The New Torrington Bakery has actually been around for at least a few years, so it's not too new. If you go around noon (we were there around 12:30), they bring out fresh batches of buns and rolls.
Bunnis and rolls and pastries
After slight communication mishaps with the one-man staff behind the counter (he didn't understand our order despite repeating it in English and Sinhala and we eventually resorted to pointing and picking off the counter), we got a plateful of buns, pastries, and a couple of miscellaneous items (ie: chicken nuggets and fish rolls).
Prices are normal bakery prices. It's probably one of the very few places down that stretch of road where you're going to find reasonably priced or cheap food.
Given that prices are from Rs. 35 to Rs. 50, you can have a pretty substantial meal if you're okay with it consisting mostly of bread and dough. We got a Chicken Drumstick, Chicken Bun, Sausage Pastry, and Bulls-eye Bun for Rs 50 each, a Crab Bun (literally a crab shaped bun, akin to your generic kimbula bun) and Fish Roll for Rs. 35, a Rs. 40 Seeni Sambol Bun and finally, a Rs. 45 Fish Pastry.
Let's get the disappointing bits out of the way — the fish roll. Why? Because it was strangely identical to pre-frozen rolls you can get in your average supermarket (ie Cargills). The drumstick wasn't disappointing or anything, but it's just your average drumstick — nothing special to comment on there.
What is good though, are their baked goods. The Bulls-eye Bun is like a mini-pizza with an egg topping, and is quite a generous portion. We're not sure how this is profitable, but we're definitely not complaining because this packs in value for money.
The Vegetable Bun had a strong leek game going on, and their chicken bun was also actually quite good. True that the onions overpowered everything, but this had identifiable bits of chicken in it (admittedly it could have used a lot more) and the onion had a good sambol hit. The same can be said for the fish pastry.
With regards to the rest of the stuff (seeni sambol, crab bun and so), they were warm and fresh out of the oven and soft and delicious. It's nice to be able to get freshly baked goods in the middle of the day.
Ambience
Furnished with a couple of small square tables and a few tall chairs, the bakery isn't a place you'd hang around with to chill with friends or family. It's more of a grab-and-run place. Regardless, it's clean and well maintained, with a TV in the corner playing biscuit-kudu songs.
Conclusion
A pretty good place to grab breakfast or a few buns and pastries for tea in the evening. Service is fast enough once the order has been placed clearly, and the fresh goods are quite good. No pun intended.
