Inn On The Green is well known for its British Pub-like atmosphere and Pub Quiz . We’ve been there before, but we weren’t very impressed. Since then they’ve taken some steps in the right direction, but it’s still pricier than most other bars.
Food
The food was one of the areas that we felt they had improved quite a bit. The portion sizes were respectable but the price was still a bit high with price ranging from Rs.600 – Rs.800 for bites and Rs.700 – Rs.1200 for mains. What we really didn’t like though, was the menu booklet they had. It was screwed in at the edges, as opposed to being bound so it would slam shut unless you held it open with both hands.
We ordered the Chicken Burger (Rs800), Fish & Chips (Rs.700) and the Devilled Chicken (Rs.600) as a bite. Since our last experience with the food wasn’t that great, we weren’t expecting much, but we were happy to see they had improved their standards. The Chicken Burger was served with French fries and coleslaw. The Burger itself was quite large and came with a fried egg on top of the patty. Overall, we were quite happy with the Burger. The patty was well seasoned and it had the right amount of veges in it to add texture. The fried egg though, was overcooked and the yolk was stiff, as oppose to oozing out when we bit into it.
We would say that the Fish & Chips were also on par with some of the better establishments we’ve visited recently. The Fish was a relatively large fillet which had a somewhat thin batter. I personally prefer my batter a bit thicker, but flavourwise it ticked all the right boxes. The French fries we got in both the dishes were crisp and well seasoned. When it came to the Devilled Chicken we were expecting a tiny portion since it was under the “”bites”” section, but we were pleasantly surprised to see quite a sizable portion.
Drinks
Most people don’t go to bars for the food, they go for the drinks, and unfortunately this is where In On The Green loses its appeal almost purely due its pricing. Drinks here are quite expensive, some coming close to double the cost of other establishments, and while they were good, they weren’t really exceptional to justify the price.
We tried their Long Island Ice Tea (Rs.750), Cosmopolitan (Rs.750), and a mug of Lion Lager (Rs.475). So right off that bat what we noticed was that pretty much every drink was overpriced compared places by the likes of O!. The drinks themselves were fine, but nothing that really stood out, and when you’re charging nearly Rs.200 more than other bars, it’s got to stand out.
The Long Island Ice Tea (Vodka,Gin, Rum and Tequila) was pretty strong, but we were fine with that since you probably won’t be getting a second. The Cosmopolitan (Vodka, Cranberry Juice, Lime) was milder and sweeter with a slight hit of the Vodka coming through, something we’d suggest the ladies try.
Ambience & Service
In On the Green tries to go for the classic British pub look with it’s ambience and for the most does fairly well with it’s mostly wooden interior. They’ve got seating for around 80 people, but you’ll generally be able to find seats, with the exception of maybe Wednesday when Pub Quiz happens. The music playing on the night we went was all over the place, with tracks switching from Pop, to Hip hop, to Simon & Garfunkel.
We were very happy with the service. The waiters were polite and gave us any information we requested about the food and drinks. The service was also super fast with our dishes being brought to our table in less than 10 mins, which is the quite a feat for any establishment. It’ll probably vary on more crowded days but all in all it was still very impressive.
Conclusion
Over the past 12 months In On The Green have made some much needed improvements. The prices though are still on the higher side which remains to be the biggest drawback for them. If you prefer a more laid back experience to that of other contemporary bars in Colombo, it’s a still a great place to unwind.
