Marine Drive and Aloe Avenue, Colombo 3
Closed right now
Whight & Co is amazing for coffee. They've got Cold Drip down to a science. The food is alright, too.
Quality local coffee in Colombo means Whight & Co. While there has been competition coming up lately, and Whight itself has dropped in quality in other areas (some attentive service please?), this is still among the best coffee in town. Usually, food here hasn’t really been as good as it’s coffee but this time we had some really excellent victuals.
If you're here, there’s a must-have caffeine trifecta; the Pour Over (Rs.450), the Cold Drip (Rs.450) and the Vietnamese Ca phe sua da (Rs.440). Made with Whight’s own Sri Lankan coffee, these are strong, distinctive and aromatic. These aren’t your mass produced packets of pseudo-coffee that you need to douse in sugar to drink. These are perfectly brewed and can be enjoyed as is, even if they do provide milk and sugar.
The exception would be the Ca phe sua da. The sweetness of the condensed milk balancing out the strong taste of the coffee make for a great experience.
I’ll be honest, I was not a fan of Whight’s food menu in the past. Expensive and bland in most cases, it just wasn’t worth ordering. This time though we found a really great combination.
We genuinely enjoyed the special croissants. It’s quite large for a croissant and it’s light, fluffy and buttery. We ordered it with bacon, egg and cheese (Rs.650) and it was so delicious. The bacon and egg. Not the cheese, which was essentially a packeted cheese slice from a supermarket, which is unfortunate because it really did a disservice to the rest of the delicious dish. The generous portion of fries was firm and crunchy, as was the salad.
The Toffee sundae (Rs.500) is a giant glass of milk, chocolate, ice cream, coffee topped off with whipped cream, toffee coated popcorn and a cherry. This is a meal all by itself and is really good value for money. Having a slight taste of strong coffee come through the milk and chocolate really makes this unique, and we loved it.
The Cookie Ice Cream sandwich (Rs.480) however was so-so. It’s not terrible, but there really wasn’t anything about to make it special or worth the price. The cookies were too tough to break by spoon as well. Props for the presentation though.
Whight’s coffee is still the main reason to go there, but we were pretty impressed by the food on our last visit. Service though is still rather inattentive, so be prepared for a wait till your hunger is sated.
Whight & Co.'s coffee is still the main reason to go there, but their food impressed us on our last visit too.
We like the Papdi Chat Prawns and the Cold Drip. Their staff is a little haphazard, lately.
Whight & Co is amazing for coffee. They've got Cold Drip down to a science. The food is alright, too.
Address
Marine Drive and Aloe Avenue, Colombo 3
Directions
It's on the Colpetty side of Marine Drive. From Galle Road, go past the McDonald's and turn down Aloe Avenue just past ACBT. On Marine Drive it's between the Marina Casino on the North and Arabian Knights on the south.
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Ratings Breakdown
Navro Beach Restaurant
Navro Beach is one of the most popular restaurants in Panadura…
Silver Ray
Great place to have a delicious Sri Lankan buffet…
3/5
Still in the top 5 for good coffee in Colombo but the customer service is woeful. The staff are nice but so disorganised. I just wanted a coffee but had to wait ages for a menu and then another age again to give my order. They were busy but there seemed to be only 1-2 guys on the floor while the rest were congregated downstairs - doing nothing. To top it off, the toilets were grotty. I'm glad I didn't order food.
3/5
Great place and great food. Still maintain the standards.
However was totally disappointed when I wanted to order coffee for what I came for in the first place.
We were never informed the kitchen is closing or the coffee machine is getting turned off. When I ordered coffee at 11pm . They just said the machine has already been unplugged and no more servings .
C’mon … you call it a coffee place ?? Especially on a Saturday night ?
1/5
Just unbelievable service. I am order tomato soup as soup of the day and waiter bring up some different vegetarian soup. My boyfriend order carbonara… But came only soup. We think that was misunderstooding… But after we order the deserts and again stuff forget about one. But my one was older to sour to eat… It was over the date of expired… Very very bad experience at this place… 3 times per visit. (
3/5
From what I had learnt, Whight & Co had really invested in their initial staff, in so much as sending them off to Malaysia/Singapore to be trained before taking on their roles. Apparently, they were poached by competitors. The current staff are sadly quite incapable. I used to love the service at this place. Truly sad.
5/5
Best coffee place in Colombo! Great coffee, well priced, great staff and service (thank you guys) and terrific atmosphere. My little piece of heaven in Colombo. Just one addition to breakfast menu needed to make it perfect - fresh fruit salad and yoghurt and muesli.
5/5
Outstanding. The best coffee in Sri Lanka. I give Whight & Co 100% !!! Martin G Straus, Professional Beverage Consultant, Sri Lanka
3/5
went there yesterday after reading your review… had high expectations and i was a little disappointed with the food :/ ordered the burger slider and Caesar salad, the salad dressing was too sweet and the flavors were not that great, however the portion was generous… the burger sliders were just OK, and the fish was just way too salty… tried the tasting plate for dessert and it was very nice… didn't try the coffee but bought a packet for daily use, looking forward to having some of that!
Hi,
Thanks for the review Yamu, just one question? Is it halal? Do they serve pork items? Just for my information.
At the guest above: The article mentions ham - this is a pork product,So yes I would say they do serve pork. However, that doesn't mean you cannot go there - just order the non-pork or vegetarian meal if they have that. Not everything in Colombo needs to be halal or halal certified.
It may mean nothing to you, whether or not the food is halal but to some it makes more of a difference than you could probably understand. It was a simple question, give an answer (which you did) but not your opinion of what a person may choose to eat.
As usual… a little of show and all factors go out of the window. suddenly the 750/- burger did not seem expensive or extortionate!
Great stuff yamu… novice at its best!
Ease up Grapes905!
There's more to the halal context than just pork. One reason many still inquire whether a place serves pork is because, although one can simply not eat (avoid) the pork items, the kitchen/chefs may be using the same oil for both the pork and the non-pork item; or possibly the same knife even.
Also the user 'guest' simply inquired whether they served pork. Is that so wrong? Surely this does not mean he's implying that every place MUST be halaal or halaal certified, does it?
It is known that the coffee flavor declines after 24 hours of roasting. This is the only place in Sri Lanka, where you could enjoy the real flavor of coffee. Because they use coffee roasted withing 24 hours. Great to see that it is Sri Lankan coffee with real flavor. If you are a coffee fan, you should not miss "Pour over" coffee at Whight & Co.
@Eizenheim Honest question: where then is the line drawn? For example, is it not possible that we breathe the air that pigs exhale? Is it possible the vegetables we're eating have been fertilized by pig dung?
On the top right hand corner there are some green icons. There is one for 'halal' as well which, if I am not mistaken, is added to a review of a restaurant when it is halal. So I would suggest that those who are concerned whether a particular restaurant is halal or not look for that icon.
I think it is certainly very important to respect other people's beliefs and if people do not eat pork/beef then so be it, but I think it is wrong to try and imposes one's dietary requirements on others.
@Ikebana
With all due respect, by your logic, vegetarians will have to walk around with their own personal oxygen tanks.
I might be wrong but if I recall correctly Yamu puts the halaal mark only if the place in question is halaal certified by the relevant authorities. To be halaal certified the place in question has to submit a request/invitation to the relevant authorities. The authorities do not go around asking or demanding places be halaal certified. This seems to be a common misconception. Another condition regarding the attainment of the halaal certificate is that none of the branches of the franchise in question should serve or use non-permitted ingredients. An example of this would be Bread Talk. Although their Park Street branch does not use pork they still won't be able to get the certificate simply due to the fact that their other branches do. Just because a place doesn't have the certificate doesn't mean it's not halaal. It's the same for places which serve alcohol.
Please note, and I emphasize this greatly, that I wasn't imposing any dietary requirement on anyone and I highly doubt that the user 'guest' was trying to do any such thing either. To me it sounded merely as an inquiry; one which Grapes905 seems to have misunderstood. I was merely trying to help by clearing up the possible misunderstanding.
One more thing, there are some exception to the halaal conditions as well. One such thing is if any part of the pig is used in medication (e.g. pills, cough syrup, etc) then it is permitted; same goes for alcohol. Another scenario is when you are in dire need for food and there is no other option than non-permitted items are allowed again.
I believe this is a better suited answer to your question @Ikebana. I apologise if my comment on the oxygen tanks came out as rude but please know that I meant it in a light-hearted manner.
@ChintakaG
I do not think that at this point the coffees are roasting on site.
Have you seen the staff doing that?
We visited the place and the staff told us that there was no roasting so far which we would like to see…maybe in near future.
Furthermore, perhaps only ONE in a million people here can tell if the coffee bean is freshly roasted or not. It is more important that after the beans was grind, it needs to consume within few hours for the freshness.
The coffee here is very good and so is the food however, the milkshakes weren't that good. they were quite watery and lacked flavour, but the staff were very good. As soon as I told them, they went and made fresh milkshakes. Really nice place and definitely worth a visit :)
You got the help of a coffee enthusiast who doesn't understand what "all those contraptions do" ? But they looked like interesting chemistry equipment ? That's hilarious. Nice entry though.
And @ Chinthaka, beans don't lose their freshness in 24 hours, if anything the flavour grows over the next couple of weeks and eventually wanes out in a month. But it does lose it's flavour and oils about half an hour after you grind them…
Visited Whight & Co after reading the rave reviews on Yamu (You've never steered me wrong before!) First, the good stuff: You were right about the excellent views, and the very good service. The prices are also very good and the fact that the menu carries prices INCLUSIVE of taxes and service charge, is definitely a bonus. Also Wifi. GOOD WIFI.
Now for the bad stuff: The food was mundane, ordinary - and dare I say, bland as hell. Considering that the menu has considerably fewer options that the Cricket Club, I would have expected the food to have put up a better show. Agree with commenter imaged (above), maybe more salt…?The portions are large though, which is always good.
I only tried the cold drip coffee, and yes, while it is better than the god awful coffee usually served at restaurants, I found that it compared poorly against the coffees offered at speciality cafes (yes, even the big name franchises). It was strong, and don't get me wrong, I like strong coffee - but in this instance, I felt like it was only strong to mask the overwhelming blandness. It just tasted of roasted (maybe charred) beans.
Place is really nice and serene and we were the only customer at that time. Given that they took ages to serve our mains and the beverages didnt stand out.
Disappointed with the food and drinks. It's just highly overrated. The food was bland and boring .
The food was amazing, the coffee was superb but the desserts need some help! Had the fish and chips and friend has the chicken shintzel which were divine! The dessert platter cheese cake was great but the other two were mediocre. Milkshake was tasty but not think
This place is not very good and very expensive for what you get. I didn't expect much when I learned it was owned by the same people that run Cricket Club, another dismal place for food. I should have never bothered to begin with but since this review was so enthusiastic I decided to give it a try. Some of Yamu's reviews lately have been pretty bad and very misleading.
Decided to visit the plc after reading Yamu review … wasnt very impressed. I had the burger slider ( average ) but the chips were good. Ice Chocolate was very watery. Hubby had the choc milk shake which was good and he said his fish n chips were good. dessert we ordered the platter. the cheese cake was yum but the other two was very average and the tart was really bad ! Will not visit again …
Loved the place! Great ambiance… However the food wasn't so good. Won't consider as value for money
Same as Dinusha, I decided to visit White & Co after checking reviews on Yamu. we were totally disappointed about their drinks (coffee) and service. Waiter was not so knowledgeable about drinks they serve. he asked us who ordered Cappuccino and served him Mocha. Hazelnut latte i ordered was just water. it did not have a coffee or hazelnut taste at all. i would not visit this place ever again!
Awesome place.we like the place as we entered.had a cappuccino and a hot chocolate.the boy who served us was really cool.we had a piece of Aussie cake.
Cannot remember the name.because my partner jane and me bit of curious about the name.was it Hamilton?
Any way we might go again.
Absolutely amazing place. Love the atmosphere, Coffe is simply excellent and whats best is that its local…coffee and the food is well presented and is pretty good. Overall i would give it 8/10 and hope they maintain the standards and that the staff improve. Wish the team at White & Co the very best
I think the person who reviewed this would have been on top of the moon or wouldn't know what good coffee and tea tastes like.
First of all for the price I would say a coffee for 280 pretty alright but the taste doesn't go far beyond great. I requested for a strong cup of tea made out of leaves(brewed tea powded leaves) and I get a shabby cup of tea made of bags. Obviously I know when tea is made out of bags and leaves. The tea tastes like one of those tea served on planes. Sadly prices of a burger is priced ridiculously. I mean seriously there's red berry's along the street who offer good stuff. Or perhaps coffee tastes much better coco veranda than this place and I don't know how on earth the reviewer rated this coffee good! The cafe sells its location and ambience predominantly and not the actual product so if your looking for a chill out this is the place but if you're looking for great coffee or tea this is certainly not the place
Lovely sea view. Very quiet place as we were the only customers.
Coffee, burger and cake are fine. Nothing outstanding.
However. I think 750rps for a normal and standard size burger is expensive.
5 stars for this place is certainly overrated and misleading.
Perhaps, Yamu needs return and do another review?
The Eggs Benedict is not served with Hollandaise sauce but a Bearnaise sauce! I've been here about ten times now. The coffee is excellent and absolute value for money however the service sadly is lacking and the food isn't half as good as The Cricket Club Cafe.
Exceptional tasting coffee period and would go as far as to say this is the best coffee in CMB!
The food - what we got prawn dish, fish, lasagna were all good sized portions and tasty.
Service was OK not the raving type Yamu staff experienced - it was just ok.
Rec the cold drip - dont bother taking this home as it doesnt taste the same no matter what you do! Its the milk…
I hope these guys get a mobile concept and get their coffee out and about - its just good!
i usually agree with your reviews YAMU but this was bit of a disappointment. hope the owner sees this and can make some changes.
1. The service was poor; made me feel like all the foreigners get the royal treatment and the locals are not welcome.
2. Had a hot chocolate which was the worst i have ever had. it was basically water.
3. The AC isn't working upstairs so it was not a very pleasant experience either
4. They got to fix that washroom door!! it bangs like a bomb every time somebody goes in or out!!
hope to see some major improvements next time.
Probably the worst coffee place I've been to. The milkshake tastes like tap water, their coffee is the worst I've tasted. The drinks are so insipid I rather drink something off the road. Extreme displeasure is an understatement to the what we were served. I wouldn't even give them half a star.this is The worst place for drinks.
Nice, calm and quiet place to have a chat while having some good coffee. Service is good. Pleasant staff specially Thusith and Lahiru. Wifi is good too
Wont't give this place 5 stars, 3 max.
Friendly staff.
Coffee is average.
Food is tasteless, except the Nachos.
Security on duty was so rude and uninviting.
The place doesn't give out a pleasant ambiance, instead there's a very cold and stiff setting. (upstairs; mainly because of the excess space not put into use)
friendly staff and great ambience i was looking for a place to chill not to critique coffee so this place did fit my requirement perfectly.
Love this place. Have been here many times now. Service has improved a lot since it started. It's a really nice place for breakfast. Love the eggs benedict and the French toast. Cappuccino was pretty good too. And the tiny cheesecake in a cup is amazing. Will definitely keep going back.
Lovely setting. The eggs benedict stayed true to the good reviews. Highly recommend.
But the french toast i ordered with chocolate disappointed. It's more like the bombay toast made at home. They could have definitely gotten a little more generous and creative with it.
This was my 4th time here. The food is excellent. The service however lacks if the place is full upstairs. We ordered desert and it never came until we had to ask the server if he forgot. We also had to remind them thrice to get us water.
The service needs to improve.
Food and coffee is excellent! However the service could use a lotta improvement. They forget about you if the place is full upstairs.
Our desserts were never brought to us until they were reminded about it.
Completely disappointed with Whight and co for their terrible customer service. I am a regular customer to Whight and co and I have always seen the tables by the sea view are reserved for hours and no one actually shows up.
Today, my friend and I called them to make a reservation so that we could use one of their sea side tables, and I was told it is available and was asked to come. But when I arrived, I was asked to take a different seat since the table I specifically made the booking for was apparently "reserved".
Whight and co lost a customer and this is something almost all my friends have noticed. We are never going back again. This is terrible service and I hope Whight and co will be happy by having empty tables which will be "reserved" forever.
Absolutely lovely coffee. The best 'real' coffee experience we have had so far in Colombo. The accompanying food is nice, especially the breakfast options.
Haven't considered accessibility though. Wondering how a wheelchair user or a person with any other disability would enter. Understand access to upstairs would be costly because a lift will be needed and given that the building is not new, there could be other complications. But basic access at the ground level would attract more customers. A ramp, and to be very ambitiously hopeful, an automated door would be super cool.
3/5
Millie
Still in the top 5 for good coffee in Colombo but the customer service is woeful. The staff are nice but so disorganised. I just wanted a coffee but had to wait ages for a menu and then another age again to give my order. They were busy but there seemed to be only 1-2 guys on the floor while the rest were congregated downstairs - doing nothing. To top it off, the toilets were grotty. I'm glad I didn't order food.
3/5
Dasty Ismail
Great place and great food. Still maintain the standards.
However was totally disappointed when I wanted to order coffee for what I came for in the first place.
We were never informed the kitchen is closing or the coffee machine is getting turned off. When I ordered coffee at 11pm . They just said the machine has already been unplugged and no more servings .
C’mon … you call it a coffee place ?? Especially on a Saturday night ?
5/5
Pudding
They serve the best coffee in Colombo. Their Cold brew is to die for. I’ve also tried their Vietnamese Coffee & some others which are great. Food is amazing with great value for money. Love their breakfast. Such a chilled out spot in a great location