Overlooking the Colpetty traffic stands Il Caffè, a sleek Italian coffee shop that recently made its entrance to the Colombo coffee shop scene and serves as the Lankan distributor for Illy, a brand of pretty good (and internationally available) Italian coffee.
Unlike your usual coffee shop, this cafe has a boutique accompanying its interior. So get ready to burn some plastic!
Food
The menu was not extensive, but I was told changes were being made, which I believe is vital given our Lankan penchant for food – lots and lots of food.
Skimming through their Italian-French savories menu, and failing to find something like a maalu paan (this is a joke, you can put down the pitchforks), I opted for a Focaccia Bread Sandwich with Vegetables and Cheese (Rs 600) followed by Waffles with Gelato (Rs 400).
It took about fifteen minutes for my veggie sandwich to be assembled and placed before me. If not for the potato crisps, this was pretty healthy. Padded with some greens, cheese, tomatoes and artichokes, the sandwich was decent. The true winner was the focaccia. It was really soft and tasted amazing!
I found the sandwich, as a whole, a little too mild for my Sri Lankan palate. The vegetables and olive oil tasted overpoweringly healthy, but the dash of chillie flakes (upon my request) helped even out the rawness of the veggies.
(Note to self – quit the veggies. Take the meat.)
On the whole, this sandwich felt very nutritious – so nutritious that I needed a waffle to bring back the calories.
You can select waffles with either Nutella or ice cream and I ended up getting a scoop of mint ice cream to go with it.
Texture-wise the waffle was a little too dense. Il Caffè can up its waffle game, beginning with their chocolate syrup art and by making the texture more airy and less rubbery.
Illy Coffee
To me, Illy was unheard of until I called on Il Caffè. I was told by the lady who ran it that the cafe was the distributor for Sri Lanka and she strongly believed it was the best coffee in Lanka land.
Accompanied by a little cookie that was really buttery and crunchy while also being soft, my Cappuccino (Rs 300) tasted of fine coffee. The aroma was delicate and the flavor of the coffee beans came through strong. My only disappointment was that it didn't come with fancy coffee art to help my Instagram feed look better.
But for 300 bucks the cappuccino was definitely worth the money!
Ambience and Service
The interior is everything chic. With a boutique style cafe contrasting between blacks and whites, Il Caffè gives out a very sophisticated finish.
You can also choose from their selection of magazines, if you are getting a little bored while sipping your coffee.
Service, on the other hand, was a litte slow, but friendly. We were attended to and paid heed to from the moment we stepped in.
We were informed of the cafe's future plans for extension and were taken atop a flight of steps to be shown Il Caffè's La Terrazza, which would serve as an al fresco sitting area. With the artificial turf they intend on importing, the terrace should look pretty chill.
Overall
Il Caffè is still new on the scene, so in terms of food, they have a lot of potential for improvement. We'd also love to see a more extensive menu. However, in terms of ambience, they seem to be spot on and La Terrazza is something to look forward to!
