Kandy City Hotel's restaurant and pub, The Last Drop, is located in the heart of the city and they serve some of the best food I have tried in the hill country. It is more of a pub than a restaurant, and they certainly break the stereotype of bars having crappy food.
The Food
Their menu is extensive with a wide range of rice dishes, pasta, noodles, sides and a separate section for the in-house specials.
We started off with a plate of Hot Butter Mushrooms (Rs. 500). Would you believe me if I said this was supposed to be a side dish? It was massive, but we scraped the plate off. It was fantastic! The mushrooms were perfectly fried with a sharp crisp and just the right amount of salt and spice. It wasn't that oily either and we just could not stop eating it. Best try it with a cold beer.
The Cream of Mushroom (Rs. 300) came with two dinner buns which were soft and sweet. The soup itself was delicious with a thick texture and quite a lot of croutons.
The Last Drop Special (Rs. 750) was a nasi goreng that came with prawn crackers, fried egg, chili paste, ketchup, and satays. The rice was delicious with perfect seasoning with tiny pieces of chicken here and there. The portion is huge that you can share it between two people, but you probably wouldn't want to, because it's that good. The satays were excellent, with peanut sauce slathered on top.
We also tried the Drop Special Rice (Rs. 850) which came with a chicken chop suey. There was nothing special there, it tasted like a normal chop suey with the addition of marinated chicken and the rice was a simple egg rice. But put these two together; wow! The combo works so well. The simplicity of the rice balances out the heavy flavors of the chop suey. The fried egg and the chili paste were a lovely addition.
Instead of dessert, we tried another dish. The Spaghetti Napolitan (Rs. 580) was another great choice. The spaghetti was well cooked and doused in a delicious pasta sauce. It wasn't as good as the rice dishes but definitely well above average.
The Drinks
They have a separate drinks menu (duh, it's a pub) where you can find Lion Lager, Johnny Walker, JD, Bacardi, Smirnoff, Glenfiddich etc. along with an old school section that serves Gin Fizz, Martini, Tequila, Sex on the Beach etc.
The non-alcoholic section includes virgin mojito, virgin pina colada, Shirley Temple etc. They also have fruit juices, smoothies, and milkshakes.
We wanted to try something from the old school section but the prices were a little too pricey, so we went with a safe bet, Carlsberg (Rs. 300). You cannot go wrong with a Carlsberg.
From the non-alcoholic section, we tried the Virgin Pina Colada (Rs. 300). It was delicious, with the perfect blend of coconut milk and pineapple.
Service and Ambiance
The service was just as good as the food. We dropped in pretty late and there was only one waiter around, but he was efficient, polite and friendly like it was the beginning of the day and we were the first customers he was serving. Our food arrived on time and we were left alone to indulge.
The place is spacious but a little dark for my liking, but that's just a personal preference. Even that late, it wasn't as crowded like the Colombo pubs so you can actually enjoy a quiet dinner here, or quietly drink your troubles away at the bar.
Conclusion
This is probably the only place in Kandy where I have seen such a variety of food and drinks in a menu. Everything we tried was delicious and well worth your money. I highly recommend you try them out if you're ever in the area.
