Located at: Level 1, One Galle Face, 1A Galle Road, Colombo 02, Sri Lanka

Visited on: 26th March, 2024

They’ve only nearly completed a couple of months at their new spot at One Galle Face, but they’ve certainly been lighting up Instagram feeds around town with their mouth-watering pictures. We visited Cucina by 3 Brothers for lunch, and so the ambience was bright and airy, beautifully complementing the perfect blend of homely, light wood, rattan and teal/turquoise green décor.

We tried Cucina’s Roasted Mushroom Cappuccino with Parmesan Cracker and Truffle Oil soup (LKR 1,550). It came piping hot, a little pulpy with the earthy mushroom, and frothed up on top. A heartwarming and truly satisfying soup that was a great start to the meal. The accompanying parmesan crackers could perhaps have been a bit crisper, but the soup was a winner even by itself.

We loved the Roasted Sweet Potato, Red Onion, Aubergine, Rocket, Mint Leaves, Ricotta and Chilli Oil salad (LKR 1,600). It felt fresh, authentic, and unique even. An enjoyable affair that was made all the more vibrant by the mixture of textures and the coating of ricotta and chilli oil on the veggies.

From their bruschetta, we picked the one with Softly Spiced Salami Spread, Goat’s Cheese, Roasted Pepper and Calabrian Honey (LKR 1,700). It was excellent. We loved it. The bread was tenderly crisp, with a generous serving of the spread on top. It was a perfect balance of all the different flavours, blending harmoniously into a singular element. The portion of three was beautifully presented, too.

Cucina’s Chicken Parmigiana (LKR 2,900) – crumbed chicken fillet, house tomato sauce, mozzarella, parmesan and pesto, was a massive affair. It came in the form of two rather large chicken cutlets on a bed of (a generous portion of) home-made pasta. If the soup, salad and bruschetta might have seemed a bit up-end in terms of price, this was definitely right up there in terms of value for money! Such was the portion size. And the combination of the cheeses with the tomato sauce and basil made the well-seasoned chicken quite enjoyable. Moreover, the dish was visually enticing.

The Fillet of Fish (LKR 2,600) – with capers, lemon butter, roasted vegetables and creamed potato, was truly delicious as a whole. From the mouth-watering large fillet to the perfectly seasoned mash, the lightly boiled crunchy veggies coated in their dressing and the accompanying white sauce, everything tasted very good. Again, great value for money and a scrumptiously healthy plate of food.

The fresh juices that we downed were great. The Lime (LKR 750) and Passionfruit (LKR 950) came with sugar syrup on the side (as we requested), and the Pineapple (LKR 950) was perfect as it was.

Cucina’s dessert menu comprised of two tiramisu dishes and three panna cotta options. I was really looking forward to trying their tiramisu, but we were told by the friendly staff that their tiramisu desserts are currently unavailable due to one of the key ingredients (which they import from Italy) being out of stock. While it was rather disappointing, it was also good to learn that they do not compromise on the quality of what they offer to their diners. So, we opted to try their desserts out on another day.

Yummy rating: 4.0 / 5.0