{"id":941271,"date":"2026-10-26T07:16:10","date_gmt":"2026-10-26T07:16:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/941271\/"},"modified":"2026-10-26T07:16:10","modified_gmt":"2026-10-26T07:16:10","slug":"agnii-sets-a-new-template-for-sri-lankan-food-in-melbourne","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/941271\/","title":{"rendered":"Agnii Sets a New Template for Sri Lankan Food in Melbourne"},"content":{"rendered":"

Gayan Pieris describes his new restaurant Agnii as a \u201ccollection of memories\u201d. The Many Little<\/a> chef\u2019s ambitious new Windsor venue, which opened on Chapel Street on Saturday, is almost a decade in the making. But it\u2019s more than just a love letter to Sri Lankan food, his mum\u2019s kitchen and Victorian produce. As far as Pieris can tell, it\u2019s also the only Sri Lankan restaurant in Melbourne cooking over traditional woodfire.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cEven around the world, I\u2019ve never seen a Sri Lankan venue do something like this,\u201d says Pieris, who grew up in Kandy, in Sri Lanka\u2019s central highlands. \u201cNot even in Sri Lanka. We don\u2019t have restaurants, as such, where you\u2019d sit down and spend a couple of hours. Unless you go to a five-star hotel, which is more colonial style.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Instead, cooking with fire typically happens in Sri Lankan homes. Pieris\u2019s mum, a rice farmer, would hang, smoke and dry fish above an open hearth in their kussiya (kitchen). It\u2019s a similar scene in the kussiya at Agnii \u2013 appropriately named with the Sanskrit word for fire. The chefs use a traditional dara lipa (an open clay hearth) and a poranuwa (similar to a kiln) to smoke and dry ingredients over red gum charcoal. Both pieces of kit are custom built by Sam Fraraccio (aka The Brick Chef<\/a>), and act as the centrepiece of the elegant, earthy-toned dining room.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI always thought, if I do my own restaurant, I want it the way I had back at home in my mum\u2019s kitchen,\u201d says Pieris.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The opening menu includes a range of small plates and interpretations of Sri Lanka\u2019s ubiquitous short eats, or snacks. There\u2019s a savoury version of asmi \u2013 traditionally a celebration sweet \u2013 made here with squid ink, coconut, rice flour and okra and served with swordfish. Then there\u2019s the beef ismoru \u2013 braised with spices, coconut and tamarind. It\u2019s presented tartare-style and served with curry sauce in a crispy hopper tuile.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I started eight years ago \u2026 it was so hard to find a hopper pan back then. I had to fly them in from Sri Lanka. Now there\u2019s a lot of Sri Lankan food but it\u2019s still about the curries, pan rolls and hoppers,\u201d says Pieris. \u201cBut our cuisine is much bigger than that. I want to touch on things we haven\u2019t done before.\u201d<\/p>\n

You\u2019d be hard-pressed to find a dish such as Agnii\u2019s showstopping bath mula anywhere else in Melbourne. Chicken curry, dal, veggies and coconut sambal are steamed in a banana leaf parcel and ceremoniously unwrapped tableside.<\/p>\n

The crisp house lager by Seaford\u2019s Banks Brewing is made with Sri Lankan red rice flakes and draws inspiration from Pieris\u2019s connection to Sri Lanka\u2019s rice fields. Arrack, the country\u2019s national spirit, takes centre stage on a cocktail list created by Chelsea Catherine (ex-Black Pearl<\/a>) and mixed by Laurie Simpson (ex-Longrain<\/a>, Chin Chin<\/a>). Try it in the Kapruka Highball coconut toddy, or go for a Ceylon Martini with vodka, vermouth and tea. Cocktails are joined by a 280-strong list of mainly Victorian wines developed with Polperro<\/a>\u2019s Sam Coverdale.<\/p>\n

Every little detail has been considered at Agnii \u2013 right down to a custom Ayurvedic scent by female-run, Sri Lanka-based business Healing Island, which permeates the room with cinnamon, cardamom and musk. Again, home is a recurring theme. The menu features an image of Pieris\u2019s mum (he still calls her up for recipe input) while his brothers carved the wooden plates by hand and designed the uniforms and branding.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have all these little bits and pieces [of inspiration] in 15 different scrapbooks. I had time \u2013 one thing I didn\u2019t have was money \u2013 which is why this has taken 10 to 15 years. I wanted to create a template for a Sri Lankan restaurant.\u201d<\/p>\n

Agnii\u00a0<\/p>\n

105 Chapel Street, Windsor<\/a><\/p>\n

(03) 9620 7025<\/p>\n

Hours:
Tue to Thu 4pm\u201310.30pm
Fri & Sat midday\u2013late
Sun midday\u201310.30pm<\/p>\n

agnii.com.au<\/a>
@agniieaterybar<\/a><\/p>\n