best times I’ve had in a kitchen. While I was there, along with Tama herself, Pasi [Petanen] and Jemma [Whiteman] were cooking too – absolute superstars. It’d been a while since I was the worst chef in the kitchen!
Every day I was in awe of Tama’s thoughtfulness as she approached creating each dish, toasting each spice separately to their perfect point of flavour – when to add this, when to add that. Her techniques were – and still are! – inspiring. I loved learning about a beautiful cuisine I previously had little-to-no knowledge of, and experiencing the electric atmosphere of the venue as well. From the kitchen to the floor staff, the vibe was the envy of all restaurants – a credit to Tama and her team. Tama’s leaving a Lankan legacy that extends far beyond the walls of her Darlo space, and I can’t wait to see what she gets up to next.
Upon setting foot in Lankan Filling Station for the first time in 2018, it was immediately clear that Tama had created a restaurant extension of herself, full of warmth, integrity and generosity. The effort and attention to detail just to get open for a busy service, daily. Making all the fresh sambols and hoppers to order! It was madness but energising and exciting to be a part of.
Seeing Tama’s journey with Lankan Filling Station – from her rocking hoppers out of Brickfields on a makeshift set-up, to the incredible restaurant she’s built with her team – has been a true joy and inspiration. I feel so lucky to have been able to engage with the community and culture that she’s built over that time. All that without even mentioning the food! Tama and her team’s cooking is so soulful, unique and absolutely full of mind-melting flavour. I truly hope we get to experience her cooking again asap.
The final day of service at Lankan Filling Station is Saturday October 25, 2025.
About the author
Related Content
