Cakes & Bakes is a newish bakery down Galle Road. While the ambience impressed me, the presentation of the food and the taste did not.
The Drinks
The rich aroma of caramel is what greets you when the Caramel Latte (Rs.420) is placed on your table. Whilst there is a strong after taste of a good blend of coffee and caramel, the latte was very light and frothy yet lacking the fairly strong caffeine punch I was looking for. The serving size was definitely bigger than most cafes in Colombo and my only advice is to drink it while it’s hot.
The Food
The Spicy Beef Melt (Rs. 350) did not live up to its name of being ‘spicy’, nevertheless, the flavour of the beef was acceptable and I liked the fact that it was moist. Personally I would’ve also preferred more cheese for it to be considered a ‘melt’ and I definitely would’ve loved if they weren’t so stingy with their filling. That wasn’t the worst part though when compared to the catastrophic salad placed haphazardly on my plate with a swirl of dressing!
The C&B special burger (Rs. 510) was basically two moist chicken patties, chunky button mushrooms and a well fried egg, layered in between two thick burger buns. The burger did come up with a side of fries and yet another randomly placed portion of salad.
The Dessert
And finally, the cringe-of-the-day award goes to the Tiramisu (Rs. 480). Firstly it lacked a key component of a tiramisu: that distinct, slight hint of a coffee flavour! The dessert was too sweet and tasted more like cream cheese than a tiramisu. Adding to the poor texture, I also came across hardened icicles inside which clearly means that the water content is too high and that it has been in the freezer for too long. While Cakes and Bakes is just starting off, I feel it’s mandatory for them to adjust their Tiramisu recipe if they’re to compete with other restaurants serving the same.
Ambience and Service
From a chic wallpaper dotted with antique clocks to the wooden texture of the tables and floor, Cakes and Bakes definitely has captured the essence of an elegant and sophisticated restaurant atmosphere.
However something not too fancy was the problem of the flies landing on my food and the eventual plunge into my latte. Also, you have to ask for cutlery. It would be nice of them to place cutlery before the dishes, or at least a jar so you could take your own. Pity.
The staff was friendly and attentive at all times (perhaps a given in a small space), and although the wait time wasn’t too bad for most dishes, it took way too long for me to get my tiramisu. If only there had been some background music for me to nod my head to while waiting.
Overall
Cakes & Bakes is new to the restaurant game in Colombo. Given our visit, they have a long way towards build a reputation for themselves. If they could really sit down and re-consider their recipes and definitely think about their presentations again, that could be a start for them to improve. We'll keep our fingers crossed till then.
