Laya in Hastings

Love the food at Laya. Took my mate who'd never been before for his birthday today and he was blown away. Plenty of options for vegetarians/pescetarians like me as well as meat dishes. Try the aubergine and chickpea curry - incredible smoky, tamarind-y flavour. Also a big fan of the veggie biryani and the masala dosa. Everything is so flavourful. And there's still a lot of things on the menu I want to try, so I'll keep coming back.

Lovely meal last night great choice of authentic dishes plus a specials board.

I always check ratings before I go places. This was 4.9 and completely lives up to it. Across the board food was delicious and service super friendly

Loved it, a brilliant pub that people should try, and it's so friendly.

Delicious food in an incredible setting, facing the sea 🌊 And the service was extra thoughtful and gave us some precious advice on the menu. I’ll be back soon 😊

Great service and food, highly recommend…..

We are here last night. Delicious authentic food and great service. Incredible flavours!

Authentic Sri Lankan food, delicious! Absolutely recommend!

Unique Tamil Restaurant on Hastings sea front. Food was delicious and service was top notch. Would definitely recommend the egg hoppers and milk jaggery hoppers. Masala Chai at the end topped the experience!

First time trying Sri Lankan food - we all loved it. Just the right amount of spice and a delicious blend of spices and flavours. We will definitely be back very soon !

Very nice restaurant with specific, but tasty food. You can adjust Your level of using species - mild, medium or hot. Very pleasant and polite service.

By far the best Sri Lankan kottu dish I’ve had in the Uk.Service is top notch.Tried Biriyani as well which wasn’t too far behind the kottu.

Super tasty and authentic Sri Lankan food. Great value too.

Went for lunch The portions could be a bit bigger as the food was really good!!

Beautiful place and amazing food. It was my first day in Hastings. The staff here were so nice and patient. The food was wonderful for an Asian like me. I chose the most spicy one. It was a little bit too much for me but I really like this feeling. And the decoration and music was so good. I sat down then I could watch the sea through the window.

So happy to have found this place! What a treat!😍

This is definitely the good place to eat in St Leonard's at the moment. Good value and tasty . Wine is a little expensive for house. But the service is good and informative lot's of vegetarian options too ! It's not as good as when it first opened though

Eat here at least a week, love the veg thali at lunchtime, chai tea and dosas. Highly recommend.

What a great restaurant! My wife wanted to go to Laya for her birthday in search of something a bit different. The place has a relaxed café vibe, we received a warm welcome and attentive service throughout our evening. I did however sense that we missed out on being served by the gent who looked to be the owner, as he spent time to talk other diners through the menu and looked to be making expert recommendations. However, we had a pretty good idea what we were ordering and everything that we ate was absolutely spectacular. Beautifully cooked, delicious and fresh Sri Lankan food that really tickled the taste-buds. It was great to spot that there were so many locals in the restaurant, always a sign of a decent place. We’ll be back soon and next time I’ll ask for the spiciness to be turned up and want to try the Lion beer that comes so recommended by other diners!

Really delicious food, love the dosas in particular. Always welcoming, with excellent service and reasonable prices. Never a disappointment.

Incredible Sri Lankan food with lots of classics to choose from, and lovely staff.

The food was very delicious and lovely touch and presentation! The service was excellent. 5 Star all around . Very much recommended. Can’t wait to visit again .

I love this place!! The food is so tasty and delicious. I have been to Sri lanka and it reminded me so much of the country, as the food is so authentic. I especially love the mutton rolls. And the hoppers. lovely small family run restaurant. I shall return again and again.

Absolutely phenomenal Sri Lankan food. Less fancy than Colombo and more of a cafe vibe, but still good with flavour and finesse. How lucky we are to have them!

10/10 for the tastiest meal! They even adjusted the chilli level for my friend. I'll be coming back again, and again, and again 😊

Outstanding Sri Lankan cuisine. Run by the owner, I believe, who was exceptionally helpful and friendly. Great recommendations from the menu and Sri Lankan beer and stout are very good too. (The stout is 9% alc so go easy on it) I had the chicken kothu and my dad had a veggie dosa, both were outstanding. I opted for a very spicy version but if chilli isn't your thing, you can request it be toned down, as it is all made to order. We had three courses with drinks, for about £30 each and had a great night. You can easily have a delicious, hearty meal there for much less. Great location too with sea views from most tables and parking near by. I cannot recommend this place highly enough and will be returning when I'm next in St Leonard's.

First visit and really liked everything. The food is a refreshingly different experience. Dosas are very good - very difficult to do them well. All the other food beautifully prepared with delicate spicing. The Sri Lankan beer is excellent but beware the stout is very strong - 8.9%! One tiny thing is that food could be serve up a bit warmer - maybe hotter plates to begin with. But altogether a friendly and delicious experience, we will definitely be going again - soon!

Unfortunately I have changed from my previous 5 star review. The food on my last two visits has gone down a lot in quality and quantity. I really didn't want to change my review as this used to be my favourite restaurant. I won't be returning though, which makes me sad.

Tasty authentic Srilankan Food. Excellent customer service. Will Recommend.

Really good food, and friendly staff. Lots of vegetarian options

One of the best places to eat in Hastings very tasty food. I had a masala dosa on my last visit the pancake itself was good, the filling was really tasty and the chutneys and sambar were really delicious. I also had a Masala chai which was again extremely tasty. The people who work there are also super nice and very helpful.

Absolutely amazing food and service were brilliant .

Amazing food and service. Would definitely go back but you need to book.

This is what authentic food is all about. Finally we have Masala Dosa in Hastngs. First ever visit randomly on a Saturday evening, staff were super friendly and happy to accommodate us as a walk-in. Happy to cater for dietary requirements as well. Proper authentic, good quality food. We will certainly be back again soon :-)

Stopped to have coffee but the food smelled so good. Sri Lanken food, not your normal curry offerings. The food was so tasty. Service was very good and we were not rushed and will return.

What a find! Laya offers genuine awesome Sri Lankan food that hits every taste bud imaginable! Perfectly prepared, cooked and presented. The owner Sarwan is absolutely delightful and clearly very proud of what he's achieved in this authentic seafront restaurant. It was a quiet Sunday evening for my birthday meal and we could have chatted all night! Our meal was exquisite. Highly recommended.. We'll be back!

Unfortunately this place has gone down a bit since my 5 star review so have changed it to 3 stars. When it first opened the dosas were delicious & I went there regularly but I decided to try some fish & it was very dry and not fresh. It seemed tinned fish but they assured me it was not. I could not eat it. Unfortunately this was not dealt with very well. I had to return (I rarely do this) but they refused to refund for the rice as well because they said nothing was wrong with it. This was not the owner who is brilliant but a man. I was not happy at all about this. I had already poured the fish over the rice. They just took the fish off the plate. So as I was paying for it I sat down & ate the rice with some of the sauce which was actually quite tasty. The fish was a huge disappointment considering we are on the seafront with a great fishing industry. But this was not handled well by them. I then did not go in for a very long time over a year?because of how it was dealt with but recently tried again just getting a dosa as usual. It was quite greasy & not up to the usual standard. The flavours were nice. But the chicken was dry. It’s average. So, I’m sorry I’ve taken my review from a 5 star glowing review down to average. I had masala dosa (potato curry filling) (no meat) previously many times & I had the lamb dosa which was really nice at the time. It’s the dosa this time that I found way too greasy & not very crispy. And the filling seemed greasy too. It may have been an off day? I was the only table there aside from 1 2-person table. I have eaten a lot of 10 star Keralan food in London so I’m comparing to this. The woman who owns it is absolutely lovely. Very sorry for taking the review down. I will try again hoping I can up my review again.

Absolutely delicious food and quality. good atmosphere to be.

Absolutely incredible food. Everything we had was 10/10. Fresh, delicious and beautifully cooked. Reasonably priced too. I cant wait to go back. Make sure you book!

This is not my first visit, and looking forward to returning too. Delicious home-cooked Sri Lankan food, to your requested degree of spiciness. Charming, helpful staff who own the restaurant and have created a welcoming local atmosphere. It’s popular, so book to be sure.

This is definitely the best and most authentic Sri Lankan food we’ve eaten outside the Country! Staff are delightful, friendly and the restaurant has a lovely easy atmosphere. We were on a 3 night stay in the area and had 2 dinners and a breakfast. Highly recommend 👍

Apart from the fact that it is run by its owners, so charm and service first rate, the food is seriously tasty and rationally priced and not in any way run of the mill. The 5 stars means that for a small restaurant it is first rate +.

This is an authentic Sri Lankan restaurant with friendly, welcoming service and excellent food. They do all sorts- vegetarian as well as chicken, mutton and prawn dishes- served in optimal condition (fresh and at the right temperatures). There's also a good range of wines, bottled beers (including 'Lion') and soft drinks. The place is immaculate, comfortable and seems able to adapt to a wide range of group sizes. They are also very good with children as well as adults. It's very good value for money. A really memorable place!

Great quality good and lovely staff & service.

Lovely Sri Lankan restaurant, with amazing staff and a great atmosphere, every dish I have had here has been great, recently had a chef special hopper (as seen in the photo) which might be my new favourite, very flavourful!

Absolutely amazing food!!! Tastiest sri lanken food I’ve ever tasted!!! Friendly staff too!!

Warm welcome, friendly hosts, authentic, delicious food, glad we found it and will be back!! Thank you

It's a Srilankan resturant. Food was good & 😋 tasty. After a long time had Kothu was delicious. Pricing is reasonable and affordable. Resturant is compact, so not much place to move around.

Wow! Amazing food and amazing service! I cannot recommend this place enough. Authentic Sri Lankan food presented very well. I had the Trinco Bowl which was a lovely fish curry with rice, spinach, parippu (Dahl) and a papadum. I also had the mutton roles to start which I would highly recommend. We were over an hour and half late for your reservation due to traffic coming down from London and they happily kept our table for us! They were so accommodating and even stayed open after hours for us. If you’re a local or down in Hastings for the weekend Laya is a must try! Thank you so much for having us

We had such a lovely evening at Laya. Amazing vegan options, so delicious and beautifully presented. The service and welcome was so lovely too, we felt very looked after and welcomed.

Loved it 😍 Food, service, location, coffee , everything was excellent 👌🏾 Highly recommend 😁

What a find! Little gem of a place. Very authentic and traditional Sri Lankan food serviced with finesse, super friendly and attentive service. The dosa’s were especially unusual and tasty. Bought our dog (who to be fair is super well behaved) which was very much appreciated. Reasonable prices too.

We came here for a quick weekday lunch and were absolutely not disappointed!! We had the jaffna bowl and it was so good that we had to order an extra bowl of the aubergine curry because it was just too delicious. The egg hopper was also great. And the mango lassi was incredible, so rich! And to top it all the service was fast. Overall would strongly recommend!

Food was delicious, we had the set menu, the lady who served us was so friendly and willing to make adaptations when we asked if the menu could be vegetarian, service was quick and we found pricing very reasonable. Will be returning and recommending to friends. Thanks.

I’ve been to Laya four or five times now and the food has been consistently wonderful. Fantastic egg hoppers, beautiful curries and perfect dosas. Service is friendly, and dog friendly too. The food is excellent value too.

Locals here who are regular customers for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Each time, the service is 10/10. The staff here are so friendly and welcoming with speedy service. The food is always freshly made with amazing flavours. We can’t get enough! We particularly love the masala dosa with chicken or mutton. The kothu is delicious and they will happily cater to your spice preference as well! It has a gorgeous sea view during the day. The pricing is so reasonable for the quality of food. I cannot rate it highly enough!

I’m not quite sure how this restaurant think it’s okay to charge £8.10 for Egg Fried Rice? I’m still in shock over it! It definitely wasn’t worth it. However the Mackerel starter and Devil Chicken main were super tasty but the meat portions are a little on the small side. I’d probably only eat here again if I won the lotto

Great food, fantastic value and very friendly service, we would highly recommend. It’s lovely to experience (and support) a family-run business.

Divine food….soooo delicious!!! Excellent value for money too. Thank you Laya. Every dish was perfectly cooked and the spices! Oh yes the spices!!

The food was outstanding and it’s proper authentic Sri Lankan food, just like what my grandmother used to make. The service was excellent and staff were so friendly. They are also dog friendly which is nice. Highly recommend this place and will be going there again.

My first time coming here, safe to say I shall be returning! Service was impeccable, food was delicious and atmosphere was warm and welcoming. It’s very easy to over order and over eat here, with the food being cooked to perfection and each dish perfectly spiced and gorgeously presented. Alas, I didn’t take pictures of the food until the dessert. Next time I will though!

My first time coming here, safe to say I shall be returning! Service was impeccable, food was delicious and atmosphere was warm and welcoming. It's very easy to over order and over eat here, with the food being cooked to perfection and each dish perfectly spiced and gorgeously presented.

Absolutely delicious- we were stuck in Sri Lanka for 5 months during covid - this is authentic and wonderful & has a sea view!

We had a fantastic evening out at Laya!The staff are lovely and extremely helpful and the food is amazing good family business will be back soon

Absolutely delicious! The masala dosa was literally stunning, full of flavour and very good portions. The biryani was also very good. Fish cakes were very tasty. So welcoming and fabulous service and can't wait to go again . Highly recommended.

Ohh I love this place!!!! What a superb location with its great sea views. I have visited a couple of times and found it to be a super friendly atmosphere, with delightful aromas that will leave you salivating. This really is a must try! There is a great selection to choose from, which is why I think I need to return a few times more.... It's delicious!!

I go here again and again because their food is absolutely delicious -- my favourite is the masala dosa -- and the people who run it are really welcoming and lovely. A great place to go alone or with family/friends. The food is just like you get in Sri Lanka or south India, which is my idea of heaven. Popular in the evenings, so book ahead, but you can usually get a walk-in table for a spontaneous lunch -- aka dosa o'clock.

We had a lovely lunch...dhosas and mango lassie. Got in before it got too busy.....perfect!!

Very nice food - a great addition to the St Leonards restaurant scene.

Delicious flavourful dishes, very friendly staff, great sea view. Had the chicken biryani, spicy and yummy, beautiful presentation and very reasonably priced.

Incredible! The best food I’ve had in a while. Kothu was absolutely delicious but then our minds were blown by the fantastic desserts. Can’t recommend Laya enough. YOU MUST GO!

This a lovely authentic Sri Lankan restaurant right on the sea front. So far we have been twice for a late breakfast and fabulous on both visits. The masala Dosa is absolutely wonderful as is the excellent Espresso. Looking forward to trying the dinner menu next.

Great food and friendly staff! Would recommend

Lovely experience at Hastings. We had a wonderful breakfast, the staff was super nice and they had great music.

Food was absolutely magnificent, very impressed with the whole variety of dishes we tried. Only thing that let it down slightly was that they didnt seem to have enough staff, so noone came to see if we needed more drinks or if the food was ok.

Incredible presentation, taste and staff. I had the chicken biryani, which was full of rich flavours and quite spicy (which I like a lot). On top of that, we had a fantastic view on the sea. There just aren't many restaurants like this, therefore I would highly recommend visiting this place!

Best breakfast in the world sorry English/Irish!

I often choose somewhere to stay or eat based on Tripadvisor reviews (hey, don't we all or you wouldn't be reading this!) but we just turned up on a Thursday evening for dinner. It just goes to show how finding things out for yourself can be a pleasant surprise. Lovely food, Sri Lankan beers and welcoming and helpful staff. I had no prior expectations and they were greatly exceeded. Yeah, OK, you know what I mean...

My favourite restaurant in the area. I love my food and they deliver! Finally a great masala dosa, don't have to go to London for it anymore. The owners are so lovely, friendly always trying to accommodate you. A lot of Sri Lankans going to eat there is a statement to the quality of their food and service. Well done and thank you

Fantastic food and service. The staff are so lovely and the food is absolutely sublime. My new favourite local. Best Asian food in town

The food was fresh and really delicious, the service was great and it’s doggy friendly. Highly recommend.

Was recommended to me by the people I was staying at, can see why they recommended it so much! Really tasty food, with a lovely view of the sea. Really well priced too and the staff were super friendly

The curry bowls are delicious, really tasty and earthy, real home cooking. Lovely ladies running the floor who couldn’t do enough for you

Great place and nice ambience. Cozy restaurant at the seaside. Food was delicious and tasty. Portion could have been bigger. Very appropriately priced. Authentic srilankan/indian food.

Second visit in 8 days. Favourite place to eat, we'll be back very soon. Highly recommended!

Unforgettable experience, was group booking for dinner and was was hesitant to try it but food tastes as authentic Sri Lankan dishes , we tried chicken and mutton biryanis. We also tried chicken and Ghee dosa and chicken Kuth For Dessert we went for hopper All food nicely presented and the atmosphere was great Will definitely try again such quality food. Had 4 drinks , 4 main courses and a dessert to share all costed £66 ,

I have been wanting to try this place for a while and the wait was definitely worth it! My friend and I both had chicken biryani, one hot and one mild. They were delicious. Decent size portions, not too big. And the price was really low. Restaurant itself looks great and the service was equally good

Lovely food- the masal dosa is incredible, as is the mutton biryani, and very reasonably priced

The best Sri Lankan food place in Hastings.

Beautiful tasty food. The vegan options are superb. The welcome and service is outstanding too!

My first time trying Sri Lankan food, amazingly well presented & super tasty. The staff are knowledgeable & friendly would recommend

The food was incredible!! Loved it so much, cannot wait to go back

The food is absolutely delicious. Such a friendly warm welcome, hardworking staff and owners and lovely ambience but all this would not hit the mark if food wasn't equivalent. It was more so, authentic and utterly divine. These guys are doing so well having been open only 6 months, I was very lucky to get in. Can't wait to return

First time for eating in this restaurant and I would say it was very tasty and delicious and nice I will definitely be back soon

Great food, best Sri Lankan cuisine I’ve had. The biriyani was excellent, portions and prices were great. The staff were friendly and helpful with any questions. Would definitely go back on my next visit to Hastings.

An amazing restaurant, delicious food , highly recommended , the stuff and the services are great , loved every bit of the food served !

Absolutely LOVE this restaurant! Food is outstanding, delightful staff.... I take all my visitors here and everyone has really enjoyed their meal x

We are so happy to have found perfect dosa in Hastings! And the best mutton curry we have ever tasted - plus charming service - we highly recommend Laya!

Outstanding authentic Sri Lankan food all freshly cooked, beautifully presented and absolutely delicious! Staff are friendly and attentive!

Absolutely delicious food. All of the staff are incredibly lovely, a superb location and the Lion beer is excellent. Will be returning asap. My personal favourite was the Chicken Kothu. Thank you!