Colombo, Feb 18 (@SerialEaters #Instagram) – So, we’ve been seeing loads of brunch spots popping up all over the island. Almost all of them have incredible Instagram grids, with pics of food that honestly look way too good to eat. Having said that, the Grind’s Instagram feed is on a whole other level! It is gorgeous, and so, (not even kidding) that is why I decided to check it out. The restaurant itself is so cute, not that big, with just one long table & a couple of smaller ones, there’s plenty of light streaming in during the day, & although it was full when we went by, I really liked the fact that it was nice & calm.
In case you guys all don’t know by now, I am by no means a healthy eater. I Love fries, and well (almost) anything else that’s fried so I took one look at the menu, & knew picking a dish would take me ages – cause everything sounded so healthy (not throwing shade on any of you healthy eaters! I’m just not a granola or quinoa kinda person.) The dish I finally decided on was probably the least healthy one on the menu, & seriously, one mouthful of it, & I was sold. My doubts about the place were gone & I was actually excited to try out the other stuff that we’d got. I know right!? I think I even surprised myself!
What we ordered: Berry Cream Cheese French Toast (Rs.1100), Three Cheese Mac n Cheese – Chicken (Rs.1200), Slow cooked pulled beef of toasted sourdough bread (950), Quinoa Chickpea Salad (Rs.700), Grazed pulled beef brioche sandwich (Rs.800), Wings in nai miris sauce (Rs.550), Cold Pressed Juices – Orange, Yellow, Green (Rs.500 each), Cold Milo (Rs.350), Salted Pistachio Chocolate Chip Cookie (Rs.200)
The French Toast was lovely to look at & tasted great too. The berry flavour in the filling really came through nicely, so that along with the thick slice of the buttery brioche, combined with the bananas & berry chia jam – YUMMY! It definitely wasn’t the best that I have tasted but was pretty darn delicious either way.
With cheddar, mozzarella, parmesan & slow-cooked pulled chicken, the Mac n Cheese (yes, for those of you’ll wondering, this is what I eventually settled on) was out of this world! I think everyone at the table liked it, & it was by far my most favourite dish of the day. In my opinion, if you go to Grind & not order this one, you’re really missing out!
The toasted sourdough bread with pulled beef, pumpkin puree, abalone mushrooms, caramelized red peppers & onions & basil pesto was tasty, & I loved how generous they were with the pulled beef, but I’m not sure of the portion size. You decide! The beef here was the standout – it was tender & flavourful, & we just wanted more, even though there was already so much of it! We also asked for it to be spicy & they offered to add in some nai miris, but it didn’t really make that much of a difference & we would have preferred for the dish to have been spicier.
The Quinoa Chickpea Salad with herb roasted carrots, tomato, kale, green apple & red radish, & nai miris & honey mustard sauce was nice, but definitely not what I would generally get, so since it was ordered by S, my fellow Serial Eater, I asked her to describe it. In her words, the dish was simple & filling and wasn’t the best she’s had, but the delicious dressing upped its flavour. There you go. If you’re looking for a hearty salad when at the Grind (with the option of beef or chicken) this may be the one!
The pulled beef brioche sandwich with gotukola, carrot slaw & homemade mayo was my second favourite dish of the day. The bread was more like roast paan & the beef was the same as in the earlier mentioned sourdough bread dish, but the flavour, on the whole, was excellent. A simple looking dish, done well, in my humble opinion!
The wings were pretty average, & not a dish we would remember. We were hoping that at least the blue cheese buffalo curd dip would be delicious & something that would keep us going back, but it wasn’t that memorable either.
On to the drinks! The menu here is quite limited to coffee & milo based drinks & cold pressed juices. The Ice Milo drink was well, a nicely done basic cold milo drink. Nothing to complain about with that one!
The cold pressed juices really intrigued us, so we decided to get 3 of the 5. Orange (carrot, orange, celery, raw turmeric, cucumber), let’s just say that this tasted really earthy, with the flavour of carrot coming through quite strongly. If you’re not much of a fan of vegetables, it definitely won’t be for you!
Yellow (pineapple, lemongrass, king coconut water) – this was really drinkable & I loved it – the flavours here were bold & punchy, with the pineapple & lemongrass complimenting each other really well. Green (gotukola, moringa, green apple, ginger, lime, lemongrass, celery, king coconut water) – this one just mostly tasted like gotukola. It wasn’t horrible & I would probably be able to gulp this down every morning just to stay healthy, but having this along with food, I am not so sure about!
We ended our meal with a choc chip cookie with pistachios, because well, why not!? The cookie was decent in taste & texture, but not something we’d recommend if you were looking for a dessert to indulge in.
I really liked the amount of love that went into the food prep. Everything came out looking picture perfect, & tasting good too. We did have to wait quite a long while for the food, but with the number of things we ordered & their attention to detail, I’m willing to overlook that this time. So yup, there we have it; who would have thought that I’d actually enjoy this kind of food! I’m still not a total convert, so yes, you’ll still see me raving about thick cut fries & creamy pasta, but I’m actually excited to go back & try out the other stuff the Grind has to offer!
Halal | Pretty Dishes | Instagrammable
The Grind Coffeehouse
505/1 Union Pl, Colombo 00200
-The above content is taken from @serial.eaters Instagram page and is not the original content of NewsIn.Asia
