Located at : 01 Justice Akbar Mawatha, Colombo 02, Sri Lanka

Availability : Saturdays & Sundays, 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM

Price : LKR 5,800 nett

Every weekend, Nuwa at City of Dreams dishes out The Grand Pâtisserie Affair at The Crystal Lounge (level 25). As you walk in, you catch a glimpse of an elegantly arranged, eye-catching spread that makes an awe-inspiring first impression. It’s an organised riot of colour, with bright floral arrangements, charming crockery, fruits, beverages, sweet treats, and what not. As you walk to your table – hopefully by the window – you momentarily forget about the high tea spread as you realise that the stunning sunset view is just as awe-inspiring. The interior radiates opulence, but subtly so, mixed with an undertone of warmth that maintains a sense of relaxed comfort. Overall aesthetic appeal – 10/10.

The spread itself was good, with several unique elements that set it apart from most other high tea buffets in the city. Onto one side were a line of chillers with sandwiches of all sorts – regular, open-faced, bagel, croissant, and more – and self-service ice cream and beverage counters. There were six ice cream flavours and toppings of all sorts for a bit of fun indulgence, healthy (detox) beverages, coffees, and yaara tea (which they pull-pour for you at the table). They also had an enticing selection of bottled home-made beverages that included faluda, iced coffee, butterfly pea infusion, and hibiscus infusion.

The warm savoury options included elements from local, Middle Eastern, Far Eastern, Indian, European/western cuisines. There were pastries, pies, rolls, wraps, mini pizzas, and tartlets among the offerings. Several dishes thoughtfully had dips or sauces to complement. The live action station served the likes of satay, tempura, shawarma, fish fingers, and kottu.

Enchantment was the vibe at the sweet section, with a variety of vibrant and colourfully decorated cakes, tarts, cookies, chocolates, fruits, gulab jamun, shooters, and more. Of course, there was also the ice cream corner which I mentioned at the start. The friendly staff were at hand to serve tea and coffee, as per your preference – including yaara tea, which I quite enjoyed and went for two rounds of.

All-in-all, this was a memorable high tea experience with food, beverages, views, and elegance to enjoy. Definitely worth trying – to spruce up one of your weekends!

Yummy Rating: 4.5 / 5.0