VU Resto Bar – Reviewed

by Anuki Premachandra

A rendezvous at The VU?  

The Best Western Hotel in Colombo has actually been around for some time but is usually underestimated because they function in the form of a motel. This means that the rates are lower and we assume that the quality of the place is too. This assumption was shattered when we decided to try out their new and re-done, VU rooftop restaurant and bar. If you didn’t know, Best Western is actually a US chain of affordable hotels and the Best Western Elyon Colombo lives up to its standards.

The name we were told, if from the word ‘déjà vu’ and we feel like the new facelift to the place makes it one worth coming to. They market VU as a retro-fusion bar, but there wasn’t anything out-of-the-box-retro about the place but their drinks to me, were a pinch of retro and a fusion on Sri Lankan favs with a renewed western take.  

Ambience

The Best Western has actually been around for quite some time, and so has their rooftop bar. VU however, was opened not so long ago with and renewed facelift to the place. The place is absolutely recommend-worthy, and the waiters are super nice and cordial as well. They’ve also got a cool reward program, where if you buy a certain cocktail (Celebration, if I’m not mistaken – best to check and find out) and if you can identify the alcohol in it, you get to enjoy the drink for free! Time to take an alcohol trivia and out your senses into test!

Food and Drinks

Their menu has sommelier and tipsy bartender recommends per food choices! First time I’ve seen it here. So.bloody.cool!

Drinks: Tuk Tuk – Rs.600, Meemassa – Rs. 400 and Raa – Rs.750

The drinks here were pretty interesting. They’ve got beer cocktails too and it was quite the hit. They’ve got 18 arrack cocktails a quite a bunch were Serendib-inspired.

You can even make your own cocktail! How cool is that! Make sure to ask the waiters so that they can assist you satisfy the alcoholic in you. Yeah, New Year’s resolutions down the drain.

Tuk tuk is a concoction of arrack, Cointreau, mango juice, mandarin juice and basil. I think it was because of all the juices that the drink tasted more cordial than it did alcohol. Kind of tasted like the Sunquick your aunt would force down your throat every time you went over to her place.

Our next try-out was the Meemassa made with arrack, lime juice and bee’s honey. This was by far our favorite out of the first round of drinks we had. The bee’s honey really added a good kick and when paired with arrack was quite the deal. Kinda reminds me of the song meewadayake jeewathe (lol) but when you think about it, that’s the sort of vibe this drink aims to live upto.

As someone who hasn’t tasted raa before, I wasn’t impressed with this either. It’s a mix of arrack, fresh coconut water and citrus mix. It just tasted like stale coconut water (maybe it’s supposed to taste that way) but, we weren’t really happy with it. I think you wouldn’t love it if you’re a Sri Lankan but if you’re not a local, I think that is actually something you’ll enjoy. 

Appetizers: Nachos – Rs. 950 and Hot Butter Cuttlefish – Rs. 725

Their nachos were actually pretty good. We took the sharing portion for Rs.1100. It was a massive portion of nachos beautifully drizzled with cheese and topped with slobs of guacamole and tomato salsa, with a bolognese dip in the middle. Kind of sounds like nacho heaven, and it was. The nachos we felt could have been better, as the texture felt a little store-bought but it was crispy and the cheese, the meat dip and the other accompaniments made up for the sloppy nachos.

You can either have cuttlefish, broccoli or cauliflower hot buttered and we went with the Lankan fave, Hot Butter Cuttlefish. Sadly, this dish wasn’t as good as we expected or hoped it would be. The meat was too hard because it was a tad over-fried and the oil seemed to have sogged the crisp on the outside. In turn, it made the calamari difficult to chew.

Mains: Jumbo Prawns – Rs.1950, Jumbo Rib Lovers – Rs.2500 and Big Steak Cordon Bleu – Rs.1900

The Jumbo Prawns were marinated and grilled, served with jeera rice, a small salad and a Thai green butter dip. The rice, sadly was overcooked so it ended up being too hard and dry. The prawns stole the show (like they were supposed to). There were 4 massive jumbo prawns, centered on a little mountain of rice. They had their skin on which was super crispy and sharp. Eating it was a little hassle because you had to take the skin off, but on the inside was some yummy lemon infused meat waiting to be devoured.

We paid Rs.2500 for our ribs because we opted for the sharing size. They were amazing! The best out of the three. The ribs were enriched with sticky marmalade and some great potato wedges accompanied the meat. We chose this dish upon the recommendations by the waiters and staff at VU and were delighted we did. The meat was juicy to the bone and was at well done.

The Big Steak Cordon Bleu didn’t really hit a homerun but it was quite a good take on a traditional cordon bleu. It was gooey cheese filled beef steak wrapped in bacon, served with buttered peas and wedges. The steak was a little too hard so it wasn’t as convenient as when you would eat a chicken cordon bleu.

Dessert: Velvet – Rs.725

A VU masterpiece. This is a khalua infused coffee pudding served with flamed coffee custard sauce. The dish itself is an experience. An absolute show stopper (literally and figuratively)! We were pleasantly surprised when the waiter walked over to our table and literally set a spoonful of coffee custard on fire and dropped in so lavishly on the coffee pudding. I would buy this dessert just to watch the performance.

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

Tip: They’ve got 2 happy hours! ☺