Lemon Square serves a variety of food, from biriyani and fried rice to chapati and kottu. Unfortunately, most of their food items including the kottu, naan, vadey and chapati are available only after 5.00 pm, but as for lunch, they’ve got rice-centred specialities.
Admittedly, we were a little downcast, but after having a taste of their lunchtime menu, we realized they didn’t really need variety in order to leave their customers fully satisfied.
Food
I usually am not a huge fan of rice and curry because from my little experience I’ve realised that all places do not have the ability to get those combinations right and prepare it in such a way that they complement each other. Because, individually, they might be great but brought together, they don’t go so well.
Lemon Square is the complete opposite. Their Rice and Curry (Rs. 200) was simply amazing! Amongst the best rice and curry I’ve had in some time, they all went perfectly with each other. The dhal was exceptional, and paired with the soya meat, it was the ultimate comfort food for me.
They had a huge, luscious chunk of chicken that had been slightly roasted and a crispy covering enshrouding the tender meat inside. Featuring a fresh mallum and crispy slices of manioc that had been fried and brought together by a sambol, it was a well-executed serving of rice & curry.
Their Mix Fried Rice (Rs. 500) was also quite good, and the portion was huge. A portion that could easily serve two people, the rice was fluffy and not oily, but had the proper meaty flavour to it. There were plenty of fresh vegetables included into the rice, along with chunks of succulent chicken, fish and sausages. The fish aspect could be improved a bit; it was quite tough and lacked flavour, and except for that tiny hiccup, it’s a steal.
The steaming hot bowl of Chicken Corn Soup (Rs. 250) was very satisfying. Although the chicken (and there was plenty of it) was slightly tough, which you usually don’t expect in a bowl of soup, all the other ingredients were spot on. The kernels of corn gave that additonal tinge of sweetness to the soup which was the perfect nail in the coffin.
The Chocolate Milkshake (Rs. 225) had chocolate chips in it, which came as a pleasant surprise. The chocolaty flavour was not as strong as we would have loved though; it tasted slightly watered down and the milky taste was quite distinguishable, but except for that, it was all right.
Service and Ambience
Lemon Square is not the greatest in terms of ambience, it looks like it has definitely seen better times, yet the food makes up for all of that. It can seat around 15 people at once, and with a huge area for parking, is quite ideal.
The staff were quite friendly and accommodating and were quite glad to help with anything we needed.
Conclusion
Lemon Square might not look the greatest from the outside, but you have to go there for the food. It’s cheap and great and the perfect spot to grab a quick, filling meal with minimum hassle.
PS: We do not understand the obsession restaurants in Wattala have with the word lemon. This is probably the fourth place in town with the word lemon in their name.