Sooriya Village – Reviewed

by Anuki Premachandra

A hearty meal midst a musical village

Sooriya is a record label that dates way back to the 1960’s. Settled into a cozy space down Havelock road, their newly opened ‘music village’ has much more to offer than just great music. The concept of the place is like no other. They’ve articulated a modern day ‘village’ of sorts with recording studios, lecture rooms, practice rooms and a chic book store. It’s literally one of a kind and a musician’s dream. They’ve got a rad restaurant whipping up some very pleasing dishes, and I can guarantee you that if you’re like me and know nothing of music, you’d still end up having a great time! Sooriya Village has brought the best two things the world has to offer; food and music.

Ambience

They’ve done an amazing job with the set-up of the place. It’s very welcoming and it definitely makes you feel like you’re at home. The place is so aesthetically and culturally pleasing. The attention to detail in their décor is incredible. From the chairs, to their wall hangings, to their newspaper placemats, the place is exploding with culturally apt- DIY looking cool pieces of décor.

The place eludes the right sense of hippy and fun and it’s a place you’ve definitely got to try out. Night-time outdoor dining is the best at Sooriya Village, they’ve even got trees lit up with fairy lights and lanterns positioned that really gives a facelift to the vibe of the place.

Their service though was the only downfall. Not only was it slow and slightly rude but they also billed wrong and charged us extra. Needless to say, we were not very happy!

Food and Drinks

Drinks: Bibidi Bobidi Mint – Rs.  250. Chocolate Milkshake – Rs.350 and Pink Lady – Rs. 350

We opted for the Bibidi Bobidi Mint upon the waiter’s recommendation, and we were not too disappointed. It was a great drink, ideally a virgin mojito. But the only downfall here was the fact that the mint leaves overpowered the rest of the drink and was not well received by us.

The chocolate milkshake, at Rs.350 was a score. Although we would have like it to be more rich and chocolate-y than it originally was.

The Pink Lady was our favourite. It was very much a copy of a Lankan faluda but it tasted good and we loved it. We’d absolutely recommend it.  

Appetizers: Sesame Chicken – Rs. 575 and Grilled Vegetable Salad – Rs. 500  

Their sesame chicken sounded very gastronomically pleasing in their menu and it certainly was. The portion though was pretty small with only three chicken pieces and since the dish was Rs.500+, we expected more. The chicken pops were coated with sesame and it’s a bad idea to have them on their own, unless you love the tasted of bitter sesame in your mouth. The dish worked well the carrot shreds and the sauce that accompanied it. The meat though, was a tad bit dry and we felt it could have stolen the spotlight if only the meat was a little more moist.

The vegetable salad was a bit of a letdown. Ideally, when you say vegetable salad, you’d expect there to be actual vegetables and not only a pieces of cucumber and bell pepper. Yep, I’m still on my carrots and broccoli that I didn’t get! The cucumber and bell pepper though were drizzled with very generous amounts of olive oil and was nothing short of a nice dish – if it were called a grilled cucumber and bell pepper salad.

Mains: Pork Goraka Curry – Rs.950, Belly Pork in hot butter sauce – Rs. 1500 and Lamb Rice – Rs.2000

I was super impatient to try out their Pork Goraka Curry. For one, it sounded absolutely scrumptious on the menu, and for another, I was craving some good black pork curry. The dish really wasn’t as good as I expected it to be because the pork curry was very overpowered with goraka. Maybe that’s how a pork goraka curry is supposed to taste – note that it specifically says ‘goraka’ curry and not ‘black’ pork curry. But either way, I felt like the goraka was a bit much and that it robbed away the flavor. You can either opt for roti or roast paan with the curry. I opted for the latter and received 1 roast paan cut into three shreds. They are nice enough to give some parippu and pol sambol as sides, but being the Sri Lankans we are, the pol sambol vanished in minutes! We would have really preferred more quantity. It would have been a great dish if the pork didn’t taste as tangy as it did from all the goraka.

The Belly Pork in hot butter sauce is the reason I go to Sooriya Village over and over again. This dish was an absolute show stopper and blew us away completely. The portion was massive with a seasoned and sautéed juicy pork belly over a generous amount of steamed basmati rice. The pork was bathed in flavor and the fat was properly retained. Loved every bite!

Our next try-out, the Lamb Rice, was sadly another let down. I get that lamb is much more expensive than other typical varieties of meat and hence the dish is pricier, but if I was to be real about it, I just thought that it was a waste of money. They weren’t very generous with the quantity, but ideally, it was a dish with layered with cooked lamb and rice. The lamb was too dry for my liking and the lack of gravy really made it difficult enjoy the meal.

Dessert: Nut Pie with Ice- Cream – Rs.850 and Cinnamon-Honey Crème Brulee – Rs. 600

As interesting as the name sounds, the nut pie was really not all that of a delight. Sadly, the top bit of the pie was too soggy and felt lumpy when consumed. The ice cream kinda made up for it, but the pie would have tasted so much better if only it were a little bit crunchier. The crust and the base was biscuit-y and super crispy but the only downfall was with the pie.

I wouldn’t personally recommend the Cinnamon-Honey Crème Brulee to anyone unless I know that they live on the taste of cinnamon. The crème Brulee was too too soft and tasted almost like a pana cota and the cinnamon was really too strong.  At least the few diced processed fruit cubes were a save.

Have you tried Sooriya Village yet? Let us know what you think of it in the comments below! Is there anything we’ve missed?

Tip: Make a reservation and take your lady on a date – outdoor dining for sure!