Culinary Craft by Villa Raha

A perfect spot for a brunch date!

Villa Raha is a cute little villa in central Colombo that’s been around for a while. They used to outsource their dining to Superfood Café but have now started their own venture with Culinary Craft. With an extremely curated yet affordable menu and many exciting options to choose from, Culinary Craft is the perfect place to enjoy a slow breakfast or brunch and truly unwind with super adorable interiors.

Drinks

With drinks ranging from juices to coffees to ice pops, we were honestly spoilt for choice in this section. We were welcomed with a jar of Cucumber and Rosemary Detox Water but after that, here’s us trying out a little bit of each section.

Slow Pressed Juice – Pineapple Apple – LKR 590

A great way to get those vitamins in after a heavy night out, their slow pressed juices are top quality. Served in a little jar that holds an ample amount of juice, the Pineapple Apple was sweet, tangy and very refreshing. Also, do we even have to mention that we’re in love with the metal straws?

Narang Fruit Crush – LKR 450

This drink was basically a slow-melting narang popsicle served in a glass (or small bowl for that matter, the portion was pretty big). It was definitely worth price tag for a brunch spot and had that zesty, sour punch to it that took us back to our childhood. We loved how nostalgic local ingredients were incorporated into more sophisticated dishes.

Belgian Hot Chocolate – LKR 550

Enter the pièce de résistance of the drinks menu at Culinary Craft. We can write books about how rich, thick and flavourful this Belgian Hot Chocolate was. Not only was it delicious, it was presented in an adorable Alice-in-Wonderland-type teacup and the portion was just right to fill both our tummies and our hearts. Perfect for a rainy day or even to just end a delicious meal, this one was a real steal for LKR 550.

Mains

The mains section at Culinary Craft was a large array of dishes from the classic English Breakfast to an interesting take on waffles to more lunch-heavy options. Even the staff found it difficult to narrow down any bestsellers because each dish had something special about it.

Sea Bass Avo Salsa – LKR 1200

The Sea Bass was an absolute star. A dish consisting of jasmine rice, pan-grilled fish, passion fruit chilli sauce and avocado salsa, this was served in a pretty hefty portion. The rice was fragrant, flavourful and light on the palette and the fish was grilled to perfection. Though the fish was charred and well-done on the outside, the inside was moist, flaky and packed with flavour. The passion fruit chilli sauce was another element that was very well executed. It was creamy, tangy and pulled the whole dish together alongside the tangy tomatoes from the avocado salsa. The fish and the sauce both had very strong flavours and the fragrant rice helps balance out the dish and make it a truly wholesome experience.

Prawn Garden – LKR 1290

The Prawn Garden was a dish consisting of buttered rice, grilled vegetables and three massive jumbo prawns topped with a drizzling of garlic butter sauce. This dish too was bursting with flavour and the many different textures made for a delectable meal. There were grilled beans, carrot, bell peppers and butternut squash and paired with the skillet prawns, it was heaven!

Wasabi Waffle Benedict – LKR 1090

Now, this dish was the most interesting find on the menu. I use the word “interesting” for lack of a better word because it was definitely a journey of sorts with many different elements coming in to play. The dish consisted of two green wasabi waffles topped with wasabi paste, abalone mushroom, chicken bacon and poached eggs topped with a yuzu hollandaise sauce. Wasabi on waffles is a very different kind of experience than any we’ve had before and though delicious, is definitely an acquired taste. If you like Japanese food and like breakfast, this may be a good choice, but we would still put a warning label on it so order it only if you’re feeling super experimental. On another note, the poached eggs were perfectly runny in the middle, the hollandaise sauce was delicious and though it looked small, the portion, again, was pretty hefty.

Matcha Berry Smoothie Bowl – LKR 1090

A delicious layering of blueberry, strawberry, raspberry, blackberry, banana, coconut, granola, almonds, chia and matcha, this dish was massive. With a sour hint from the fresh fruit and plenty of creamy goodness from the smoothie, this dish was delicious but didn’t stand out too much from other smoothie bowls we’ve tried. A good yet ordinary dish.

French Toast – LKR 1090

This dish was a real winner! Consisting of brioche, chocolate ganache and coconut cream, garnished with granola, salted caramel and strawberries, it was an incredible burst of flavour from the first bite. The brioche was soft, just done and flavourful with the other elements combining to kick it up a notch (or a few extra notches, actually). Perfect to indulge in on a rainy day alongside a Belgian Hot Chocolate but be warned, we take no responsibility for the food coma that will follow.

Culinary Craft has seating in their roofed front yard that boasts cute swings, foliage and a light breeze but their basement seating is just something else. The décor and ambience bring about a very exclusive, private feel to it and we absolutely fell in love with the look of the place. Their service is friendly and fast and the owner has a thorough understanding of the menu so ask for him if you have any questions. The price tag may not be the cheapest but for the portions and quality of ingredients you receive; the dishes are an absolute steal. Super playlist too and we would go here for every Sunday brunch if we could!

Tip – They have a lobster on some days at a very affordable tag of LKR 2600 but if that’s not available, try the Sea Bass!