Food
Living up to its name, Navarathne does everything veg. From gobi to chana to naan and dosa, here you've got a lot to choose from. This portion of Gobi Masala (Rs. 430) can be easily shared among three people. Absolutely creamy in texture, it was lightly spiced, had a tinge of sweetness running through, and featured quite a bit of cauliflower. We paired it with some roti; Butter Naan (Rs. 120) and Masala Kulcha (Rs. 160). The Butter Naan leant towards the oily side, probably because of the butter infused in it, but it was a bit too much.
The better option out of the two was the Masala Kulcha. Edged with charcoal flecks that enhanced its crispiness, it had a masala stuffing in the middle. The same oiliness we spotted on the Butter Naan was here. Easing it up, and including a bit more masala filling in the kulcha would have made things heaps better. We love paneer, so naturally, we were super excited for this Paneer Dosa (Rs. 350). Unfortunately, the paneer filling they had it stuffed with wasn't the best there is. The herbiness of the curry sort of overpowered everything, so it's a shame that we couldn't detect the creamy, milky notes of the paneer.
Crispy, and not in any way oily, the paper dosa itself was good. For more flavour, make good use of the chutneys and gravy; they are quite well-executed.
On the day we visited, they were facing a power issue, and therefore they were limited to just soft drinks. But, they do serve juices, faluda and lassi on good days.
Ambience & Service
Finding a restaurant with an ambience this fine amidst Nugegoda junction is quite nice. Like we stated previously, it's quite family-friendly, well-maintained and they seem to get a lot of takeaway orders too. There were a few flies hovering around due to the powerless air conditioning, but aside from that, we have no complaints regarding their ambience.
The staff was pretty darn quick with the service. We received our food within around 10 minutes.
Conclusion
Navarathne Pure Indian Vegetarian Restaurant can up their food game a bit, but we appreciate that they had gone the extra mile to establish a proper ambience, instead of sticking to the typical saiwar style. Almost everything here is priced under Rs. 500, so it's quite wallet-friendly too.