We were so excited to go to the highest rooftop bar & restaurant in Colombo and we had all the reasons to do so! Located at Union place at Access Tower II on the 30th floor, we walked into an experience we would never forget.
The Ambience
The restaurant has an outdoor and indoor dining area. Mr Suranga (the restaurant manager) mentioned that customers would often enjoy the outdoor area with a drink in their hand and come indoors for their meals. The view from the rooftop was endless and you could see all around Colombo.
Vertical by Jetwing is ideal for intimate functions such as family dinners, proposals, special dates and many more. The indoor dining area is absolutely stunning!
The rooftop bar also had a giant screen 9ft 10inch screen that was playing the IPL. If you are a cricket fan, this location is perfect for you as you can watch a Live cricket match while sipping on your favourite drink.
Drinks
Speaking of drinks, the restaurant has just launched its new menu and offered us some new drinks from their latest menu. Here’s what we tried.
- Summer’s snap
This drink included gin, cinnamon, star anise, cardamom, cloves, cumin, lime juice and honey. If you like these spices, you will surely enjoy this drink. This drink had a very unique herby flavour with a hint of sweetness. However, we didn’t like tasting the pieces of cardamom & other herbs.
Price: LKR 1,300
- Caffeinated
This is a drink for all black coffee lovers. The drink included whiskey, espresso, whipped cream, creme de cacao (brown) and cinnamon sticks. Personally, this was our least favourite drink, we may have enjoyed it if it was served at a cooler temperature however, it was served at room temperature. The whipped cream and the vanilla chocolate which topped up the drink were delicious!
Price: LKR 1,800
- Copper Sweet
This drink was probably our favourite. It had the perfect balance of sweet and sour with a pinch of fruitiness. The ingredients they included were arrack, passion fruit juice, pineapple juice and mint. We highly recommend you try this drink.
Price: LKR 1,300
- Strawberry Milkshake
This strawberry milkshake ticked all the boxes, it was served at the right chilled temperature and it was thick and creamy. We loved it!
Price: LKR 700
- Fresh Watermelon Juice
The watermelon juice was fresh, but not at the chilled temperature as we would have liked it to be. But it was a refreshing change from all the creamy, flavoursome drinks and dishes we were trying all night.
Price: LKR 600
The Bites
- The Wade assortment
Ah, the Sri Lankan classic Dhal Vada. This dish we were served included a portion of isso (prawn) vada and parippu (dhal) vada. The best part of this dish was the spicy coconut dipping sauce that was served with this dish. The sauce was spicy, thick and flavoursome. This sauce stood out as it represented the low-key theme that seemed to surround many of their dishes. I’ll dig into this soon.
Price: LKR 1,100 (serves 3-4)
- Classic Hot Butter Cuttlefish
The hot butter cuttlefish was served fresh. Unfortunately, it wasn’t as crispy as we would have liked it to be. However, in terms of taste, flavour, texture and level of spiciness, it ticked all those boxes.
Price: 1,900 (serves 3-4)
Amuse-bouche
- Carrot bread & eggplant and ambarella dip
The bread was fresh and crispy. I couldn’t pick up the carrot essence in the carrot bread but either way, it was pleasant. The dish was served with two dipping sauces which we used as a spread on each slice. The sauces served were Eggplant dip & Ambarella dip. We personally loved the ambarella dipping sauce and thought it went well with the toasted bread.
- Tuna Ambulthiyal roll with tamarind aioli
The Tuna Ambulthiyal filling in the roll was as tasty as the roll’s batter itself. This was also served fresh and the roll was crunchy and went well with the Ambarella dip.
The Starters
- Crispy pork
The pork was crispy on the outside and soft & tender on the inside. It went really well with the tangy tamarind sauce & the avocado salsa.
Price: LKR 1,600
The starter menu also included some other interesting Sri-Lankan themed starter dishes such as Crunchy Ambarella salad, Crispy Nelum Ala salad, Octopus & Pomela salad etc.
Price Range: Lkr 1,100-2,000
The Mains
- Barramundi
This dish consisted of pan-fried barramundi, braised leeks, tapioca cutlet & Jetwing Blue’s special coconut treacle chutney. We absolutely loved this dish. The sliced barramundi was cooked to perfection and the top layer was fresh and crispy. The homemade coconut treacle chutney was also delicious with a pinch of tangy sweetness. The tapioca cutlet was a bit mediocre but since the highlights of the dish- the barramundi & the coconut treacle chutney were tasty, it compensated for the tapioca cutlet.
Price: LKR 2,400
- Prawns
As someone who loves pasta, this dish was especially memorable for me. The pasta used for this dish was Jetwing’s very own homemade kurakkan pappardelle pasta. Unlike the usual small sized prawns served as per the usual custom, the meaty jumbo-sized prawns in this delicious dish were highly appreciated. The coconut garlic cream was the perfect accompaniment for this creamy pasta dish. We loved the rich flavours it added to the dish. We highly recommend this Pasta dish.
Price: LKR2,600
Their main menu included a section with some interesting international dishes. It was called ‘From Other Shores’ and it included some Australian and Norwegian beef, salmon and lamb dishes.
Price Range: LKR 5,000-8,000
Dessert
For people who would choose savoury over sweet, it should tell you a lot when I say that Dessert was our favourite part of the whole experience.
- Baked yogurt
As a huge fan of baked yogurt, I can assure you that the Baked Yogurt that the team at Virticle by Jetwing served us one of the best Baked Yogurt dishes I have ever tasted. Topped up with some of Jetwing’s homemade treacle and caramelized sugar, this dessert was thick and rich with the perfect balance of sweetness. We highly recommend this dessert.
Price: LKR1,000
- Cashew Nut Fudge with Homemade Pani Pol ice cream
As per Roshan, the gentleman who served us, recommended we try the Cashew Nut Fudge with Pani Pol ice cream, we decided to take his word for it and we did not regret it. The Cashew Nut Fudge was rich and gooey, just how we like it. The pani pol ice cream went so great with the Cashew Nut Fudge as well. I mean is there anything better than Cashew Nut Fudge and ice cream anyway? We highly recommend that all chocolate lovers try this dessert.
Price: LKR1,400
We had a wonderful time at this beautiful rooftop restaurant. The ambience, the food, the friendly & helpful staff gave us an experience we would never forget.
Approximate price per person: LKR 2500 – 5000*
*All rates mentioned in this article are subject to change
For more information visit their Instagram page @virticle.by.jetwing
Here are some pictures for your reference.
