Alerics is a classic Sri Lanka ice cream brand with a new shop in Liberty Arcade. It’s basically at the Carnival/Rio range in terms of taste.
Alerics was the original Sri Lanka ice cream, started in 1949, reaching peak popularity with the Piccadilly Café in the 1960s. After that it declined and basically disappeared. Now it’s back, under new management, with a new branch in the new Liberty Arcade. New new new.
The Ice Cream
Alerics has two tiers of flavors, the basic (Rs. 70 for a standard cone) and the premium (Rs. 120). The basic are, well, basic. Strawberry, chocolate, vanilla, mint. The premium has mint chocolate chip, strawberry chocolate chip, pina colada, etc.
Colorwise, the Alerics flavors are neon, veering more towards the artificial Rio/Carnival look. We tried a pina colada cone which is was sweet and nice with chunks of pineapple. This is mainstream, mass-market ice cream, not fancy stuff like Carino’s and Il Gelato. While I generally prefer the more natural tasting stuff, after a hot day there’s a certain satisfaction to this sort of blend.
Location
The new Alerics is tucked inside the new Liberty Arcade, another small mall that’s under construction right next to Liberty Plaza (on Duplication Road). You can see down the mall hallway from Duplication Road, right into Alerics. It’s a simple spot, few bar chairs around an ice cream display.
Service
Generally one person there and they’re quite nice.
Conclusion
The old Alerics is finally back with a new location in (the also new) Liberty Arcade. It’s a bit artificial, but good for a hot day’s treat.
