Located at: 24 Alfred House Avenue, Colombo 03, Sri Lanka

Visited on: 16th March, 2024

Sitting pretty on Alfred House Avenue, The Avenue serves up what their website describes as American fusion and steakhouse classics, Mediterranean and South Asian dishes. Their current menu offered options ranging from tacos, burgers, wraps, pizzas and pastas to steaks and other cuts, seafood, and Sri Lankan/Asian dishes.

The Avenue’s fresh juices certainly hit the spot to cool down and rehydrate in the warm weather. We tried their Watermelon (LKR 950), Pineapple (LKR 950) and Mango (LKR 1,100) juices, two of which are pictured below. All of the juices were refreshing and prepared fresh and thick.

We thought of trying their Onion Rings side (LKR 700) as a starter. Coated in a pakora-like homemade beer batter, these fairly large onion rings came with tomato ketchup as a dip. The rings were crisp and the batter had been seasoned well. The friendly staff were happy to provide us with some tartar sauce as well, on request.

The Seafood Tom Yum soup (LKR 1,680) was a sizeable portion with a fair bit of prawns, calamari and fish. However, while the broth was appetising, it fell a bit short of the authentic tom yum flavour. Perhaps a touch more on the sweetness, lemongrass and galangal, and less spices – which gave it a bit of a hot curry feel – would steer it in a better direction.

We tried four of their main dishes, the first of them being Carnitas Tacos – with roasted pork, pico de gallo and green sauce (LKR 1,750). The duo of soft-shell tacos was presented rather eye-catchingly and, as unassuming as they looked, tasted great. It was the combination of textures of the chewy pulled roasted pork, the crunchy vegetables and the creamy guacamole that made this dish shine, along with the contrasting flavours of the pork and salsa with the sauce. A light dish, but a tasty one.

The menu description for Traditional Fish and Chips (LKR 2,550) mentioned mushy peas, which happened to be missing from the dish that was served. The beer-battered barramundi, though, was nicely marinated, and there was a fair bit of fish on the plate. Not entirely ‘traditional’ in terms of the texture of the fish itself – which is traditionally a bit on the softer side, but the batter was thin and crisp, which was a good thing. The chips were chunky and fried to perfection, and the tartar sauce provided a good dip.

The Avenue obliged to our request for a Vegetarian Platter (LKR 1,650) with steamed rice instead of the standard egg fried rice. The platter came with roasted cauliflower and sautéed beans, baby carrots and bok choy. The veggies were very well done – deliciously seasoned and cooked to perfection. The light sauce that was drizzled over the veggies was excellent, and pulled the dish together. Going by the rest of the dish, I was pretty certain that the egg fried rice would not have disappointed either.

The Seafood Tom Yum Penne (LKR 3,475) was delightful. Its creamy tom yum sauce was on point and gave the pasta a wonderful, mouth-watering flavour. It came with crunchy prawns, calamari, clams and mushroom, and was a wholesome and enjoyable main dish.

Next, it was time for some dessert. Although not on the menu, we were told that The Avenue served up Baked Alaska (LKR 2,250). It was a rather creamy affair, with the ice cream being perhaps a tad too rich for the portion size. The sponge layer at the bottom was fine, and the dessert came with a bit of berry coulis for a bit of contrast on the palate. While it was attractive, whether the dish was value for money might be up for debate.

We also tried their Apple Pie & Ice Cream (LKR 1,250) which came with vanilla ice cream. The menu mentioned that the pie would be served warm, however, this wasn’t exactly the case. The cinnamon-apple filling was quite nice, and had been tucked into the pie generously. However, the pastry itself was a big soggy, and hence felt too thick to finish. Perhaps a bit of warming up would have helped after all.

Finally, we tried a couple of their Homemade Sorbets (LKR 650 per scoop) – Mango, and Strawberry & Lime, and their Cookies & Cream Homemade Gelato (LKR 650 per scoop). Both of the sorbets were quite nice and refreshing, and I thought that the strawberry and lime sorbet was a good balance between sweetness and tartness. The gelato was good, too, with a bit of pulpy thickness from the cookies and a decent flavour of the cookies and cream combination.

Yummy rating: 4.0 / 5.0