By Dimithri Wijesinghe
—
Photos Krishan Kariyawasam
—
Café Blanca is a charming little spot situated down Malalasekara Mawatha, Colombo. The building, while quite small, is stacked quite high with a stylish staircase leading you to two other floors where you can relax in a lounge area and/or use the family room, read, or even colour while you wait.
Our first impression of the venue was that it felt cosy. Cute is another appropriate word to describe the space, the walls of which were adorned with art, displaying local artists’ work and splatterings of wall art in gorgeous colour.
The owners, Calli Isack and Bhagya Pathirage – an adorable couple – were ever so hospitable and spoke about how the idea for a cafe came about on a whim, and how they launched the business after falling in love with the venue. Their risk seems to have paid off.
Since its opening on 18 March, the duo has managed to acquire a head chef who has proven to be a wonderful addition to their tight-knit group. The interestingly curated menu features a multitude of dishes named after the couple’s friends whom were instrumental in getting the place up and running.
We stopped by Café Blanca at an odd hour in the day and chose to try out a few things. Here’s what we thought.
Kyler’s JP – Rs. 700
This was one of their main courses. The dish was three oven-baked potatoes stuffed with a creamy chicken base topped with baked beans and sour cream, and is available in vegetarian and tuna options. If you like potato then you will love this dish, it is simple and can easily be split between two persons – we found it to be quite filling.
We had a non-potato-loving member in our group who complained that it was just baked potato with some salad on top; more stuffing would have been preferred.
Chuti cheesecake – Rs. 450
This one was rather unusual in that it wasn’t what we were expecting. The cake came in a mug and looked very much like a vanilla latte. However, when we dug in, it was a soft and wonderfully layered cheesecake.
It tasted heavily like Milk Maid, but nobody was complaining. It was delicious and we were really pushing to finish it. This dish was a real delight, and we recommend you give it a try.
Cherun shakes – Rs. 550
As a chocolate and vanilla-flavoured Oreo milkshake, this one was pretty standard. It had a very subtle flavour to it, nothing too overpowering. The vanilla flavour gave it a waffle-cone-tasting undertone; or we may have imagined that because of the ice-cream. Overall, it was a pleasant experience. There was a nice amount of crushed Oreo in it as well, which added texture to the drink.
Available in UberEats
Contact: 0765 243 477
Address: 401, 14E Malalasekara Mawatha, Colombo 5
Kitchen closes at 10.30 p.m.
Take The Sunday Morning Brunch review of Café Blanca with you and get 15% off your bill if it exceeds Rs. 2,000. Offer is valid for one week from the date of publication. Terms and conditions apply.
