Found smack dab in the middle of Sir Ernest de Sliva Mawatha, right opposite the Land Rover showroom lies Dilmah's 3rd and the newest branch of Brew 1867.
Joining the likes of The Commons and The Embazzy down the same road, this place offers everyone residing, studying or working in the general vicinity of Flower Road a slightly more affordable place to eat with a pretty nice dine-in area as well.
The Ambience
At first glance, Brew 1867 looks like it's just another takeaway spot that serves up food for people in a hurry. So, imagine our surprise when we found out that there was a whole space upstairs dedicated to dining in.
With a variety of chairs in a bunch of colours, we found the ambience at Brew 1867 to be quite nice. Giving off slight Cat in the Hat vibes, the whole place seemed to reek of happy juices that were all pulled together by the giant sponge cupcake that's in a corner of the room.
It's great for groups or even for when you're looking for a decent place to get some work done. With almost excessive amounts of natural light sweeping the whole room, we had nothing to complain about.
The Food
The Food at Brew 1867 is already packaged into cardboard packs that you can choose off a shelf and get re-heated. However, they do have quite a few options you can go with, from rice and curry to sandwiches and pasta to even sausage and eggs.
The Grilled Chicken and Vegetables was the most expensive item on our list. Coming in at a slightly hefty Rs. 600, the package almost felt like aeroplane food. With a generous piece of grilled chicken in a reduced mushroom sauce taking up centre stage with an ensemble of veggies surrounding it, we found it to be quite nice.
The veggies had been cooked and flavoured just so that the taste of the veggies rang through loud and clear and the addition of butter, salt and pepper and whatever helped in just taking it the next level, which we really did appreciate.
The chicken itself was cooked beautifully and the sauce helped add just the right amount of flavour to the chicken to let it not be bland. all in all, we found it to be all right.
What really blew us away was the Grilled Sailfish (Rs. 590). Pulling through with a buttery white sauce, the fish was marinated to perfection with the combination of what we assume is vinegar, salt and pepper.
The creaminess of the sauce combined with the sharp tang of the fish was superb. Plus, the piece of fish is quite large and is a solid option for a quick lunch if you're not in a mood for rice and curry.
The Spicy Tuna and Cheddar Panini (Rs. 380) seemed to be the least promising of the lot. Served slightly cold, the panini was a pretty great surprise to us. The bread was wonderfully fresh and crunched when you bit into it.
Dusted with flour, and a sprinkle of oats, the bread on which the sandwich comprised of was brilliant. Creamy tuna, chilli and salt together with the slice of cheddar, the filling here came as quite a nice surprise.
The only thing on our list that we didn't lived up to our expectations was the Raspberry Cheesecake (Rs. 320). Essentially a cup of creamy, coulie-d up dessert, the cheesecake had a consistency similar to peanut butter. Taking on the likes of a mix of yoghurt and cream in the strangest way possible, we didn't really like this all that much. I thought it was all right, but my lunch partners flat out refused to eat more than a bite of it.
Pictured Above:(L-R) Tamarind Fizz, Iced Chocolate Frappe, Colada Punch Mocktail
Given how warm it was outside, we couldn't even bear to look at the hot beverages section. And the drinks we chose turned out to be quite satisfactory, so we're happy.
The Iced Chocolate Frappe (Rs. 400) came as a picturesque giant of a glass filled with chocolatey goodness that wasn't all that sweet. Having a slight tinge of coffee seeping through each sip, the drink was icy cold and perfect for when you don't feel like getting dessert, but need something sweet to top off your meal.
The Colada Punch (Rs. 390) pulled through quite successfully as well. Creamy and packed to the brim with sweet sweet pineapple, it's nice. I wasn't a giant fan of it, but, Bilaal seemed to like it, which is great.
The highlight of the drinks section was the Tamarind Fizz (Rs. 350). Essentially a mojito like concoction that used tamarind as its main ingredient, the Tamarind Fizz was brilliant. Tangy with the perfect amount of sweetness and just a hint of creaminess to whip it all together, it was perfection.
Service
The staff at Brew 1867 turned out to be quite good. They did take around 10 minutes to bring our food to the table, it's strange because it's all pre-cooked, but we don't know. All in all, pretty unobtrusive, we had nothing of substance to complain about, really.
Conclusion
We like it. It's a great option to go with if you're looking for a place to chill out and get some work done, or even if you want to meet a couple of friends or even for when you're looking for a quick lunch. We'd recommend it.
