Seed Cafe

Food for your soul and feed

Tucked away in Horton Place in a large beautiful colonial-style house, the Seed Café is one of Colombo’s hottest breakfast/brunch spots. Owned by Mahesh and Nishi who also own The Grind Coffee House, their ethos when it comes to the food they serve is to promote healthy living and to create a brand of beautiful, fresh, high-quality fare. 

Using nothing but the best and freshest local produce (and some imported speciality items) the café focuses on delicious and healthy flavours that would open even pickiest eaters to expanding their palettes. It also doesn’t hurt that this whole café and all of its food is incredibly photogenic!

The café also notably has an array of nuts, seeds and kithul for sale at the front house, and there is also a display case full of sweet treats and healthy bits and pieces, like, cheesecake, energy balls, coconut macaroons, and even Kombucha!

Drinks

The café offers a range of juices, coffees, teas, smoothies and shakes, all custom blended to offer you a variety of new and worldly flavours.

Black Magic (LKR 600)

Opting to try one of their cold-pressed juices, we went with the Black Magic, which contained activated charcoal, known for its detoxing qualities, the ingredient also dyes any of the food or drink it is added into a deep charcoal colour. The juice was very fresh and had a mild earthy flavour to it, with an underlying berry tartness. Somewhat of an acquired taste, the great thing about this juice is that it is not very sweet at all, and is perfect if you’ve had a heavy night or just looking to detox.  

Mains 

Blue Spirulina Smoothie Bowl (LKR 850)

Like something out of a magazine, with its beautiful presentation, this vibrant cerulean delight was cold, fresh and sweet (from the fruit). Blue spirulina is a super-food derived from algae that are widely known for many health benefits such as; detoxifying, aiding gut health, and being a wonderful source of protein and energy. 

Made with a variety of blended (seasonal) fruit, the smoothie was cooling and tasted like banana pudding. The bowl was topped with granola, rose petals, a variety of nuts and seeds, banana slices, raspberries and desiccated coconut. The granola was almost savoury in flavour adding a balance and texture to the fruity bowl. The smooth mouthfeel of the smoothie intermingled with the chewy coconut, soft banana and a bite from the nuts, seeds and crunchy granola, made sure each mouthful was a surprise. 

Poke Bowl (Marinated Salmon Sashimi) (LKR 1250)

Basically a rainbow in a bowl, the poke bowl was a mixture of brightly coloured fresh vegetables (carrots, cabbage, edamame, corn, and rocket), mixed with some pickled onion, ginger and cucumber, set atop a layer of garlic quinoa, and adorned with beautiful coral chunks of salmon and bright pearls of tobiko (prawn roe). Seasoned with a little bit of Japanese mayo, sesame and some soy sauce that came on the side, this dish is a textural marvel that was filling, healthy and delicious. The incredibly light and fresh flavours were summery and savoury, offering a burst of something different with every bite, and it somehow also managed to not end up tasting overly vegetal despite being mostly vegetables. 

Chilli Crab Folded Egg Croissant (LKR 1350)

The eggs were soft, creamy and very light, and folded between the soft golden curds were flavourful chunks of meaty crab, both of which were gently nestled in a buttery soft croissant. The addition of pickled onions, various microgreens and lettuce provided some much-needed freshness to cut through the richness of this breakfast sandwich, and the velvety butter chilli sauce that was drizzled on the perimeter of the plate provided a hint of sweetness and a mild heat to the whole dish.

Dessert

Tropical Island Pavlova (LKR 650)

One of the few less healthy items on the menu, this sweet treat was topped with whipped buffalo curd and macerated mango and passion fruit. The meringue was crisp and melted in your mouth and the whipped curd was cooling, creamy and tangy countering the sweetness of the meringue base, the fruit was soft and almost jammy in its consistency. Each mouthful was heavenly, and the portion is perfect if you’re feeling indulgent or fit to share to end the meal on a sweet note. 

Ambience 

The Seed Café is a spacious, bright and well-ventilated café nestled in Horton Place right by Prana Lounge. The café as a whole is open, allowing fresh air and sunlight into the establishment, it also has some seating outside and a picnic-style table in their garden. The soft pastel tones of the décor combined with the various plants decorating the tables and surroundings gave the café an almost dreamlike garden feel, which was both aesthetically pleasing and almost cooling in our bright island sun.

Service

A popular brunch spot, the café was busier than ever and full of life, and the staff was friendly, bright and attentive. Never skipping a beat the wait staff took time to talk to us about their menu and recommended some popular items for us to try, and despite having a full house our food came to our tables within 15 minutes of our order. And they were presented like they belonged on the cover of a magazine. 

Tip – The smoothie bowl was incredibly refreshing and substantial, but if you’re in the mood for something savoury the Chilli Crab Folded Egg Croissant won’t let you down!