Photos: Krishan Kariyawasam
Pages and Coffee is a cosy new spot that has come up on the famous Stratford Avenue in Kirulapone, and three months in, the place appears to be appearing on many café goers’ top picks – to no surprise, considering how the venue feels almost reclusive despite being on a busy and easily accessible street.
Speaking to Amanda Seneviratne, who is one of the owners together with her partner, she provided that the inspiration for the very specific feel Pages and Coffee emanates comes from the time the duo fell in love with Martin Wickramasinghe’s house – essentially a reader’s paradise – and we kid you not, the place does feel very much like his house.
With an impressive collection of books available, the place also functions as a kind of a library where you can borrow any book that takes your fancy for a fully refundable deposit of Rs. 500.
The place is simply perfect for a calm and quiet evening, either spent reading or being productive and getting some work done.
There are no traditional café indicators with the exception of the very warm and hospitable reception/cash register area, and according to Amanda, that’s what they were going for – to provide a place for people to think and be with themselves whilst also having access to great food and coffee.
Before we get into what we tried, we must give a special mention to their lovely barista Mithila Perera and their chef Thanuja Prasad, both of whom were absolutely amazing and provided a fantastic service.
Here’s what we tried:
Cappuccino – Rs. 450
Since the place is called Pages and Coffee, we assumed it would be outright disrespectful if we didn’t at least try one of their coffee options, and we can comfortably say it was a smooth cup of coffee, no complaints here.
Creamy chicken toast – Rs. 520
One of their starter’s available, the dish comprises mushroom and bell pepper tossed with creamy chicken paste, layered on roast paan.
This one was absolutely delicious, creamy, and warm. It was bursting with flavour and had the most pleasant texture due to the crunchy topping of bell paper and the roast paan.
We loved it so much that we took some home.
Thai stir-fried chicken served with steamed rice– Rs. 550
This one is best had hot. The sweet and tangy taste of the stir-fry is very well balanced.
However, we came back to it after getting distracted by some of the many books surrounding us, and the dish wasn’t as great cold; but that’s really on us for leaving it out.
Jaffna prawn curry with roast paan – Rs. 690
This dish comprises curry flavour infused prawns, cooked in creamy coconut milk, simmered with tamarind, and served with roast paan and crunchy onion sambal. This one was pretty much perfect.
The epitome of comfort food, roast paan with any gravy is a winner, and here we have the most delicious curry prawn balanced really well with the onion sambal which adds a strong citrus kick.
No. 78A, Stratford Avenue, Colombo
m.me/pagesandcoffee.LK
Call 077 430 8502
Pages and Coffee is a cosy new spot that has come up on the famous Stratford Avenue in Kirulapone, and three months in, the place appears to be appearing on many café goers’ top picks – to no surprise, considering how the venue feels almost reclusive despite being on a busy and easily accessible street.
Speaking to Amanda Seneviratne, who is one of the owners together with her partner, she provided that the inspiration for the very specific feel Pages and Coffee emanates comes from the time the duo fell in love with Martin Wickramasinghe’s house – essentially a reader’s paradise – and we kid you not, the place does feel very much like his house.
With an impressive collection of books available, the place also functions as a kind of a library where you can borrow any book that takes your fancy for a fully refundable deposit of Rs. 500.
The place is simply perfect for a calm and quiet evening, either spent reading or being productive and getting some work done.
There are no traditional café indicators with the exception of the very warm and hospitable reception/cash register area, and according to Amanda, that’s what they were going for – to provide a place for people to think and be with themselves whilst also having access to great food and coffee.
Before we get into what we tried, we must give a special mention to their lovely barista Mithila Perera and their chef Thanuja Prasad, both of whom were absolutely amazing and provided a fantastic service.
Here’s what we tried:
Cappuccino – Rs. 450
Since the place is called Pages and Coffee, we assumed it would be outright disrespectful if we didn’t at least try one of their coffee options, and we can comfortably say it was a smooth cup of coffee, no complaints here.
Creamy chicken toast – Rs. 520
One of their starter’s available, the dish comprises mushroom and bell pepper tossed with creamy chicken paste, layered on roast paan.
This one was absolutely delicious, creamy, and warm. It was bursting with flavour and had the most pleasant texture due to the crunchy topping of bell paper and the roast paan.
We loved it so much that we took some home.
Thai stir-fried chicken served with steamed rice– Rs. 550
This one is best had hot. The sweet and tangy taste of the stir-fry is very well balanced.
However, we came back to it after getting distracted by some of the many books surrounding us, and the dish wasn’t as great cold; but that’s really on us for leaving it out.
Jaffna prawn curry with roast paan – Rs. 690
This dish comprises curry flavour infused prawns, cooked in creamy coconut milk, simmered with tamarind, and served with roast paan and crunchy onion sambal. This one was pretty much perfect.
The epitome of comfort food, roast paan with any gravy is a winner, and here we have the most delicious curry prawn balanced really well with the onion sambal which adds a strong citrus kick.
No. 78A, Stratford Avenue, Colombo
m.me/pagesandcoffee.LK
Call 077 430 8502