20 Park Street, Colombo 3
Expensive, but probably the most modernist Sri Lankan cuisine you can get.
rare at Residence got a strong 5 star rating from us when they first opened up, and quickly cemented its position as our go-to fine dining restaurant. It's been around a year since they've opened up, and while their food is still very good, it isn't as mind-blowingly inventive as it was before. rare is now just well done.
rare's lunchtime bento boxes used to be unsurpassable at Rs. 1500++, but the preparation and presentation aren't as enthusiastic as they were a year ago. Keep in mind that this is just in comparison to its former glory.
The new menu is predominantly the previous menu, plus a couple of new additions. The way it's laid out is as difficult to maneouvre as Pettah on a Saturday morning (soups are called "liquid indulgences", "grain range" features anything with either rice or pasta in it, even if it's a stew). We ended up asking the maitre d' for recommendations instead.
However, most of their evening tapas is still spectacular (special shout out to the Chicken Strips in Aioli for keeping Wednesday martini nights civilized and delicious at just Rs. 600 a pop).
We're also fans of the Meats n Malts sliders (Rs. 2900). Sure, it's pricey but it features everything from umami, pulled pork, and lamb, to camembert, chicken, and fat fries. Add a couple of discounted Balvenie 12 year olds to that, and you've got yourself a great evening.
We're rare regulars, so we were well versed with the previous menu and standard. This time, we decided to plan our review over lunch, and ordered one lunch set menu (Rs. 1500++) , and one mains burger.
The opening bread platter was lovely, fresh, and warm as always, but we did miss their sun dried tomato bread. They're happy to refill as you go along, so don't be shy.
Bhagya ordered a Pulled Pork Burger (Rs. 1390), which was great. It featured deliciously marinated pork, teamed with ruby red beetroot, oodles of melted cheese, with rustic potatoes and organic salad. One of our favourite features of the burger was the use of edible flowers for garnish. The flavours weren't immediately discernable, but they definitely wowed us visually. Overall, this was a strong main, and we were impressed.
As for my option, the lunch box starter was a zesty cold salad, featuring a a few fresh prawns, tossed salad and fruit, and a smattering of dressing and balsamic. In terms of flavour, the salad was great, but the prawns still had their dirt sacs in. Not cool.
For my main, I opted for a black pork curry with okra and herry tomatoes on a bed of garlic rice. It was sloppy, and for lack of a better word, wet. The pork was very soft and chewy, and the lovely deep goraka flavour didn't really shine here at all. The garlic rice was very wet and sopping, and added to the squashy texture of the pork. We also didn't really detect any flavour from the rice, and the okra and tomatoes didn't add anything much beyond chromatic variation.
My dessert was just a little serving of cheesecake, but it was delicious. With a crumby base of ginger biscuit, well baked cheesecake and a lovely topping of berry coulis, I was left wishing for more.
Bhagya's dessert was also great. He opted for a home-made Salted Peanut Ice Cream (Rs. 650), which hosted a lot of strong flavours, plenty of crunch, and as always chic presentation with a stemless martini glass nestled in ice.
We've usually opted for a bottle of chilled white (starting from a surprisingly cheap Rs. 3900) when dining at rare, but this time we decided to delve into the cocktails. Homemade, carefully curated, and employing a lot of local flavours, the drinks were a highlight of the meal.
We tried a Gotukola (Rs. 1290++) and a Raw Mango (Rs.990) . The Gotukola is a vodka-based concoction awash with cucumber, apple and a sprinkling of sugar. There has never been a better and tastier bastardization of a health food much reviled by Lankan children.
The Raw Mango was a little bit more simplistic, showcasing gin, ambarella, and a few spritzes of lemon juice. It was also delicious, not too sweet, and quite light - a perfect boozy summer drink.
The ambience is unchanged since its inception, with comfortable burgundy chairs, lots of natural light, and generic black and white photos on the wall. The outer poolside section is cosy and beautiful at night, but just too hot during the day.
The service hasn't changed much either, we've noticed the same maitre d' for the past year, enthusiastic and friendly as always, and well-versed with the menu. In general the staff is efficient and quick (unless it's a Wednesday night and they're fending off a gaggle of ladies ordering free martinis, when the service mysteriously slows down).
We haven't featured our previous meals here, but we can attest to the fact that rare's mains and cocktails are still of a very high quality. It's just a pity that they've lost interest in their once-famous lunchtime bento boxes, and consistency has been all over the place in the last few months. That enthusiasm appears to have been channelled into their daily bar offers, which we absolutely enjoy.
So we'd recommend stopping by for dinner or a drink, but perhaps avoid their executive lunches until they're executed better.
Address
Directions
From Dharmapala Mawatha, head down Park Street and past Park Street Mews and Cafe Francais. It's just before the roundabout. You can also get to the roundabout from the Gangaramaya Temple side.
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2/5
Went for a birthday dinner. Service and ambiance was exceptional I would say. But they really have to step up on their food and cocktails. Had a mojito replaced 3 times. Even then it was so bad so we gave up. 3 main dishes in the menu was not available. For the prices they charge they need to up their game.
So there are people in this country who can actually afford to eat at places like this!
why does every fine dining or upmarket discussion on this website devolve into a shit fight with name calling???
also there's a definite tall poppy syndrome with anything different in the lankan culinary scene.
let's talk about the food people, that is… only if you have been to the venue or tasted the food.
ive been to this place a few times now. 65% brilliant, 35% not very good at all in terms of flavour matching.
they are definitely pushing the envelope!
after a couple more visits I will be able to form a good opinion & give a discerning review.
p.s. lunch menu weekdays is a bargain - 3 courses for 1500/-
p.p.s. breakfast is amazing. best French/Euro style brekky in the city.
Impeccable service, fantastic food, beautiful location. Couldn't have asked for anything more. The restaurant is elegant and understated. Had the executive lunch and prices at 1500 rupees, reasonable and affordable. Appetizer was calamari. Perfectly cooked. Grilled beef for main course. Tender and flavorful. Really good cheesecake and billin tart for dessert. Raw mango juice is the best I've ever had.
Minus a few items lacking from the menu this joint is tops and as the review above states, will give gallery and other established names a run for their money for sure…
Drinks, which we never get to order two of, were unparalleled - sheer creativity and capturing the essence of that ingredient into a drink…veralu…nelli…raw mango…a majority of us don't eat these things anymore and probably only have fond childhood recollections - to reconnect in a drink was just surreal for me. You are not just chasing the subtle tastes, but also the memories that went with it.
I made a mental note to try their bar next time around just to mix it up.
Appetisers & mains were well portioned and again exciting flavours to contend with. I'd rec to not go hard on mains and even bag it for home to give you some room for desert!
We managed to squeeze in some desert - again something we never have room for usually, but did here. thoroughly enjoyed that flavour journey - lovi reduction.
Service was good and on par with the establishment and price-point. If they wish to kick it up a notch maybe be more aware of diners as its a long dinning room with little walking room in the middle. If it is packed it would get difficult. Food came out very quickly which was very impressive and recommendations for food and drinks were great as well.
I look forward to doing the black pork test …gallery sits at #1 for me on that. Repeat biz can be anchor dish driven, but with Uga the menu really has the potential to draw you in for a few visits.
You will enjoy the architecture and overall ambiance here in addition to the food - something Gallery and very few other places enjoy a distinct competitive advantage on.
5200/- Is comparatively good noting that most of the proper steak has to be imported from countries like Australia or New Zealand ,
I agree - if they don't charge that price, they can't viably serve an imported steak of that quality. The customer has the choice whether they wish to order it or not.
And while there are such LKR 5K items, there are also mains like the beef cheek, Prawn linguine and pork belly which use local produce tat are around LKR2000
Been there 3 times for the past 3 weeks. Awesome food. Great place to entertain clients and have a romantic meal too. There is nothing to complain , however the last meal I had on the 3rd, didn't have clear stomach the next day.
Went here and thought the food was crap, service decent, location beautiful. I've been here a couple of times now for lunch and also was there for the 6 course meal on NYE. At all instances I found the food to be sub par, and certainly not fine dining. I don't know why my experience is so different from YAMU and the other reviewers'.
They aim to appear fine dining through presentation but the flavors are lacking, food is ill-prepared and total misses. For example, I tried a simple gnocchi dish and it tasted nothing like a variation of gnocchi, steak dish (the meat was overcooked and chewy). If you've dined at Michelin starred restaurants from New York (per se, le bernadin), to Paris (le meurice alain ducasse), to Tokyo (robuchon, kojyu), then it's laughable that this food is considered "fine dining". I'm not saying the food has to be at Michelin star levels but come on, at least taste decent. On NYE, we got to watch the chef smoking cigarettes outside the private dining area, while our food was being "prepared". Also, if you want to be considered a fine dining establishment, the waiters should be trained to be able to describe the food. I was asking the waiter about how the meat was cooked for a particular dish and he smiled at me like wtf do you even know what you are asking….not impressed…
I have started to disregard YAMU reviews, zomato is sometimes better… If you want to talk about `pushing the envelope' with local ingredients then maybe contemporary ceylon might be a better bet.
It's a bit ridiculous to bring up michelin star restaurants like 'Per Se' which cost a minimum USD 350 per head excluding alcohol with a restaurant that charges about LKR 5-7K per head (excl alcohol) just because they classify as fine dining.
I've been to plenty of michelin star and high end restaurants and can safely say that Rarw @ Uga is definitely fine dining. What they fall back on is the quality of produce which is a factor of being in Sri Lanka. However they make up for this with the blend of cooking techniques and bold use of Sri Lankan flavours. While their service doesn't match a Michelin start, it's still certainly the best i've encountered in Sri Lanka (Ministry of Crab has pretty great service too). The Maitre d'e has always been able to describe the menu items and textures. Fine dining in Sri Lanka has to start somewhere before it becomes great - so don't expect michelin star service standards overnight when you're paying the equivalent of Bistro pricing
The food was really bad for an exorbitant price, with terrible matching of flavors (pumpkin and ambulthiyal paste with chicken, or halmasso flavoured ice cream!).
We were excited when YAMU had given a star high review on their site but time and time again they only keep proving that they don't know anything about food (they should probably stick to reviewing Street food instead).
2/5
Niluksha D. Bastiansz
Went for a birthday dinner. Service and ambiance was exceptional I would say. But they really have to step up on their food and cocktails. Had a mojito replaced 3 times. Even then it was so bad so we gave up. 3 main dishes in the menu was not available. For the prices they charge they need to up their game.