Breakfast is my favourite type of meal. Unfortunately I normally don’t get up in time to have breakfast and so I am thankful that the term brunch was invented. It gives us lazy folk who would rather be in bed, a few extra hours of lounging around. This also works perfectly on the days that I decide to do my intermittent fasting as the fasting ends around lunchtime, the perfect time for brunch.
Colombo is fast expanding in the world of food. There definitely was a gap in the market that certainly needed to be filled and it is exciting to see so many cafés opening up, giving us sri lankans quite the choice! I am a creature of habit and so I do keep returning to the same places, and unfortunately almost always order the same thing. Listed below are my top three places to drag myself out of bed in the mornings to indulge. I can’t say that brunch is cheap, but definitely a way to spoil yourself!
3. Whight & Co ($$)
Located on Marine Drive, this is a popular cafe amongst both locals and foreigners. With its’ in-house humongous coffee grinder, the coffee at whight & co is arguably some of the best in town and will definitely wake anyone who is still partially asleep!
I would spend my time revising at whight & co in-between my class hours and their cold drip coffee gave me just the right kick I needed to stay awake! I have had their eggs benedict on numerous occasions (because who can resist eggs benedict), but their poached eggs can be a hit or a miss.
The perfect poached egg in my opinion has to have a bit of a runny yolk which will spill gloriously once broken, but with a firm egg white. Even though my friends and I would tell the waiters on numerous occasions that we would like the eggs to be a bit runny, most of the times they would come out almost hard boiled.
Eggs Benedict at Whight & Co
They have a killer view. It’s the ideal place to watch the sunset over the indian ocean with the occasional train chugging past. The service can be unreliable and it takes a while to flag down one of the staff members, but the coffee at whight & co is a real winner and the place is very comfortable. You can definitely bring your work to this cafe – a real winner for those of you who like to revise in cafes. I would bring files and files of notes here and they were happy enough to let me keep studying there after I finished my meal. There are also plug points for your laptops. One other downside is that they seem to have their long tables/tables with a couch “reserved”, but nobody ever comes to claim these seats.
Tip: Have their cold drip coffee (with ice cream if you’re in need of that sugar rush!), you won’t regret it.
Address: Marine Drive, 24, Aloe Avenue, Colombo.
2. The Black Cat Cafe ($$)
I had my doubts about this cafe initially because it came up with the cafe boom about 2-3 years ago in colombo, but this cafe has quickly become one of my favourites. Their cafe is situated in a lovely house (used to be my dentist’s) and they sort of run a boutique hotel so expect foreigners and backpackers lounging in the cafe below. They have a super breakfast selection, but it unfortunately doesn’t last all day. Not to worry though because their lunch menu is just as great (the mushroom pasta is ahhhh-mazing)!
Benny’s eggs with a side of smoked salmon
Since my home is situated just 5 minutes away, I regular pop in (especially the morning after a night-out) to load up on the carbs. They do a mean eggs benedict that comes with pan-fried spinach and mushrooms that soaks up the effects of the night before. Their coffee is also pretty darn good and will definitely wake you up! If you feel like indulging a bit more, then you must try out their chocolate biscuit pudding jars by bellissima. Simply, magnifico!
Their service is also good and if you choose to sit outside you’ll be joined by 2 of their side-kicks, the cats!
Tip: Parking is a bit tight (they have about 5 spots in the premises tops!), especially since it’s located on Wijerama Mawatha, right opposite the Sri Lanka Medical Association and very close to Museaus College.
Address: 11, Wijerama Mawatha, Colombo 07.
1. One up All day Breakfast ($$$)
Whilst away on my internship, this was one of the things I would day-dream about frequently. I cannot explain to you just how yum-in-my-tum the food is at this cafe. Its tucked under an office complex down one of the lanes opposite St. Peter’s College. With cute interiors, this cafe just like its’ name has brunch all day. Everyday. And what more could anyone ask for?
I normally always go for the Eggs Benedict as their eggs are perfectly poached with mouth-watering hollandaise sauce. By stalking their instagram, I found that they had a fascinating shittake mushroom dish, but it is almost never available and I’ve only had it once. However if you’re like me and love mushrooms, then you definitely must try it! Their fried chicken is also a yummy side, if you have room.
Moving onto desert, I don’t think anything can beat their “Margot Robbie”. With brioche french toast coated in maple syrup , passionfruit curd and caramelized bananas all dusted gently with some icing sugar, every spoonful will melt in your mouth. The portions are just about right, but your eyes can actually become bigger than your tummy so you tend to order more and more!
Their iced coffees pair perfectly with the food, but just know that it isn’t your plain old sri lankan ice coffee. This ice coffee actually comes with ice cream! It adds a creamy flavour to the coffee.
It gets pretty packed on weekends and they don’t take reservations so you can expect a wait. Call ahead so you can get an idea of how long your wait will be.
Tip: It isn’t cheap, but it will fill you up so skip your breakfast and possibly your dinner.
Address: 11, Kinross Avenue, Bambalapitiya.
**Plot twist** – Asylum at independence arcade does a really good brunch! They don’t get much recognition for it, but they really should. It was a delicious good sized portion of eggs benedict with a good price to go with it. Their tomato salsa added just the right amount of acidity to go with the meal. They don’t have smoked salmon (sadly), but they do have pork and chicken sausages. It ain’t fancy, but it’s definitely yum and hits the right spot! Their brunch menu can be ordered till 3:00 pm so it gives us late starters plenty of time to get up.
Or you could just host your own brunch like I did (that is how much I love brunch)! Sorry for the purple lighting. The sunroof above the dining room is tinted purple to downsize the amount of sunlight that comes in!
It is actually pretty easy to host a brunch as most of the stuff can be bought ready made (if you’re a lazy bum like me). However, you will need to man an egg station because what is a brunch without eggs. If you want to see my menu for the brunch I hosted click here (Brunch Menu).
Disclaimer: I am in no way, shape or form a food critic so please feel to correct me about the specifics. Also as you can see by the pictures above, my photography skills have improved with time so excuse the initial pictures.
