Cafe Seventy-Seven opened up on Maitland Crescent a couple of weeks ago so we dropped in for a quick bite after work. They also have a branch in Kollupitiya but they're still figuring things out here so there's not a lot to find about it online.
It's located right next to Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf on Maitland Crescent with ample parking space.
The Food
They have pastries on display as well as a small lunch menu which includes fried rice, lamprais and rice and curry. We didn't visit at lunchtime this time around, but we'll try their rice options in the future.
We got ourselves a Mini Veggie Pizza (Rs. 130), a Cheese Bun (Rs. 100) and a Prawn Roll (Rs. 90). All of them were popped in the microwave and served warm.
- The pizza was worth every penny. It's not really a mini pizza because I think a personal pan slice from Pizza Hut is smaller than this. It was delicious with enough veggies for each bite topped with a generous layer of melted cheese.
- The Cheese Bun thankfully had melted cheese inside the bun aside from the burnt ones on top. The bun itself was sweet and soft but that's all thanks to the microwave.
- We could not taste the prawns in the Prawn Roll which was a letdown but the batter was crisp and crunchy as opposed to your soggy Chinese roll.
We also tried an Eclair (we don't know the price cause they forgot to bill it). That was a huge disappointment. The pastry was hard as a rock. The chocolate filling was way too sweet that we didn't take more than two bites from it.
The Drinks
They only had Iced Coffee (Rs. 100) and Hot/Cold Milo (Rs. 50) at the moment so we got one of each.
The Iced Coffee was our favourite. It wasn't too sweet so I tasted the bitter caffeine and it was delicious enough that I wish they had given us a bigger glass. It's worth the 100 bucks.
The Hot Milo is a quick rejuvenation on a rainy day but it's so small that it won't take more than two gulps to finish.
Service & Ambience
Service was far from perfect and I would have ignored it given the fact that they're just starting out, but forgetting to charge not one but two items cannot go unnoticed. We remembered the price for the prawn roll that's why it is mentioned above but we were not charged for it and by the time we realised it, it was too late.
The staff is friendly enough if you strike up a conversation with them, otherwise, they pretty much mind their own business.
As you can see, the place is really small and only accommodates about 10 people. I really liked the glass walls because it makes the place feel less congested.
Overall
I would say it's the one and only place in the area where you can grab a quick bite to eat for these prices so in that case, they've hit the jackpot. I'm sure they would improve on their service in the days to come so drop in for some iced coffee and a mini pizza.
