Kurundu is the newest of the numerous eateries that multiply within the Galle Fort. They don't have a specialized theme, but dish up your regular Western fare instead: wraps, pasta, sandwiches, and pizza. They also have beer.
Ambience
What instantly makes Kurundu stand out is their epic set-up: it doesn't actually show in the picture, but this looks lovely when you're walking down Pedlars Street. With large, coloured lanterns hanging under an awning made of cinnamon bark, this spot has a nice little street cafe vibe.
Food and Service
They've got a two-sheet menu consisting of pizzas, pasta, sandwiches and wraps. Unfortunately, the pizza wasn't available when we dropped by, so we settled for a Vegetable Wrap (Rs. 600), a Chicken BBQ (Rs. 800) and a Chicken Sandwich (Rs. 550).
Appearance-wise, the food was just so-so, nothing extraordinary. However, the vegetables in the wrap were fresh, zesty and crunchy, which was pretty nice. They'd also thrown in some diced capsicums, so that gave some welcome and contrasting flavour to your usually bland cabbages and carrots.
The BBQ Chicken had a good layer of charred skin, and the meat itself was soft and succulent. What wasn't to our satisfaction was the portion size, which was just about enough for one person if you ate slowly and paced your meal out so you forget how hungry you are. It came with a side of fries, properly salted and piping hot.
For over Rs. 500, the sandwich was underwhelming to say the least. It had an evenly spread albeit thin layer of boiled chicken and a slice of cheese placed between sliced bread, which was in turn, placed next to a sparse serving of fries.
On a more positive note, though, we got a fresh mango juice to wash all of this down. It was Rs. 300, pretty much the price of a juice elsewhere, and was as authentic as it could possibly get — flavoursome, thick, not watered down. It was basically a liquid mango.
Our meals took a while to arrive, but the waitstaff were friendly. There were two guys manning the area, and it was a busy time but they were attentive and efficient in tending to the tables.
Conclusion
The food isn't remarkable but the ambience is. It's a combination of chilled out and clustered as the whole restaurant is squished into the entryway that leads to a house, so it's in a corridor-like space. Ventilation is somewhat limited when you're having walls closing in on you, but it's also a super economic use of space.
