158 Galle Road, Bambalapitiya
Open 10 AM to 5.30 PM
The Island Coffee shop is so utterly charming and captures perfectly the spirit of a Colombo that is now slipping from the collective memory - an age where nothing was imported and everything had to be local.
Coffee shops instantly make me think of a fancy franchise cafe with young and friendly staff in uniforms making coffee in big coffee machines. However, when you enter Island Coffee you are taken back in time to an era when people from vintage cars would drop by for a cup of coffee on their way to work. Although in their time they were just called, you know, cars.
Being a vintage fanatic myself the ancient coffee grinding equipment and stacks of local coffee piled in a corner made me squeal inside.
A small spot on the corner of Shrubbery Gardens and Galle Road, the ambience is the main thing to focus on when it comes to this place. The owner was very cooperative and took time out of his busy schedule to answer my questions. He probably noticed my enthusiasm for the ancient coffee machines cause I kept snapping pictures.
Founded in 1964, The Island Coffee Shop stays true to its name, buying their coffee locally from a selected group of buyers in Kandy and Matale, as they have been doing for years, so quality fluctuates. Their factory is in Homagama and I was told they use a special blend when it comes to the brewing of their coffee.
You can also buy their coffee beans (which is relatively cheap although prices depend on the beans) and have them ground to your own liking.
The only readymade coffee they have is iced coffee at Rs. 40 and I really liked it. It is a lot less sweeter than the average iced coffee you get from Perera and Sons or Caravan Fresh, and tastes quite heady.
This is not the kind of coffee shop where you can go read a book and enjoy a cuppa but it definitely is a spot if you're a coffee enthusiast and intrigued by its local history. It's refreshing to see a place that is willing to preserve a time in Colombo which many of us have forgotten.
Read our old review for even more views on this old school spot.
Founded in 1964, The Island Coffee Shop stays true to its name, buying their coffee locally from a selected group of buyers.
The Island Coffee shop is so utterly charming and captures perfectly the spirit of a Colombo that is now slipping from the collective memory - an age where nothing was imported and everything had to be local.
සිංහල ඉතා ආකර්ශනීය තැනක් වූ එය දැන් ගිලිහී යමින් තිබෙන 60, 70 දශකවල කොළඹ සාමූහික මතකයේ ආත්මය නැවත හසුකරගන්නවා. ඒ කාලයේ කිසිවක් ආනයනය කෙරුණේ නැහැ. සියල්ල දේශීයව නිපදවාගත යුතුව තිබුණා.
Open 10 AM to 5.30 PM
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D
wow… Island coffee. This really take me back… almost 30 years back. When my grandfather used to buy me ice coffee from here.
Arquib
The aroma of the coffee can be sniffed from as far as 30 meters. The only consume-now product in this shop - the Rs. 30 Iced Coffee is very highly caffeine concentrated, good for a kick start in the morning. Not open on Sunday though.
Ravindu
I've seen this place when I travel from the bus. There is a bus halt right in front of this shop. Whenever the bus stops at the halt, the aroma of the coffee can be sniffed as Arquib said.
Judy
Its funny to have bumped on to this post…was mentioning to my husband a few days back about this place and how my mum takes me there for cup or may be two once in a while when I was a wee kid.Funnily enough not many remember or have visited this wonderful venue having lived all their life in SL.
A
aww it brings back good old memories…………….i went to HFC so of course once in a week i dropped in at the coffee shop with my dad for a cup or mostly two, after school……from the day I went to nursey the shop was there………like 20 years back………………the smell itself is capable of bringing back our good old days and childhood memories……just luv it from day one…………
paige
Yeah I agree with u guys the ice coffee there is great!!!! Real coffee taste.
Ps to the guy who wrote this article, they have different flavors of coffee. The spice coffee is great also the arabica coffee is stronger, like the hansa coffee.
SSS
OMG……Island Coffee!!!!!! My favourite is the Spiced Coffee, and it simply gives an awesome feeling, especially on a nice cold rainy day. And the best part being, the packs are made available at almost every supermarket in SL at a very reasonable price….compared to all these overpriced cups served at all these ridiculously overrrated Hi-Fi spots……
d
Wow! such a negative review. couldn't you sugar-coat it a bit for this website?
C
Of course, I used to go to HFC too and used to have that ice coffee when waiting for the bus with my mum, after staying for after school activities :D
something most of us did, I think.
However now I find it a bit too sweet, but that's probably a consequence of age.
But who cares, nostalgia, I'd not hesitate to drink that ice coffee.