Open Time:
Saturday and Sunday from 3 pm to 5:30 pm
What we had
High tea with a view!
Mandarina Colombo’s High Tea is a three-tier spread consisting of one savoury platter, two sweet platters, and a beverage of your choice, all for the price of LKR 2000 for two people.
Complementing our meal was the spectacular view of Colombo’s skyline from their rooftop restaurant, On the Eleventh.
The spread was diverse covering a lot of bases and when the assortment arrived at our table we could not wait to dig in!
Drinks
They have a choice of either a hot pot of tea, coffee or ice coffee.
Iced Coffee
One of the best iced coffees I’ve had around Colombo! Hitting the right spots, all the elements to this beverage were evenly balanced. The drink came with a scoop of vanilla ice cream which made it quite filling.
Mains
On plate: Seafood Wontons, Prawn Spring Roll, Carrot and Beetroot Pinwheel, Tuna Tortilla Wrap, Smoked Chicken Open Sandwich, Cheese, Tomatoes, and Basil Tower
Seafood Wontons
Crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, the Seafood Wontons were yummy and stuffed with cubed prawns and cuttlefish.
Prawn Spring Roll
While the spring roll was quite tasty, what was off-putting was the fact that one of our spring rolls didn’t even contain prawns, it was just chicken. The other, however, did.
Carrot and Beetroot Pinwheel
This was a super interesting item! Dainty and delectable, these pinwheels depicted savoury swiss rolls, topped off with an olive. An innovative vegetarian addition!
Tuna Tortilla Wrap
Easily the best savoury item from what we tried! The Tuna Tortilla Wrap was filled to the brim with spicy tuna and the wrap as a whole was super soft and delicious.
Smoked Chicken Open Sandwich
While the slice of bread was nice and crispy, this simply did not taste like smoked chicken. It tasted like scrambled eggs atop lettuce and bread. We were not fans.
Cheese, Tomatoes, and Basil Tower
Beautifully presented, the Cheese, Tomato, and Basil tower was a good take on your regular cheese and tomato sandwiches. The basil and tomato was super fresh too!
On plate: Coconut Almond Crunchies, Dark Opera Slices, Cold Cheese Cake
Coconut Almond Crunchies
This mini tart was filled with creamy custard, topped off with a chewy, nougat-y combination of almond and coconut, which was a perfect contrast to the custard.
Dark Opera Slices
Sponge cake soaked in coffee syrup with a chocolate ganache? Yes please! These slices were soft and creamy, oozing of coffee and chocolate flavour. Highly recommend!
Cold Cheese Cake
Unfortunately, this slice of blueberry cheesecake did not live up to our expectations. While the blueberry coulis was fine, the base was not crispy and was rather soggy.
On plate: Fruit Tart, Almond Tart
Fruit Tart
Cute and colourful, the Fruit Tart was quite good! However, poured on top of the chopped fruits was syrup (which we believe was sugar syrup) making this tart too sweet.
Almond Tart
The slivers of almond did not really give the tart a prominent flavour of almond but the creamy custard was complemented by the crusty tart and crunchy almond.
While it is evident that Mandarina has put much thought into the intricate details of every item, there is room for improvement in terms of and taste. Presentation was beautiful, but they need to up their game in the flavour department.
Tip – High Tea is available only on weekends so make a reservation in advance!
