Found right opposite Java Lounge, Epi-Q is Thimbirigasyaya’s newest addition in its conquest of becoming the unofficial cafe capital in Sri Lanka.
Hanging onto expectations that the experience would be epic as the name promises, we decided to check them out.
Ambience
Unfortunately for us, we happened to stop by when it was pouring outside, so this rather horrible picture will have to suffice for the moment.
Giving off slight ‘diner from American teen movie’ vibes from the outside, the ambience at Epi-Q is actually quite lovely. Comprising of mainly plastic chairs, brick and cut cement walls and a blackboard on top of the place where you place your order at, it’s comfortable and all in all quite cosy.
The space isn’t large, but, given that you get lucky with timing, it’s a pretty good place to chill at. Plus, maybe it’s because it’s still opening week, but, the place is very clean.
Food
The menu at Epi-Q is essentially a mix of waffles, crepes, pizzas, wraps and ice cones with a dash of mojitos and tea.
Naturally, our gluttonous selves started off with the pizza. While they do have pizza on their menu, don’t expect a giant range of them. Instead, expect something along the lines of maybe 5-8 options with at least 2 of them being vegetarian.
Finding ground between a stage of being neither thin crust nor thick crust, the Peppered Beef Pizza (Rs. 1300) came as a slightly doughy 10-inch pizza that was positively smothered in cheese. Packed with flavour and dotted with pieces of beef that were both beautifully tender and cooked like curry, we loved this one.
Seriously though, combining the beef and the fact that it was more or less like a pizza from a commercial pizza place without the whole commercially made factor, it was brilliant. Plus, there’s that gorgeous 2 seconds of when you pull your slice out and the mozzarella strings out and then quite unceremoniously plops half the topping onto your plate!
Basically, what we’re trying to say with all this jargon is that the beef pizza at Epi-Q is worth making the effort of going there.
Leaving aside all the wraps and stuff, we went for a crepe. The Choco Berry (Rs. 700) came as a giant, almost biscuitlike crepe that had strings of Nutella running across it from side to side with sliced up strawberries just chilling in the centre of it all.
700 bucks is a tad much for a crepe we’re not so sure you should go with this one just because of how expensive it is. Especially considering how you could get pretty much the same thing with more Nutella at Crepe Runner for like 400 rupees less.
Anyway, this crepe was crunchy. Like, biting into biscuit crunchy. We’re not necessarily complaining, just we weren’t giant fans of it. Nonetheless, tasting like a slightly sweet, very creamy biscuit, it wasn’t all bad.
This is the Classic Waffle (Rs. 500). Following suit, the waffle too was a mix of rubbery and crunchy to the point of being like a biscuit. Served with a more than generous helping of chocolate sauce that we presume was melted chocolate considering how thick it was, it was okay.
Actually, of all the dishes we got, this had to be our least favourite of the lot. Maybe we’re just being weak, but the amount of chocolate sauce was just a tad too overpowering for us, maybe if there was a strawberry on top to add some tang to it. Yup, we’re pretty sure that’ll work.
*Pictured above – Passion Mojito (left) and Epi-Q Cooler (right)
In terms of drinks, we decided to go with the Passion Mojito (rs. 350) and the Epi-Q Cooler (Rs. 350).
The foundation of both drinks is pretty much the same thing, but icy cold with bits of mint floating around the fizzy goodness, we loved them both. The only difference being the fact that one was topped with passion fruit and the other with a mix of lime and rose water.
Fizzy, tangy and all in all the perfect cure to drive away the Colombo heat, they were great. There was enough passion fruit to kick things up a notch on the first and the combination of rose water and lime was actually pretty nice as well.
Service
The staff was both welcoming and efficient with the way they dealt with everything, even serving our food within 10-15 minutes of ordering.
Conclusion
Epi-Q may be new to the cafe scene in Colombo, but, judging by our experience we can happily say that with some pretty good food and comfy ambience, it’s worth giving a shot at.