34, De Vos Ave, Colombo 04
Open until 10:00 PM
De Vos Cafe (aptly named) down De Vos Avenue is a resto adjoining the newest boutique hotel in town - Talo Urban.
The aptly named De Vos Cafe down De Vos Avenue is a cafe adjoining the newest boutique hotel in town - Talo Urban. We tried reviewing them a few months ago, but every time we went there it was either closed or had a food menu that's limited to paper.
Anyway, finally it's the day that we review De Vos. A trusted source announced that they have a new menu and there are no teething issues anymore, so we dropped by on a weekend afternoon.
De Vos Cafe does breakfast all day, and aside from that, they dish out a few salads, mains and sandwiches. As for drinks, they've got coffee (hot/cold), juices, shakes and mocktails.
Let's start with the drinks. The Hot Chocolate (Rs. 390) had a nice blend of chocolate and milk, but the consistency wasn't good enough to make a major impression. It's not something worth going all the way for. Perhaps they could enhance its creamy factor a little bit? That might be able to help with the texture and the flavor as well.
De Vos uses Soul coffee in their coffee based drinks. Served in a massive cup, the Cappuccino (Rs. 490) had a strong coffee aroma that emerges through the frothy milk, but sadly, the milk itself was a little overheated, so we had to keep adding sugar to revive its flavor.
Our food comprised of a French Dip Sandwich (Rs. 540) and an English Pub Breakfast (Rs. 990).
According to their menu, the French Dip Sandwich is supposed to be 'a hot sandwich, consisting of thinly sliced roast beef on a baguette topped with cheese and onions'. However, the one we got looked like this.
Sadly, the only elements that lived true to the above description were the cheese and onions. For starters, this is no baguette - it's just a sesame garnished, soft submarine bun, with a tinge of sweetness to it. It was stuffed with a good amount of cooked beef, but not roast, and had no flavors to save grace as it had zero seasoning, let alone being 'hot' as promised.
We had to keep dipping it in the broth that they served as a side (a broth from the cooking process), to have some flavor infused into this sandwich. The broth was hearty, oniony with a little saltiness to it, which helped us finish this sandwich despite the disappointment.
The only good thing about the English Pub Breakfast was the chunky hash brown with a slightly crispy bite to it, while the rest was just meh. It's comprised of a properly cooked jumbo chicken sausage, scrambled egg on a slice of french bread, baked beans (Heinz, I presume), bacon, and some grilled mushrooms, served along with a bunch of french bread loaves, Beerenberg strawberry jam, and President butter.
The slice of toast wasn't even slightly grilled or toasted, so the scrambled egg made it soggy. The lack of seasoning really bugged us through this dish as well, especially in the scrambled egg.
Their mousse comes in with different flavors (orange, vanilla etc.) and we opted for the Chocolate Mousse (Rs. 390). Constructed with layers of chocolate cake, mousse and topped off with chocolate shaving, and nuts, this one was quite good. The texture of the mousse layer was on point, but we'd prefer if it was less sugary. But overall, it's a good dessert if you've got a sweet-tooth.
With giant, comfy cushion sofas and wooden furniture, along with a bookshelf in the middle, the ambience here pretty much looks like an upscale coffee house in Colombo. It's really cozy, and they've got good WiFi if you want to sit down, take your time and get some work done while sipping a cuppa.
There's also an outdoor smoker's lounge.
The waitstaff was attentive, accommodating and did not forget to check with us on how their food can be improved. I gave my honest opinion on the lack of seasoning in their food, which I sincerely hope that they'd take into consideration.
Cafe De Vos is still pretty new to the whole coffee scene in Colombo, so we can't be too judgemental. As of now, it's a home-like, cozy hangout spot with mediocre food and drinks.
Open until 10:00 PM
Cuisine
Price Range
Dish Types
Ratings Breakdown
The warm reception we received on arriving at Earl's was…
A popular rice and curry buffet spot in Ratnapura, that does…
5/5
Has always been a place just to walk in to sit-down and unwind with a great cup of Cappuccino . The Food is second to none the friendly staff and the ambiance and the corner book stand makes it all worth it to get away from the busy city just for awhile.
I recommend the place to anyone…… Just step in and the rest is taken care of…
5/5
This is the ultimate heaven for a coffee lover. Their coffee prices are reasonable and they give a huge mug of amazing coffee.
The chocolate cake was also heavenly.
They have been very innovative with their menu and omg the the food is exceptionally tasty and fresh.
And the interior was just perfect.
These people know what they are doing.💪 Totally recommened it 👍
5/5
The visit Devos Cafe was the best choice i made last week… the food and the quality was extreamly Awesome.
The Blackest Coffe: yes it is a different type of beverage that makes you want to have more fkr the unforgivable tast…
Fish and Chips: mouthwatering and wonderful tast.
Coffee Cake: i have visited many cafes but found Devos having the best coffee cake. Yammi and i want more.
The Staff: a friendly combination of staff. Very helpful.
Thanks to Chief Barista Mahesh for helping me choose my food.
The Venue: actually a nice surrounding with wanting place to be but please improve on the lightning.
Thanks
Have been to De Vos a number of times and have urged my friends to do so as well. Thanks to Yamu for pointing out that I hav been consuming mediocre food all this time. I guess the collective feedback from all of us that the food tastes simply awesome is not valid as we're not qualified to be expert food tasters.
Sarcasm aside, the food, drinks and ambience of the De Vos Cafe is highly commendable and I strongly urge any readers to give it a try. I guarantee that you will not regret it.
Thanks for the response, Suchi.
Nobody at YAMU has ever claimed to be an expert food critic. This would be a bit more prominent if everybody stopped getting triggered for a bit and took a look at our review policy here: https://www.yamu.lk/yamu-faq
Nobody said you were eating mediocre food. This review is based on the author's experience on that particular day. Try their new Cafe Moka- inspired by none other than YAMU and let us know how it goes!
Cafe moka wasnt all that great, although the other items we ordered were totally on point. Perhaps the Moka wasnt great simply because of the fact that it was named after you guys? :P
By the comments from visitors I can say that Yamu ppl probably had a cold, flu, niwadu-dawase-mey-magulata enna-una sort of problems!!
5/5
Nellygirl
1. Super cozy
2. Family Friendly
3. Hospitable and warm staff
Felt so at home. Well done and all the best :)
5/5
S.Peiris
Has always been a place just to walk in to sit-down and unwind with a great cup of Cappuccino . The Food is second to none the friendly staff and the ambiance and the corner book stand makes it all worth it to get away from the busy city just for awhile.
I recommend the place to anyone…… Just step in and the rest is taken care of…
5/5
rameshjay
Went there multiple times and those guys simply doing a marvelous job!!! Loved the DeVos special colombo’s blackest coffee. Keep it up!!!