I dragged our resident YAMU Coffee Connoisseur with me and together we embarked on our Coffee Crusade to Coffee & Company: a gorgeous, tranquil coffeeshop down the secluded 30th Lane off Pedris Road.
The Coffee
The cafe is pretty new and I was told they serve up some good brew. We decided to order the classics since this is just a First Look and also because it's difficult to screw up the basic eats that a coffeeshop would provide.
Coffee Connoisseur and I decided to order the classic Cafe Americano (Rs, 300) which was served steaming hot in a big glass mug. It tasted no different from your average Americano, and with a spoonful of sugar or two it balanced out the strong, bitter aftertaste.
The Iced Cappuccino (Rs, 520) was served in a similar mug as the Americano. It wasn't exactly iced per se but rather chilled a little and had a LOT of milk, so much that I could hardly taste the coffee. Presentation-wise I was expecting a cute design or something hipsteresque but the little blotch of coffee floating atop the foam just made me sad. Is it worth 520LKR? Probably not.
Food
They have a decent selection of pastries and sweet-treats available on display, but they've also got a wide selection of other items you can order like soups, pasta, sandwiches and other desserts.
We went with the Chicken Pie (Rs, 150) and it was definitely worth the price. Served hot with a little dish of ketchup, the pie was flaky and packed with big chunks of chicken. The only downside to this is that the chicken was a little bland although Malinthe said that adding some pepper helped. I don't mind bland food, but to all you flavour-fiends out there you might be a little let down by the simple chicken flavour.
The Chocolate Brownie with Ice Cream (Rs, 450) left me a little perplexed. The brownie itself had a wonderful, cakey texture to it and being more of a fudge-freak myself I was surprised to find myself enjoying the lighter texture. However the ice cream that it came with was flaky like shards of vanilla ice compressed together. I really don't know if they had frozen whipping cream , or over-frozen ice cream but either way I wish it weren't so overly frozen. For 450LKR the dish could certainly use a few tweaks to make it better.
Service & Ambience
Okay so this place is amazing. The building itself is this huge converted mansion and it's every hipster's ideal location. Which is a pity, because there's only so many kids in big glasses and barefootware that I can stand.
The interior is furnished with funky, lightweight cane and wicker chairs along with some chintz couches, the lighting is dim, and the best part? It's quiet. It's the perfect place to read a book at.
The staff are attentive yet non-intrusive. They check on you, sure but they respect your privacy which is ALWAYS a plus for me.
There's also outdoor seating options available at the front by the entrance. They've got a little garden space at the back and since they're still new they haven't done anything with it yet but I'm guessing they'll be turning it into a nice backyard seating area sometime in the near future.
Conclusion
They definitely have a lot of room for improvement coffee and food-wise but I'm sure they'll do well as they grow. For now though I'd recommend going there just to enjoy the peace and quiet.
