Cafe Noir – Reviewed

A Parisian Coffee Run

The 3 story glass elevated establishment greeted us with warm smiles as we made our way into what looked like a venture, impatiently awaiting its blooming high. The comforting smell of roast coffee wafted in the air as the hostess ushered us towards an electronic order system. We were impressed with the absolute beauty of the interior as much as we were with their high end POS system. As we picked and paid for our meals upfront, I couldn’t help but notice how ‘Great Gatsby’-like the place looked. Layered with wooden flooring, eminent 90’s style of décor and intricate metal decked details, Café Noir instantly blew us away. They’ve only opened for business a few days ago and they already seem to be making the headlines!

We popped in for a first look of the place. Here’s what we thought.  

Service & Ambience

I wouldn’t do justice if I don’t give their service a thumbs up. From ordering our meals to constant checking up on us, the restaurant staff really took their job seriously. This can also be because we were on of their first few customers, but hey, they need to be commended if they’ve done a good job.

They’ve got a self-order system in play, and this is how it works. As you walk in, you are expected to order your food off of a touch screen POS and pay for it as and when you order. You can then opt for one of the three seating arrangements they have going on. The ground floor has a few café stools strategically placed around the edges, the first floor looks like a pub straight out of the 90’s and the second floor has a fairy-lit sleek interior.

Food and Drinks

They don’t have an extensive menu just yet. For a café, it seems like a narrow range to choose from. As you see, we were quite happy with our choices.

Drinks: Hot Chocolate – Rs. 540 and Kiwi Shake – Rs.480

Their Hot Chocolate is ideally your go-to on a rainy day. Filled all the way to the top of the mug, the delicate foam made its layer of territory right on top, followed by the milk. We weren’t particularly excited with the chocolaty taste of the beverage. Seeing that it was a ‘hot chocolate’, we would have honestly like more of a rich chocolate flavor to cut through the milk.

The Kiwi Shake was a tropical joy. Ideally the kind of smoothie I’d opt to sit by the beach and chill with. It was a wholesome mix of avocado and kiwi carefully mixed to create a healthy concoction. Sadly, the avocado seemed to overpower the Kiwi. We aren’t saying that we didn’t like it the way it was either, we’re only saying that more Kiwi could have created a better drink.  

Appetizers: Smoked Chicken Caesar Salad – Rs.719 and Calamari Fritti – Rs.560

Oh.My.God. Never have I had a Caesar Salad that was topped with this many thick layers of smoked chicken or have tasted this good. The Caesar Salad at Café Noir definitely tops the list of the “Best Caesar Salad runs in Colombo”. The salad leaves are crunchy fresh, as if they were plucked off a home garden minutes before they were served. The croutons were garlic crusted and had a biscuit crunchy on the outside, whilst tender and soft on the inside. The smoked chicken; don’t even get me started. The chicken tasted absolutely heavenly. It was such juicy, tender strips of perfectly smoked chicken lined effortlessly over the greens. A definite recommend!

Here’s a fact. At Café Noir, they do take the presentation of the presentation of the dishes very seriously. Although they aren’t the ‘Master Chef’ level of plating, you can clearly see that effort has been made to ensure that the dish looks professionally plated up. This wasn’t entirely the case with the calamari fritti though. The deep fried calamari rings were tossed around a bowl of tartar sauce. The rings looked soggy and over fried and by the looks of it, we started to regret the choice. Everything changed the minute we had our first bites of the fritti. They tasted incredible. Even though it looked overdone, it was not and the crisp of the outside, and the fresh tender seafood on the inside paired so well with the tartar sauce.

Mains: Beef Lasagna – Rs. 790

Their Beef Lasagna is something I would definitely go back for. The lasagna sheets, cheese, minced meat and sauce were carefully layered horizontally on a pool of sauce that had an acquired taste of marinara. The meat was finely minced and was generous in quantity. The mozzarella had been evenly distributed over the top of the serving and had tricked down onto the four sides of the chunky square serving.

Dessert: Blueberry Greek Yogurt – Rs.480 and Darker Secrets – Rs. 850

Even though I was a fan of the Blueberry Greek Yogurt, I’m not certain you would be too. Greek Yogurt, generally is not very smooth and in nature, tasteless. The blueberry jam at the bottom of the jar really made a difference when it was combined into a mouthful. Their yogurt was served in a shabby chic mini glass jar that I thought, looked adorable.

Our next choice in dessert was solely because the hostess mentioned that Darker Secrets was a cake made with Lindt Chocolate. In summary, we liked it, but we didn’t love it. And it’s hard not to love anything with Lindt in it. I think the drawback in the cake was the layers of sponge between the chocolate and the ganache. The sponge cake was a little too dense and wasn’t soft as much as we’d have liked it be.

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

Tip: Self order before you settle down at a table!