Java Lounge on Jawatta is a small but cozy coffee shop, the best for meetings around Colombo 5.
This Java Lounge has become our go-to coffee shop purely based on location. It’s at a spot near Thimbirigasaya and Jawatta which is now teeming with life – Kami Maki, Panino’s/Cakery, etc.
Java Lounge started as an unabashed copy of Starbucks but it’s now come into its own as a cool neighborhood hangout. The Cotton Collection branch near Town Hall is actually bigger, but this one is cosy and big enough that you can have meetings and private conversations.
Food/Drinks
I’ve tried a limited range of stuff here. I actually usually get a tea (Rs. 180) which, in the ginger spice version, is very good at clearing up my morning allergies for a sniffle free meeting. That is, of course, a rather expensive tea-bag, but with a coffee shop you’re renting the space as much as buying a drink.
We’ve also tried a Chocolate Chip Cream Frappuccino (Rs. 590) which, with extra caramel drizzle (Rs. 100) is basically a dessert. Mad sugary but good, and enough caffeine to pick you up.
Our old review found the coffees a bit milky but we’d have to try some more to comment more. The food we haven’t tried yet, so please comment if you have more insight.
Location
Java Lounge is one of the smaller coffee shops, but not ridiculously small, ie, you don’t overhear peoples conversations. If you want privacy the couches at the front and back are relatively isolated and the tables in between are spaced well enough apart.
The location, in what is becoming the heart of Colombo 5, is good for anyone in the Narahenpita, Polhengoda, Havelock Town area. Besides Hansa Coffee Shop, which is awesome but tiny, this is the best coffee shop in the area. For something like meetings it’s the only coffee shop.
Java Lounge also has a good amount of foot traffic. At the times I’ve been I’ve run into old friends and even sighted Otara.
Service
The service is really nice. They say hello when you enter without fail, which actually feels kinda nice. They know the menu and they’re really quite pleasant. It’s a small space so you don’t feel lost amidst a big menu and impersonal staff.
