Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka)

Arcadia

a Secret Garden Awaits You!

- text Devini Wettimuny

Ambience

Arcadia is a restaurant situated in Marine Drive, completely veiling what it actually is from outside. When you enter through the front door from the busy streets of Colpetty, you won’t even for a second think that what’s on the other end is a magical garden. I felt like Mary who finally opened the gate to the Secret Garden. The café can accommodat­e up to 45 people and has both indoor and outdoor seating. They have takeaway options available and they will be initiating delivery options in about a week’s time.

Drinks Chai Latte

The Chai Latte (Rs. 460) comes in a big cup and will last you throughout the evening. The only concern we had was they could have increased the amount of spices and their concentrat­ion more. I was only getting a hit of cardamom and I do love a chai latte that is packed with flavour and pungency.

Raspberry Virgin Mojito

The Raspberry Virgin Mojito (Rs. 440) was quite refreshing and the taste of raspberry, lime and mint were nicely harmonised. No matter what the mojito is, it’s always the mint and lime that should be the star, and this was exactly that.

Food Starter

Shellfish Stuffed Tortillas

Shellfish Stuffed Tortillas (Rs. 890) come with tortillas stuffed with bell pepper and melted mozzarella cheese and you have the choice of picking either shredded crab meat or fire grilled shrimp. It was moist and juicy and loaded with veggies and crab meat and the tortilla was so soft too. So good! Indian Ocean Shrimp Cocktail

Indian Ocean Shrimp Cocktail (Rs. 940) has scrumptiou­s wild shrimp served on a bed of lettuce, topped with cherry tomatoes and dressed in their house cocktail sauce with lime wedges on the side. This is definitely a refreshing delight to indulge in. They had kept the flavours of the ocean intact by not cooking it that much, and with the dressing, it was pretty darn good!

Salad

Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad with Herbed Croutons

The Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad with Herbed Croutons (Rs. 790) consists of tender grilled chicken, crisp iceberg lettuce and herbed croutons flavoured with parmesan cheese and tossed with a traditiona­l Caesar dressing of anchovies, roasted garlic and lemon. It’s really hard to find good Caesar Salad these days and this was spot on!

Soup

Fire Roasted Tomato and Basil Soup Fire Roasted Tomato and Basil Soup (Rs. 440) is made with juicy ripe tomatoes, sweet basil and caramelize­d onions, which is blended with fresh cream and optional white wine and this is served with either herb butter or garlic croutons. This is a soup that will you up just the right amount and make you hungry at the same time.

Mains

Honey Roasted Chicken with Sage and Walnuts

Honey Roasted Chicken with Sage and Walnuts

(Rs. 1190) come with a roasted chicken that’s glazed with sweet honey and dressed by sage and walnuts with vegetables that is reduced with wine on a bed of mashed potatoes. This was an elevated dish of the chicken, veggies and mashed potatoes we have on the regular. The chicken was spicy and sweet at the same time and what we loved the most were the veggies, because it was reduced with a wine and that was orgasmic. Spaghetti Carbonara

Spaghetti Carbonara (Rs. 740) comes with spaghetti cooked with egg, bacon, pancetta and cheese. This is probably the best carbonara I’ve ever had. It was creamy and cheesy and the seasoning was spot on, and with the bacon, it tasted heavenly.

Dessert

Vanilla Raspberry Cheesecake

Vanilla Raspberry Cheesecake (Rs. 600) was baked to perfection. From the crust to the cream cheese to the raspberry topping, everything was perfect. You can fill up on just this!

 ??  ??
 ?? PHOTOS DAMITH WICKRAMASI­NGHE ?? Honey Roasted Chicken with Sage and Walnuts Rs / 460 =
PHOTOS DAMITH WICKRAMASI­NGHE Honey Roasted Chicken with Sage and Walnuts Rs / 460 =
 ??  ?? Vanilla raspberry cheesecake Indian ocean shrimp cocktail Rs / 600 =
Vanilla raspberry cheesecake Indian ocean shrimp cocktail Rs / 600 =
 ??  ?? Chai latte
Chai latte
 ??  ?? Carbonara Rs / 440 = Rs / 740 =
Carbonara Rs / 440 = Rs / 740 =
 ??  ?? Fire roasted tomato basil soup Raspberry mojito Rs / 440 =
Fire roasted tomato basil soup Raspberry mojito Rs / 440 =
 ??  ?? Shellfish Stuffed Tortillas Rs / 890 =
Shellfish Stuffed Tortillas Rs / 890 =
 ??  ??

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