Café Che, Colombo

I love discovering new places to eat and it even surprises my colleagues here that I've been able to get around and visit some of the famous places. Well, what can I say... if you give me a web-browsing enabled device, internet access and GOOGLE, I'll be able to find anything and everything!

On my 2nd weekend I visited Café Che, which is one arm of the 5 restaurants/cafes of the Harpo's group founded by Harpo Gooneratne, a former entertainer to now restaurant(s) proprietor. Under the Harpo's Restaurants & Cafes are 5 different f&b concepts- The Bay Leaf which is said to be one of the places to go for Italian, The Commons is a coffee house, The Park Street Mews is a fusion concept, Harpo's Pizza creating a local branding for pizzas, and last but not least the rebellious Café Che.







As the decos and pictures suggest, it's a theme cafe based on the legendary revolutionary and rebellious activist Che Guevera.


Ginger Ale- Rs. 100 (RM3)


Complimentary bread


Soup of the day: Italian Minestrone- Rs. 250 (RM7)


Marinated strips of chicken, lettuce, tomato & mayo wrap- Rs. 350 (RM10)


Chocolate brownie with vanilla ice cream and rice chocolate sauce- Rs. 325 (RM9)

The menu comprises the usual sandwiches, salads, soups and pastas but also a selection of Mexican and Cuban favourites and also local cuisines like rotti. The food is pretty straight to the point, nothing pretentious and appropriately portioned.

Café Che is also located along Stratford Avenue neighboring a few antique stores and galleries- Gandhara and Hermitage.



Café Che
60, Stratford Avenue,
Kirulapone, Colombo 6,
Sri Lanka.
Website: http://www.cafechecolombo.com/

[Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here are based on my personal views, tastebuds and preference and may vary for others. Please don't sue me, I don't have money. Kthxbye.]

Barefoot Gallery & Cafe, Colombo

Barefoot Gallery & Cafe

Coming to my 4th week in the city of Colombo, I realize that this place has its charms but also dull moments. Charms in the form of the cafes & restaurants and strangers you meet on the road or at the dining table (most probably because of the foreign face). Dull kicks in when you're in need of some retail therapy - none to be found, the best mall here barely matches to KL's worst mall. But the retail therapy part, it's ok as I am not here to spend my monies on more clothes... though grocery shopping here is a pain as well (supermarkets are small and variation is limited).

Barefoot fits into the charm part of Colombo.



"Barefoot is full of beautiful handwoven vibrantly colored fabric, toys, bags and household linen. A gallery of contemporary at frangipani gallery cafe. A bookshop and Sri Lankan made artifacts."



Unlike Paradise Road & Gallery Cafe, Barefoot does not allow photography in the gallery though the cafe is ok. Still can't understand the paranoid but anyway I managed to snap one and a very colourful one too! The layout of Barefoot in order from front entrance to the back door:

1. Fabrics and home deco - cotton colourful table runners, mats, napkins, cushion covers, ornaments, silverware, tea, aromatherapy incense etc.
2. Cotton and silk clothes - colourful sarongs, traditional Sri Lankan style clothes
3. Bookshop - Travel, architectural, and also a selection of books from local authors
4. Cotton bags, more ornaments
5. Barefoot cafe


Can you guess what animal is the metal sculpture depicting?


Trojan horse


Barefoot Cafe


The bar- there's something about gray cement bars...


Coke and colours

The menu of Barefoot Cafe is pretty small, just a couple of choices for mains, some light snacks and drinks.


Live jazz on Sundays

If you're a fan of jazz, the cafe is a great place to spend your afternoon as there is a live jazz band and it's pretty good and the location is a favourite amongst foreigners and locals... though my only grouse is that the chairs are not that comfy :(



The colourful backdoor

So if you're in Colombo, don't forget to pay Barefoot a visit!


Barefoot
706, Galle Road,
Colombo 4,
Sri Lanka.
Website: http://www.barefoot.lk/home.htm

[Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here are based on my personal views, tastebuds and preference and may vary for others. Please don't sue me, I don't have money. Kthxbye.]

The Cricket Club Cafe, Colombo

Aside from the lovely cafes and wonderful beaches, the only thing that irks me is the weather- it has been raining from day 1 until day 16 (today) and it's gonna continue raining... and when it rains, it really rains for hours!



So after I walked out from Gallery Cafe, it started to rain again... I just got in time to hop over to Cricket Club Cafe which is thankfully just across the street to get away from the rain. You should know that by then I would have been stuffed and not planning to have a 2nd round of lunch! But obviously I couldn't get away from the rain, chilling at the cafe and not ordering anything!


Peekaboo!

Cricket Club Cafe is everything and anything about cricket. In a country where cricket is like a religion, the cricketers are the biggest celebrities and a sport that is known to every Sri Lankan (though I am sure you didn't know that the official sport of Sri Lanka is Volleyball), I guess it makes perfect sense that there is a cafe/ bar that is dedicated to this sport.


Signatures of cricketers

The ambience and setting is welcoming... flags, merchandise and memorabilia adorn the walls. The tv is showing cricket matches and I was stuck there for about 2 hours, I guess if a person doesn't know about cricket, it will just take 2 hours of watching these matches to roughly guess what is going on.






Bedi's Brownie with Vanilla Ice Cream- Rs. 280 (RM8)

I had a Bedi's Brownie and it is sinful.... imagine, a chocolate brownie with peanuts, vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce......... hmmmm.




Cafe Latte- Rs. 195 (RM5)

And pairing it with a Cafe Latte, I had wanted to go for the hot choc but reckon that I will be chocolate overdose at the end ;-)

Cricket Club Cafe offers the best place to watch every Sri Lankan's favourite sport- cricket and a great place to dine, and chill.


The Cricket Club Cafe
34, Queens Road,
Colombo 03,
Sri Lanka.
Tel: +94 (0) 11 250 1384
Website: http://thecricketclubcafeceylon.com/cricket_club/home.html

[Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here are based on my personal views, tastebuds and preference and may vary for others. Please don't sue me, I don't have money. Kthxbye.]

The Gallery Café, Colombo

Paradise Road Galleries

Paradise Road is listed as one of the must-visit places in Colombo. Not to be mistaken as a road name- in fact it is located on Alfred House Road, Paradise Road is a concept design store - studio - gallery - cafe. For those who appreciate arts and quality dining experience, Paradise Road is the place to spend a lovely afternoon.

I'll let pictures do justice.




































Champagne Risotto with Broccoli and Mushrooms- Rs.895 (RM25)


Tomato gazpacho- Rs. 495 (RM14); Pan fried pork chops- Rs. 985 (RM27)


Lemon meringue pie- Rs. 575 (RM16); Cinnamon ice cream- Rs. 625 (RM17)











* Prices are exclusive of 10% service charge and 13% VAT


The Gallery Cafe
2, Alfred House Road,
Colombo 3,
Sri Lanka.
Tel: +942582162
Website: www.paradiseroadsl.com/cafe/Introduction.html

[Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here are based on my personal views, tastebuds and preference and may vary for others. Please don't sue me, I don't have money. Kthxbye.]