Panorama Restaurant & Bar in Kottawa is well-known for two reasons – family dinners and bona parties, all without having to leave a dent in your wallet. Our experience here belongs to the former.
Food
Like many suburban bars, Panorama does Sri Lankanised Chinese food and serves booze to wash them down. We opted for a Mixed Rice (Rs. 890) and decided to pair it with a Hot Butter Cuttlefish (Rs. 900) and a Pork Stew (Rs. 840).
The Mixed Rice was essentially a mountain of well-cooked basmati, cooked to be on the fluffy side and was tossed in with bits of fish, chicken, prawns, cuttlefish, fish, pork and egg. There was a whiff of Maggi going on here, which we weren't quite happy about. The rice-to-protein ratio here was quite off too. It was generous with bits of fish, and other elements, not so much.
Chewy, and seasoned well, the Hot Butter Cuttlefish was a wee bit oily for our liking, but flavoursome nonetheless. It didn't pack a spicy punch like a good one of that kind and felt like a re-fried, rather than a freshly made.
The star of the meal was this Pork Stew. Chunks of meat smothered in a tangy gravy oozing out with hints of pepper, it paired well with both rice and beer. We spotted only a few oily bits here, while the rest is all meat. With carrots and green chillies adding a lovely crunch, we absolutely enjoyed it.
Ambience & Service
It's a two-storied building, where one caters to the restaurant aspect of things while the other one has the bar. However, you can order booze at the restaurant too, which they'll serve in tall juice glasses.
The service here wasn't the best – we had to wait like an hour to get all of our food. When we inquired about it, the server wasn't quite pleased, and his response was – "kitchen eka busy" (the kitchen is busy).
Conclusion
It's an alright option for a Friday tipple if you're in the area and have no other place to go. Their food can improve, but given that they're generous with the portions, we'd say it's value for money.
