The Circle Colombo is a relatively new bar with a restaurant down Marine Drive, overlooking the coastline.
Food & Drinks
They have a range of food in their menu, keeping in line with the modern bar scene – so there's plenty for you to choose from. Aside from the Lankan classics, there are dishes inspired by Maldivian, Italian, American fare, as well as cocktails, and other alcoholic beverages, along with juices, milkshakes, tea, and coffee.
The Nasi Goreng (Rs. 600) was presented nicely with a mound of rice that is easily enough for two, surrounded with a bullseye egg, cucumber slices, lettuce and thinly sliced papadum. The rice was cooked well and wasn’t oily at all. It was seasoned, mostly with chilli flakes which didn't do much – except for adding a bit of heat to it. There were bits of bell pepper too, which didn't impress my lunch partner, while I found it interesting, because it added a bit strong leafy aroma to the rice.
Under this mount of rice, lies the bits of chicken – which ran out as we get to the middle of the rice.
We also got a Spaghetti Bolognese (Rs. 600) and it came topped with a slice of cheese. While we could work with this, it would have been better if they chose to add grated cheese.
The pasta was cooked al dente, while the Bolognese sauce was sitting on top of it. With a few bits of beef mixed in, the sauce was sort of watery in texture and tasted tomatoey than anything else. Would have been nicer if it was thicker in texture and a little more flavourful.
They have a separate section for bites on their menu, and we selected the Devilled Chicken (Rs.550). It was plentiful with pieces of chicken, and chunks of onions, green chillis and capsicum – all soaked in a thick, spicy and flavoursome sauce with a sweet undertone. The meat was nicely fried, adding a slightly crispy exterior and a tiny smokey flavour to it. This was the star of our meal, and definitely one of the devilled meat dishes we've come across.
As for drinks, we got two classic cocktails – Dry Martini (Rs. 1000) and Sex on the Beach (Rs. 1000).
Pictured above; Dry Martini (left) and Sex On The Beach(right)
The Dry Martini was a concoction of gin and vermouth, which went down so smoothly from the first sip to the last. The weekend is nigh, and it did a good job in relaxing us. If I am to nitpick, they could have gone easy on the ice cubes.
The Sex On The Beach had a strong taste of orange juice, which sort of overpowered the Vodka it had.
Service and Ambience
The bartender who also served as the waiter was extremely polite and accommodating. Our drinks arrived within a few minutes after ordering, but the food took around 30 minutes.
When we dropped in, they had just opened for the day, and the place had a musty smell to it which disappeared very quickly after turning on the AC. However, the place seemed quite clean.
The view from here is pretty nice. You can catch a glimpse of the sea while you're here. The evening view should be even better. Nothing in terms of deco was overdone and the place can fit around 30 people at a time.
Conclusion
Despite the issues we encountered with some of the dishes, it's quite happy to see that they are heading towards a good direction. We hope they keep improving and give us an excellent option to grab a drink with a friend or a group for a fair price.
