Almonds Restaurant and Cafe

Almonds Restaurant and Cafe is a new multi-cuisine eatery where you can go with your friends for a classy, fine-dining experience or even just drop by to get a quick snack after a long day at work. In addition to dining-in and take-out options, they also offer catering and delivery services, so maybe check them out if you’re planning a big dinner party.

For some strange reason, this place doesn’t have a sign. The only way you can tell it’s an eatery is thanks to its transparent glass walls, through which you can see chefs in white hats and clusters of tables and chairs. The restaurant is fairly large and located along the easily accessible Galle Road, so if, by the end of this review I convince you that this place is worth checking out, look out for a large glass box along the main road, because that’s the most significant outward indication of the building.

This multi-cuisine restaurant has a wide array of options ranging from Italian and Arabic dishes to Indian, Chinese and Thai delectables.

As you walk into the spacious, welcoming expanse, you are greeted by a clean, pleasant and warm atmosphere. The lampshades were made out of old jam jars, which we found to be both creative and original. The whole place was very well illuminated, and the tables were set very classily with shining cutlery and clean napkins. As you enjoy a delicious meal with your friends and family, you can sit back, relax, and watch the cars go by outside.

Drinks

Orange Juice – Rs. 490

The drink itself was very pleasant to my taste buds. A bit of sugar was added to achieve the perfect heavenly taste that refreshed you from inside out. If you’re health-concious, I’m sure you can ask them to hold back on the sugar. This drink had the perfect water to juice ratio, making it not too watery and not too thick. There were bits and pieces of orange in the drink, which added to the whole freshness factor. It was overall quite satisfactory, but then again, you’d have to be pretty incompetent to mess up something as basic as orange juice.

Mango Juice – Rs. 490

Now this was truly a masterpiece. If the orange juice can be described as “satisfactory”, then this was absolutely sensational. Maybe I was just parched, but the mango juice was exceptionally fresh, sweet, had just the right ratio of fruit to water, and was clearly made from a top-notch mango. I’m craving it now just thinking about it! This is 100 percent a must try.

Appetisers

Cream of Mushroom Soup – Rs. 530

One word: mushroomy. The soup definitely lived up to its name; it was creamy and abundant with mushrooms. The fungal mushroom taste was evident in each and every mouthful – in a good way, as long as you’re a fan of mushrooms. They served it steaming hot, and the portion was adequate – not so much that you couldn’t eat anything else after your first course, but not so little either that it barely touched your tummy.  It wasn’t too salty or not salty enough either, which I truly appreciated, because really, the quantity of salt can make or break a dish.

Mains

Monster Vegetable Croissant Rs. 490

The croissant was absolutely gigantic, and was warm, soft and crispy. I didn’t enjoy how greasy it was though – when you lifted it off, there was practically a pool of grease on the plate. It was, however, filled with a generous helping of vegetables, complete with tomato, cucumber, bell pepper, lettuce and onions, and topped with black olives. And as if that wasn’t enough, the dish also came with a side of coleslaw, which included the basic ingredients of carrot, cabbage, lettuce and cucumber, dressed in a light touch of mayonnaise sauce. The dish also came complete with crispy french fries and a little pot of tomato ketchup. If you’re a lean vegetarian in need of some fats and oils, then I recommend this dish, but don’t be fooled into thinking that it’s healthy just because it says “vegetable”, because they failed to mention on the menu the side helping of cholesterol that comes with it.

Chicken Carbonara  Rs. 1260

The carbonara dish came with a myriad of meat options, so I played it safe, and went with chicken. The helping wasn’t too generous but it wasn’t 10 percent food and 90 percent garnish either – it was just the right amount. The al dente pasta was well cooked, but by golly, was it cheesy. It was so overwhelmingly cheesy that it made you want to take a break from eating after a few mouthfuls. There wasn’t too much chicken in the dish so that was a bit disappointing, but cheese-lovers out there will DEFINITELY enjoy this.

Steamed Rice with Spring Chicken – Rs. 1550

Out of all the dishes we tried out at Almonds, I must say that this was definitely my favourite. The warm, steamed rice was a bit dry, but the chicken was positively heavenly. It was delicious, and every mouthful was well seasoned. The gravy  poured generously over the pieces of chicken was incredibly well-seasoned too, and made you want to keep eating it, mouthful after delectable mouthful. The dish also came complete with a side of boiled veggies – carrot, cabbage, and beans. All in all, this dish was a solid 8/10.

Desserts

Dark and White Chocolate Mousse – Rs. 590

After that scrumptious meal, we decided to top it off with some dessert. The chocolate mousse came topped with a bright red cherry and looked very appetizing. The portion was rather generous too. The mousse itself was very soft, but it was sickeningly sweet. It was basically diabetes in a cup. We felt absolutely nauseous and passed it around because no one could bear to eat the whole thing on their own. The fact that we’d just had a very large meal didn’t exactly help either. Here’s hoping that the rest of their dessert options are better.

Some of their drinks and main dishes were a bit too pricey for my liking, so I wouldn’t recommend this as an everyday hub – not unless you have an endless supply of money just waiting to be spent. But it is definitely worth trying out once in a while, perhaps when you feel like you deserve to give yourself a special treat.

The cafe section had an assortment of sweet and savoury options such as cakes and pastries, which may be worth a try too.

I don’t know if it’s because the place was new, but the staff were very, VERY attentive. A gentleman whom I took to be the owner stepped in and helped us pick out our dishes himself. He was very helpful and suggested the best dishes from the menu. And to top off their great service, they even waived off the service charges, saving us a quite a significant amount. It was a very pleasant surprise and a very pleasant ending to a very pleasant dining experience. Whilst you may not be as lucky, it’s still a good indicator of their customer service, so you’re sure to be in good hands.

Tip: Try their Mango Juice and Steamed Rice with Spring Chicken – it’s the perfect combination!