Located at: No. 2, Alfred House Road, Colombo 03, Sri Lanka

Visited on: 14 June, 2022

Paradise Road The Gallery Café has always been a wonderful place to enjoy a meal – particularly in the evenings, when the subtly majestic candle chandelier and twinkle lights give the place a sparkly warmth.

We started this particular evening off with a portion of Spanish Garlic Prawns – served with fresh bread (LKR 2,295). The prawns were large and crunchy. Yummy, too, of course. The chilli and garlic-infused aioli-like dressing was great on the bread and made for a tasty and satisfying appetiser.

The Roast Pork with Mustard Sauce – with mashed potato, steamed vegetables, apple sauce and a crackling stick (LKR 2,795) was quite good. The pork was nicely seasoned and the crackling was an interesting addition to the dish. The mash and veggies complemented the pork well, and the apple sauce was a good accompaniment.

My preference, however, was for the Parmesan-crusted Pork Schnitzel – with creamy fettuccine and a Goan vindaloo sauce (LKR 2,295). The pork, albeit not very thick, was deliciously seasoned within its crisp breaded coating. The fettuccine was so tastily prepared, it could have been a dish by itself. And the vindaloo sauce added an element of mild spice to dip the meat in now and then. Loved this dish!

We tried out three of their desserts. The Jaggery Crème Brulée (LKR 1,195) wasn’t heavy on jaggery flavour, but – after several disappointing experiences at many reputed restaurants in the recent past – it was good to taste a crème brulée that had good taste and texture, as well  as a good burnt sugar crackle to go with it.

Their Chocolate Walnut Brownie – with homemade vanilla bean ice cream and toffee sauce (LKR 1,045) tasted great. Again, a good, fudgy texture on the brownie, which was well complemented by the ice cream and sauce.

And finally, the pièce de resistance, and one of Colombo’s most celebrated desserts for good reason – Gallery Café’s Chocolate Nemesis – light baked chocolate mousse with peach coulis and whipped cream (LKR 995). Decadent bliss. This fella looks unassumingly simple, but one mouthful in and you’re hooked. The gooeyness of the baked mousse – a burst of cocoa with an almost-brownie texture – with the light cream and a touch of tartness from the coulis somehow add up to make this dessert nothing but a winner. Kudos!

Yummy Rating: 4.5 / 5.0