Within the past couple of months, if there's one thing that we've realised is that no matter how cheap we think Indian food is, the sad truth is that it really isn't.
Fortunately for all of us, that was all before we happened to drop by at Saveira.
Found in the heart of Havelock Town, Saveira Indian Restaurant joined the eatery scene in Colombo as the rather giant-sized new kid on the block not too long ago, and from what we gathered from our visit, they cater to all of us broke souls looking for decent Indian food to get us through the day.
Ambience
If you've ever passed the Royal Institute at Havelock Town, you cannot miss this giant building.
Saveira has the capacity to serve at least 50- 100 people without batting an eyelash. With tables and chairs covering almost every inch of the space, the hall was air-conditioned and basically a very safe bet when it comes to dining because no matter how many people are already there, chances are that they'll be able to sneak you in somewhere.
The Food
Like in most cases, Saveira as an Indian restaurant in Colombo, has a menu the size of the dictionary. Everything from rice to soup to biriyani to roti, they have a lot to offer so make sure you know what you're craving before you go, or you're bound to get stuck.
Kicking things off with some Cheese Naan was probably one of the best decisions we made this entire week. Clocking in at a pretty decent Rs. 180, the naan that had a thin layer of melted cheese in the middle was utterly beautiful. Fluffy as hell and pillowy soft, the naan was thick in the best way and combined with the burnt charcoal bits, it was a treat.
Saveira has a whole range of curries to choose from, and we went with the Chicken Tikka Masala (Rs. 530). Not only was the curry very decently priced, but there was a lot of chicken involved. Spicy with subtle hints of coconut hitting just the right spots, the gravy here was superb and considering the portion size, you're going to need more than 2 naan rotis to finish this one.
Which is where the 2 Garlic Naan Rotis (110 for one) came into the picture. Thinner than the Cheese Naan, this one surprisingly turned out to be my favourite of the two. With the sharpness of the garlic being cushioned by the thick naan, it went wonderfully with the chicken tikka masala. We'd totally recommend it.
The Mutton Biriyani (Rs. 620) was an assemblage of fluffy white rice cooked in spices and a variety of condiments on the side, and we loved it. The rice had been cooked with just the right amount of spices to give that proper biriyani taste, and it had about 5-6 pieces of well-cooked mutton hidden underneath all that rice. Everything was seasoned to the point that there was a lot of flavour in the dish and we didn't give up on it till we had eaten it all, literally.
Drinks
*Pictured above – Avocado with Ice cream (left), and Chocolate Milkshake (right)
As for drinks, we wound up with an Avocado with Ice cream (220) and a Chocolate Milkshake (Rs. 180).
While the Avocado and Ice cream had sufficient amounts of both avocado and ice cream, the fruit they had used was more on the raw side of things which made the whole drink fall turn into a sad episode of horribly bitter juice in the shape of Avocado Juice.
The Chocolate Milkshake on the other hand, was a lot better in comparison, but as a milkshake, it was more adequate than good. Sweet with bits of chocolate seeping in through the ice cream, it wasn't much. But, we're not complaining too much about this, it's like this in most places.
Service
With an entire entourage of servers watching our every move, we had no way of saying that they were in any way unattentive. But, if the staff had kept a bit of distance, it would have made our experience a lot better. Then again though, we'd much rather have an extremely attentive bunch of servers that serve up our food in 10 minutes than no one at all.
Conclusion
Not only were the prices hella affordable, but the food at Saveira came in generous servings and tasted quite good as well. It is a definite recommend on our part.
