Located at: 01 Maitland Place, Colombo 07, Sri Lanka

Visited on: 09th March, 2024

A cosy resto-café in the heart of Colombo, serving up a vibrant menu that touches on an array of cuisines, beverages and desserts. That’s Simply Strawberries by Jagro in a nutshell – the one on Maitland Place, that is. There are several other outlets that are mini dessert bars. Of course, one thing they all have in common is that they have their famed, luscious strawberries available for purchase. Here at the café, they also sell their other produce, such as cherry tomatoes and lettuce, and products, such as their delicious strawberry jam and breads.

Back to the food and beverage. This spot never disappoints.

Simply Strawberries offers an enticing range of beverages, several of them incorporated with strawberry (naturally). We tried four of them, and all of them were equally good. The Strawberry Lemonade (LKR 800) and Passion Mint Cooler (LKR 700) were both rejuvenating with their spritely fresh fruit elements. Trip Me Up – local orange, mint and jalapeño (LKR 850) was an interesting concoction, a bit like a refined version of an achcharu flavoured beverage. Very nice! The Fresh Strawberry Milkshake (LKR 800 for medium) was good, too, with Jagro strawberries being the key element in it.

We kicked off the meal with two of their starters. The first was Honey-soy Glazed Tofu Satay with peanut sauce (LKR 700). This arrived in the form of three tofu skewers, a bit of salad and an absolutely delicious peanut sauce. The tofu itself was nicely seasoned – not bland as tofu has a natural tendency of being, and that peanut sauce was quite something. A touch sweet, a touch tangy, and just the right amount of peanut richness.

The second starter was their Garlic, Shrimp & Avocado Crostini (LKR 1,800). Another winner. The bread was light, toasted to the perfect balance between soft and crisp, and the topping was refreshingly good. The portion came with five crostinis, each with three crunchy shrimps on a bed of creamy avocado, a bit of mango sweetness, parsley and a wedge of strawberry (of course!). It looked great, and it tasted fantastic together.

The first of our mains was the Hummus Mezze – hummus, pumpkin, pickled beet, tabouleh, baba ganoush, grilled chicken, pita bread (LKR 2,000). While, at a glance, this might seem like a light meal, this was in fact a filling and rather pleasing Mediterranean dish. All the elements were nicely done and worked well together. The chicken tasted and gave the feel of a shawarma plate, while the hummus and baba ganoush were smooth and well-seasoned. The pickled beetroot provided a bit of a sweet-tart contrast to the dish, while the pumpkin provided a sort of comforting, starch-like element. The pita bread was nice and thin, which made it rather enjoyable and the perfect vehicle to scoop up the dips and pickles.

The filling of the Devilled Chicken Sandwich (LKR 2,350) was excellent, with pulled chicken, pol sambol and batu moju jam. The seasoning was on point, mouth-watering and very well-balanced. The ciabatta was nicely done, too, and made for a filling meal overall. Perhaps the potato wedges could have been a bit crispier, but the mango mayo had great flavour and made for a good dip.

I quite enjoyed the Indonesian Chicken Curry (LKR 1,950) which came with a sparkly papaya salad which glistened in a beautiful honey vinaigrette-like dressing. It was so uplifting with its unique flavour and herby chopped cilantro. The chicken curry was top-notch, with an almost rendang-like taste, but with a bit of a peanut-y flavour. There was a generous portion of chicken, too, and the perfectly steamed basmati went very well with the curry.

The Pesto Pasta with mushroom and eggplant (LKR 2,650 with chicken, LKR 3,250 with prawn) was nice and creamy, a heart-warming pasta dish. Again, rather filling, and tossed around in a plentiful dollop of cheese and herby pesto sauce.

Simply Strawberries spoils you for choice when it comes to desserts, with a selection of fruity and sweet options that run into several pages on the menu. We were quite full after enjoying the great starters and mains, and so opted for a mix of both light and indulgent picks.

Needless to say, strawberries dominate the dessert menu – rightly so – and three of our four picks were strawberry-based. The first was their Fresh Strawberry Bowl (LKR 650) of halved strawberries, with or without sugar. Jagro strawberries are some of the best around and, in their finest form, are plump, juicy, a touch sweet and always absolutely fresh. Of course, different harvests vary.

Their Strawberry Tart portion (LKR 650) comes with two tartlets filled with a bit of whipped cream and strawberry jam, and topped with a generous serving of fresh strawberry wedges. It’s a nicely balanced ensemble to bite into, with the cream and jam usually present in small amounts so as not to overdo the sweetness already provided by the tart shell.

Strawberries and Ice Cream (LKR 950) is served with three scoops of home-made vanilla ice cream – a classic combo that works well.

The Sticky Toffee Pudding (LKR 1,350) was served warm, with a scoop of home-made vanilla ice cream and toffee sauce. The toffee sauce was a little too sweet for my palate, and perhaps the pudding itself could have been a bit softer. A combination that works, but needing a little tweaking in the execution.

Yummy rating: 4.0 / 5.0

Continued below…

I’m going to make this an opportunity to mention a couple of éclairs that we took home from Simply Strawberries back in the latter half of January 2024. They were absolutely divine. The choux pastry was perfect. The Caramel Éclair had a beautiful velvety filling with a gooey, ever-so-slightly burnt caramel glaze and crunchy nuts on top. The Chocolate Éclair’s filling was deliciously bitter-sweet, topped with a beautiful, regal chocolate glaze and milk chocolate shavings. Both were equally delightful (and get my salivary glands worked up even today!).