This Colombo institution is a great spot to have a drink, a light meal or a snack and to chill out in a peaceful and natural setting. 

At the very back of the Barefoot retail store in Colombo 3 - away from exhaust fumes and klaxons - you’ll find a lush and vast courtyard. This is the Barefoot Garden Café: an oasis in bustling Colombo.

While the food can be a bit over-rated here, the quality and extensive choice of drinks, the location and the ambience make it an ideal stop for a shopping break or a lazy sunny afternoon or evening. 

Drinks

Barefoot Garden Café offers a large range of drinks: from fresh juices, smoothies, mil shakes, tea, coffees to beer and wine. You will surely find something to quench your thirst, and at a pretty reasonable price.

On this hot and sunny day, we opted for a lime and mint soda (Rs. 320) and their homemade ginger beer (Rs. 460). The drinks delivered and were very refreshing. 

Although the ginger beer is bit pricey, it’s actually worth digging your wallet for: it's spicy, refreshing and well balanced. If you're wondering, the floating chickpea-looking ball in the glass is a sultana and not something that fell from the canopy above. 

The lime and mint soda was also nice and fresh and it’s always a good option to have the syrup on the side to sweeten it up as you please.

The Coffee

Coffees are of good quality in Barefoot Garden Café and reasonably priced. The cherry on the cake is that they all come with a lovely little biscotti, à l’italienne. 

In need of a jolt of energy, my companion got a double espresso (Rs. 300). Look at that crema! Beautiful! Being addicted to crema since my youngest age, I couldn’t resist jumping on the cup and getting the first sip. It was subtle and aromatic and provided the promised punch.

The Food

Barefoot Garden Café menu caters for everyone and every need: bites for those feeling peckish, more substantial meals like sandwiches, quiches and curries for rumbling stomachs and desserts for the sweet tooth. 

Our emphasis this time was on sandwiches. Bread was fresh and soft. Some effort and creativity was put into the fillings but the end result was not spectacular.

 The Roast Pork sandwich (RS. 750) was rather alright. The meat, which had been marinated in soy sauce, was tasty but a bit dry. The sandwich definitely lacked green goodness and unfortunately the salad was more of an ornament to the plate.

The Fresh Tuna Sandwich (Rs. 750) raised the game. The pan-seared tuna was moist and the tomato salsa (made of tomato, capsicum, garlic, chili and oil) enlightened the dish. Simple but efficient.

We then indulged in the Death By Chocolate Cake (Rs. 770) and the Passion Fruit Mousse (Rs. 680), which happily happened to be a great combo. The light and fluffy texture of the mousse and the tanginess of the passion fruit beautifully accompanied the rich and dense chocolatey cake. A tad too sweet though. I probably won’t rate them as the best desserts in town but they were still quite good.

Ambience

Undeniably their biggest asset! 

Decked out with contemporary wooden furniture and their own colorful Barefoot branded table linen and decorations, the café mirrors the vibrant and elegant style of the shop.

Nestled in a peaceful courtyard paved with uneven stones and scattered with ponds and majestic trees casting pleasant shade in the afternoon, Barefoot Garden Café atmosphere is very serene. You’ll feel miles away from the hectic Galle Road in no time. 

The excellent choice of jazzy music in the background adds to the coziness and timelessness of the place. I find the whole ambience really inviting and relaxing. You just want to sit down, enjoy a drink or two in good company and forget about the time. 

Service

The service perfectly matches the ambience of the café; it is extremely pleasant and efficient. We were greeted with warm smiles from the team as soon as we entered the courtyard. The staff is attentive and friendly as well as helpful. They were knowledgeable about the menu and gave us good recommendation when we were hesitating between dishes.

Conclusion

While I won’t say the food is show-stopping, Barefoot Garden Café is an awesome place to have a drink and unwind in Colombo, whether it’s day or night when live music or quiz nights are on. One of my favourite outdoor cafés in town.