Ministry of Curry brings an every-day slice of Sri Lanka to Brunswick,

The next necessary quality is that the restaurant be relaxed: when our airs and graces are hidden under scrunched piles of wrapping paper or stuck behind the ham in the back of the fridge we don't want formality. Again, Ministry of Curry comes through.

It's a small business with all the warm-hearted hospitality that implies. If that also suggests that inexperienced waiters are sometimes roped in, well, that's as I mean it to be. Of course, good food is always the core appeal. On this score, Ministry of Curry romps home.

The menu is a lengthy showcase, including curries, rice and roti-based stir-fries and the sweet-and-sour "devilled" dishes that are a hallmark of this lively Euro-influenced cuisine.

The condiments (known as sambols) are flavour bombs, featuring combinations of coconut, chilli, curry leaves, pickled vegetables and dried fish. Use them to jazz up larger dishes or do as I do and sneak them by the spoonful.

Other winners include the beef pan roll (a spiced meeting point between croquette and pancake), kottu roti (flatbread stir-fry) and rich, tender, coconutty goat curry. Egg hopper (a lacy coconut pancake cooked in a wok-like pan with an egg cracked into it) is a Sri Lankan classic: I love its creamy-crunchy contrast.

The spice factor can be turned up or down as desired, and there's no problem pleasing children, the gluten-free and vegans.

As a restaurant experience the Ministry plays in a minor key. Takeaway customers troop in and out, it's impossible to shift the chunky timber chairs without making an ear-piercing screech and service can be uncertain. But as an eating adventure, it's great, and not just because it's open.