Mariyaadh Coffe Club is a cafe that is tucked away in Ratnaweli Road claiming to serve Maldivian Food along with a chill spot to hang out.
Food & Drinks
Their menu covers a good range with rice & curry, fried rice, pasta, noodles, sandwiches and beverages (hot/cold) sporting coffee, tea and juices. They do have short eats, nibbles and we wished they gave a bit more highlight to the Maldivian dishes they claim to serve.
My lunch partner’s choice was this Beef Spaghetti Carbonara (Rs. 850) which did not impress her with its delivery. The Happy Cow cheese wedge sitting on top of the spaghetti made us exchange confused looks but we soldiered on. The spaghetti was on the softer side and the egg that was supposed to be in the sauce were scattered about as bits of fried egg.
The salt levels were fine, but we wish they added a bit more pepper. It was plentiful with bits of beef in the mix but it wasn’t enough to save the day. According to my lunch partner, this is one of the saddest carbonaras she has come across and considering the price, I can agree.
Featured above is the Kulhimas & Roshi with Black Tea (Rs 550). Kulhimas & Roshi is essentially Maldivian take on thin crepes accompanied with tuna curry. There were four crepes (Roshi), which were cold, too dry, doughy and starchy to our liking. The tuna curry (Kulhimas) itself was cooked well, wrapped in curry and had a hint of milkiness to it and was decently spicy. The black tea was a Dilmah tea bag dunked in a cup of not-so-hot water.
Amidst all this, we got a Chicken Sandwich (Rs. 300) as well which came as two slices of crust free bread cut in half, with a chicken filling. There was loads of mayo and tomato in the flavour mix, while chicken and sauteed onions alongside the crunchy toast added to the texture.
Given it was a gloomy day, my lunch partner wanted to grab two slices of Bombay Toast (Rs. 70 per piece) off the shelf as well. They were toasted well, decently wobbly and had a creamy, sweet, eggy flavour just as we expected. Soft, and delightful, it ended up being the simple highlight of our meal.
Our drinks of choice were Chocolate Milkshake (Rs. 350) and a Cappuccino (Rs. 500).
chocolate milkshake on left, cappuccino on right
The chocolate milkshake hadn’t been mixed well, leading to sloshy blobs at the bottom, which went away when we mixed it up. It was adequately milky and chocolaty, with hints of Highland chocolate ice cream flavour coming through. The texture was thick enough and had a bit of fine-grain to it, and we’d have liked the drink to be a bit colder.
The cappuccino was served in a funky glass carried a decent coffee note mixed with milkiness which was topped off with a foamy layer. It was just alright, nothing to rave about.
Ambience and Service
They have an alfresco area to the cafe shaded with palm trees and such. The place is quiet, clam and can hold about upwards of 20 people comfortably. There’s a pool table in the cafe, which goes at the rate of Rs 450 per hour if you are into that.
You’ll find a TV overhanding in the inside sitting area as well. They have a very hands-off vibe to it when it comes to service and such, and they more or less left us to our food which we appreciated.
While the service is not the fastest, we didn’t have any issues with our service.
Conclusion
The food here can be a hit or a miss as we feel, and you are better off coming here to chill and get the food as an option to help with that. They have a few areas that they can easily improve flavour and value-wise.