With a magnificent vista of the Colombo skyline and nothing but open sky overhead, VU Restobar is a swanky rooftop bar/restaurant that serves up some interesting drinks and bites.
Ambience
The whole area is beautiful, and the panoramic view will leave you breathless mostly because it's so windy up there. After dusk the entire indoor section is lit up with red and purple accents, and deep blue lights are placed on the tables giving the restobar an all-around super sensual ambience.
You're in for a real treat as soon as the sun starts to set thanks to the display of light, colour and silhouettes of buildings far off in the distance.
There's tons of little details in the decor that I really appreciate like the fairy light-filled green glass bottles strung along the balcony and the humorous little anecdotes on the menu.
Food
They don't specialise in a certain type of cuisine per se, but they've got a plethora of different dishes from kebabs to nachos so you can pretty much just wing it here if you want to try something completely random.
The Nachos (Rs. 1,100 for a large serving enough for three) comes with a few little blobs of salsa and guacamole placed amongst the cheese topped crisps. A dish of beef bolognese was served alongside for dipping of course.
Taste-wise the nachos tasted exactly the same as the packaged ones at Arpico. I do wish more mozarella was served, but overall the guacamole, beef bolognese and salsa balanced everything out so it's a rather filling and moreish dish.
We got the Grilled Chicken Bruschetta (Rs. 520) which consists of tender 'lava-flamed' chicken breast slices topped with tomato salsa and cheese. I'm more used to a traditional bruschetta so the absence of bread irked me. The chicken however, was tender as promised but rather bland in terms of flavour. You're getting three whole slices though so it's a pretty good deal.
Drinks
We chucked the New Years' resolutions right into the bin and opted for a cocktail each. They have a large menu dedicated to the cocktails and different categories ranging from Beer Cocktails to Classic / Premium Cocktails.
The Tuk Tuk (Rs. 600) was presented in the most hipster container ever: The Mason Jar. It's a mix of Arrack, Cointreau, Mango Juice, Mandarin Juice and Basil leaves. Honestly the drink tasted strongly like Sunquick and none of the other elements really pulled through. But if you can stand the sugary sweet flavour I'd recommend this.
The Lipstic Mandarin (Rs. 800) is a tall glass full of Mandarin Vodka, Orange Juice, Cranberry Juice and Chilli Peppers. Unlike its name however this drink wasn't as intense or sensual in any way and still retained the same sunquick-y taste as the Tuk Tuk. I must touch on the fact that the alcohol content in this drink was very high and you get a nice boozy punch as soon as you take your first sip.
Up next was the Ginger Island (Rs. 600) which is a beer cocktail containing Lion Lager, Dark Rum, Ginger Beer and Lime juice. It sounded like a rather potent concoction but alas, only tasted of ice cold beer. Somehow the deliciousness of Lion was drowned out and the beer tasted somewhat like Special Brew. No.
Finally the best out of them all was the Bellini (Rs. 650) which is basically a mix of Sparkling Wine, Peach Puree, and a Dash of Lime. I can't even begin to tell you how delicious this drink is. It was tart, refreshing, and an absolute delight to sip on. (Ed Note : This is probably also the cheapest bellini you'll find in the city)
Service
As for service, the staff seemed attentive at first and disappeared into the netherworld after we placed our orders which was strange given the fact that we were more or less the only people there. Barring the disappearing act they were friendly and helpful.
Conclusion
I absolutely recommend this place whether you're hanging out with your friends or if you're looking for a romantic dinner for two. The view is absolutely worth it, even if the cocktails aren't.
