Baja Subs Market & Deli
A Northridge convenience-store counter that critics treat as one of LA’s best Sri Lankan kitchens: kottu, hoppers, lamprais, and weekend biryani beside the chips.
Northridge · 8801 Reseda Blvd Suite A, Northridge, CA 91324
Overview
Baja Subs Market & Deli sits at 8801 Reseda Boulevard in a Northridge strip mall, next to tire and smog shops, with Mexican-grill signage and a working minimart: beer coolers, snacks, cigarettes, and a few tables. Owners Premil “Jay” Jayasinghe and Koshalie Thenabadu bought the business in the mid-2010s (LA Times says 2013; Eater dates their Sri Lankan expansion from around 2016) and kept a small Mexican menu while building out the food of their home country. They also run Flavors of Asia, a Sri Lankan grocery in the same complex. Sandwiches have been on hold in recent coverage; the Sri Lankan board is the reason people drive across the Valley.
This is the classic LA market-restaurant hybrid: chalk menu on the wall, steam table up front, made-to-order plates that can take half an hour. The Infatuation rates it 9.2 and puts it in the city’s Top 25. Los Angeles Times, Eater LA, Time Out, and LA Weekly have all written the same basic story: ignore the Modelo run and order kottu, hoppers, lamprais, and weekend biryani.
What diners say
Critics are unusually unanimous. The Infatuation calls it one of the best places to eat in LA, period, and singles out kottu roti, pineapple-chutney biryani, garlicky Sri Lankan noodles, egg roti, and lamprais (“lump rice” on the menu). LA Times food coverage walks through kottu with spicy gravy, lamb and jackfruit and fish curries (goraka in the fish), vegetable sides like parippu, eggplant moju, and mallung, Saturday buffet hoppers and yellow rice, and weekday lamprais with that banana-leaf smell. Eater’s 2020 feature explained the hoppers-and-dosa weekend rhythm and the Dutch-linked lamprais packet.
Public scores stay high: Google around 4.7 and Yelp around 4.5 across a few hundred reviews in aggregator snapshots. Diners echo the spice level, generous portions, welcoming owners, lamprais and kottu as first-timer favorites, and weekend buffet crowds. A few note the wait for made-to-order plates and the chaotic store setting, which matches every critic’s description rather than undercutting it.
What to know
- First orders critics push: kottu roti; lamprais / lump rice; egg roti; Sri Lankan noodles; weekend biryani with onion, egg, cashews, and pineapple chutney; egg hoppers and string hoppers (often Friday/Saturday evenings or buffet; weekday hoppers may need advance notice per LA Times).
- Expect serious heat. LA Times advises clothes you can sweat in; many dishes can be made vegan or vegetarian if you ask.
- Call ahead for takeout: Infatuation says they are not on delivery apps and plates can take 30 to 40 minutes. Phone commonly listed: (818) 993-7064.
- Saturday evening buffet is a destination for hoppers and a wider spread; weekdays are more à la carte and lamprais-friendly. Confirm current buffet days before you go.
- Setting: convenience store plus a few tables. Fine to dine in; many people take out. Mexican items and cold cuts may still appear on the board, but critics say almost nobody is there for the burrito.
- Same complex: Flavors of Asia for Sri Lankan groceries if you want to stock the pantry after lunch.
- Price is $: Time Out lists it in the cheap range; portions are large enough that Infatuation treats biryani as multi-meal takeout.
- No polished restaurant website; use the map listing or call. This is desk orientation from published reviews, not a Tadka Table tasting visit.
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