Stoners Korner is a brand new burger joint opened up by Akhila Goonatilleke. A lifelong food enthusiast surrounded and encouraged by likeminded foodies, Goonatilleke’s finally took the plunge and opened up his own outlet to prepare the type of food he himself would enjoy.
Stoners Korner has not been around for very long, having been about two weeks old, but it is certainly not like any other rookie you’ve come across. Goonatilleke’s burgers are knocking it out of the park and have been getting rave reviews from his customers.
We spoke to Goonatilleke, who shared that prior to the idea of opening up a restaurant, he and his wife enjoyed cooking and they’d often host BBQs at their place where Goonatilleke would often get complimented for his skills and the suggestion to open up his own business would flow right in.
Currently at Stoners Korner, it is just Goonatilleke doing his thing; he said that he does things a little differently in his corner of the world, sharing that each patty is made of premium quality beef and that he takes care to prepare the best cuts he can, adding that he also prepares the buns at home. We can vouch for this considering how, in our haste to get the delicious-looking burger we saw on Instagram at 2 p.m. on a Wednesday, we called up Goonatilleke when the second batch of buns for the day were going into the oven.
Although our timing was off, as usually orders come in for lunch just a little before lunchtime, whereas we called well after noon and therefore it took just a little longer to receive our burger, Goonatilleke assured that as they employee Uber Eats for deliveries at a three-mile radius around their location and Pick Me flash for direct delivery anywhere else, our food will get to us right on time.
Our interest in Goonatilleke’s food was spiked when we first saw the very candid pick of a burger they had shared on the Stoners Korner social media handle, which is one thing you will come to appreciate about the place. All the pictures are pretty much exactly what you would get – there is no pruning on those images of fat, juicy patties on cheesy, perfectly baked buns.
On Goonatilleke’s suggestion, we ordered the herb butter-basted smoked beef burger, which was probably the most aesthetically pleasing dish you would see on any given day, and it was perfect. The patty retained the perfect amount of meaty texture, not being dry while being perfectly cooked through and not at all chewy. The near-perfect and rather massive patty comes paired with tasty caramelised onions and soft, extremely fresh homemade buns. At only Rs. 690, we were extremely satisfied and for us, it was a two-person meal, but we’ll leave that for you to decide.
In addition to a selection of burgers, including nai miris chicken burger, Juicy Jane beef burger (a cheesy beef patty), sweet onion chicken burger, and the Cross Joint chicken and beef burger. They also have a “From the Wok” section which is Chow Mein in chicken and beef and chicken wok fried rice.
Just to test the waters, we got ourselves the chicken chow mein and at Rs. 490, we have to say that this one was a steal. Made with homemade egg noodles served with homemade chili oil and bean sprouts from Goonatilleke’s home garden, the dish was delightful. It was fresh and crunchy. The textures will win you over even before the taste huts your taste buds.
The best thing about Stoners Korner for us was that both dishes felt like they were made with absolute love and care by someone who truly enjoys what they are doing and is delighted to prepare that same meal for you. If your meal comes with the glaring indication that it has been prepared with the utmost care and dedication to the craft, then that is almost guaranteed to be a win.
To place your order at Stoners Korner, can call or text 077 1408811.
Facebook: Stoners Korner
Instagram: @stoners.korner
Address: No. 72/1/1, Kahatagahawatte Road, Boralesgamuwa (for pickup)
