* Temporarily closed down.
Brunch lovers, rejoice! There's an all-day brunch spot in town.
Perched on a secluded place down Macleod Road, Villa Raha is a beautiful boutique hotel that plates up a range of super delicious, picturesque brunch dishes. Paired with the tasteful ambience and wallet-friendly prices, it sets the bar so high, and we thoroughly enjoyed our experience here.
Food
The menu here is carefully curated, so settling down for a dish or two is quite a task. From simple Pancakes and Waffles to Crab Claw With Scrambled Eggs and Tuna Nicoise Tartine, everything on it looks amazing, and they also have specials written on a blackboard.
Having given some thought, we opted for the Breakfast Board (Rs. 1600) and the French Toast (Rs. 1090).
The Breakfast Board came heavily laden with sourdough mushroom bruschetta, two poached eggs, smoked salmon, two cubes of cheese, Beechwood smoked chicken bacon, chicken bratwurst sausage, fresh fruits (papaw, banana and pineapple), slow-pressed pineapple juice, and raspberry chia pudding.
Every element on this plate (or board) was well executed. The sourdough was delightfully soft and fluffy, the onions and mushroom were nicely caramelised, while the pineapple juice was oozing with its naturally sweet, and acidic flavours. Creamy, thick and absolutely flavoursome, the chia pudding was piled with coconut chips, and some raspberry coulis on its bottom – both contributed to the sweet counterpart. Our favourite part, however, was the egg.
I mean, look at this! Golden coloured, splendidly runny yolk pouring out, the eggs were well done. More importantly, they use gum biththara (farm/free-range eggs), as opposed to store-brought eggs that we usually come across.
All in all, considering the quality and the quantity they offer on this plate, this one is a real steal.
Now, this is my personal favourite breakfast dish in CMB at the moment – Villa Raha's Brioche French Toast.
Fluffy and tender from the inside, while the outside is golden brown with the perfectly crispy edges, this one was dusted with icing sugar and cinnamon powder and had a good drizzle of melted Lindt chocolate poured on top. They also offer you a cup of melted Lindt chocolate for you to go nuts, alongside the slices of strawberry, which add a bit of sour, fruity taste for the dish. Richened by the high egg and butter content of the Brioche bread, it was sprinkled with chia seeds and macadamia nuts, making every bite an experience for our taste buds.
Trust me, this is a treat that anyone would dream of, especially on a fine weekend morning.
Drinks
Villa Raha brews a range of good coffee, and this cup of Cappuccino (Rs. 450) is enough proof for that.
With a smooth layer of foam on top, this cuppa is made from Illy coffee. The milk was velvety in texture – it just slides away on your tongue so easily, and the espresso was neatly layered through it. But, we'd prefer if the caffeine punch was a bit stronger than this.
Almost every cafe in Colombo whips up Hot Chocolate, but sadly most of them are made from spoonfuls of instant hot choco powder from a tin.
However, this is one excellent cup of Hot Chocolate (Rs. 450) that Villa Raha makes by melting Belgium Chocolate. Again, the milk was heated right, so it's not harsh on your palate, while the chocolate-to-milk ratio was spot on. You can actually see and taste the bits of chocolate swimming around, which enriches the flavour even more. If coffee isn't your thang, we highly recommend you try this.
Narang juice is one of the simplest, refreshing, citrusy drinks that you can make at home, but this Narang Crush (Rs. 400) is on a whole different level. Needless to say, they've crushed it – so, no other narang juice in Colombo is good enough for us now.
Boasting strong hints of narang, its flavour was so intense, that it touched all the marks of our citrus radar. It's a slow-pressed juice, topped with crushed narang flavoured ice, which you should mix in with the drink. All in all, this is pure narang bliss. If you don't want anything heavy after your meal, this is your safest bet.
Service & Ambience
Shaded with a massive tree trunk and fully covered with a glass roof, Villa Raha has this beautiful front yard, which is where they offer these dolled up brunch spread. The whole place is lit up with a ton of natural lights seeping through the glass roof, with flower pots hanging from it, so it's almost like you're dining in an al fresco setting. This is not an air-conditioned space, but they've got a bunch of giant fans working to cool down the place.
The service here was superb and consistent, from the minute we arrived there, to when we left. Absolutely friendly, and incredibly helpful, they managed to deliver our order to the table within 15 minutes.
Conclusion
Well, what can I say? We are in LOVE with this place! From an extensive menu and phenomenal food to welcoming service and holiday-vibed ambience, Villa Raha gets full points from us. Definitely one of the best choices for a lazy weekend (or any day) brunching experience.
