Glassé is Colombo’s newest lounge and offers what foodies would describe as slightly unconventional Japanese cuisine.  The lounge and bar doubles as a restaurant and customers can feast on a variety of soups, starters, sashimi, sushi (temaki, maki and nigiri) and other mains.

The menu, created by Chef Chamila Perera, has select dishes, which have been influenced by the fare at Nobu, a worldwide chain of restaurants specializing in fusion Japanese cuisine. Incidentally, Chef Chamila has worked at the Nobu restaurant in Dubai for several years, thus owing to his specialty in Japanese fare.

“The sushi served at Glassé isn’t what you would call authentic, but rather new-age Japanese cuisine. It is created using ingredients of a high quality and the prices are rather reasonable too,” explained Dmitri Jayasuriya, Founder/Managing Director of Cantaloupe and Co.

 

Starters

The starters range from seafood, beef and vegetarian dishes. The Geso Karaage is fried crispy squid and makes for an interesting appetizer.

Other dishes include Prawn Tempura, Cucumber Wakame Salad (seaweed and cucumber with tosazu sauce), Kaisen Salad (a Japanese seafood salad packed with bold, tangy flavours), and Spicy Cashew Nuts.

 

 

Sushi and sashimi

Starting with the sushi maki, I was amazed at the textures and flavours of each roll. The Cheese Maki is an explosion of delicate flavours as it is created with simple ingredients such as avocado, mango and cream cheese. The Dynamite Roll with spicy tuna and spring onions is delicious as is the Beef Roll marinated in teriyaki sauce.

 

 

But my favourite has to be the Dragon Roll. The flavour is almost addictive and the roll is surprisingly pleasant on my taste buds. Created with tempura prawn, avocado, cucumber and a spicy mayonnaise, the flavour of each ingredient blends well. According to Jayasuriya, it is a favourite among regular customers at Glassé.

For vegetarians, there is a Mushroom Maki with Sautéed Mushrooms and Spicy Miso. The Cheese Maki is another vegetarian option. Other maki options are the Rambo Maki (cucumber, avocado and tuna) and the Puthu Maki (tuna, takuan, cucumber, avocado and mushroom).

Sashimi is available in 4 variants - tuna, white fish, ika and salmon. The sushi temaki comprises of two variants, which are the California Temaki (with crab, tohiko, cucumber and avocado) and Prawn Temaki (prawn, cucumber and avocado). There are four types of sushi nigiri, which are tuna, prawn, salmon and squid.

 

 

 

Mains

The mains range from chicken, beef and seafood. A notable dish on the menu is the Deep Fried Prawns with Wasabi Mayonnaise. The prawns were crispy on the outside and very soft when bitten into, while the wasabi mayonnaise does little more than startle your tongue.

The Grilled Chicken Teriyaki was packed with an intense, smoky flavour, as was the Grilled Salmon Teriyaki - firm hunks of fish in a delicious teriyaki sauce.

The Teppanyaki Prawns in Lemon Sauce, Grilled Beef Teriyaki and Wasabi Pepper Sauce, Mixed Grill and Crispy Breaded Katsu Ju and Vegetable Egg Rice are other recommended dishes listed in the mains section.

 

 

Soups and sides  

Miso Soup and Seafood Udon Noodle Soup with Egg and Spring Onions are the two types of soup on the menu. Customers can order steamed rice as a side dish, in addition to Japanese Mixed Fried Rice with Beef, Prawns and Chicken and a Japanese Garlic Fried Rice. 

 

Currently, there is a sushi and beverage promotion on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. Glassé has interesting entertainment plans in store in addition to introducing Japanese inspired salads to the menu.

Delivery will be available soon for Colombo city limits. For more information and regular updates, check Glassé out on Facebook. They are open from 6.30PM-1AM from Wednesday to Saturday and 6.30PM-11.30PM from Sunday to Tuesday. Glassé is located on the fourth floor at No.42, Sir Macan Markar Mawatha, Colombo 03.

 

 

Vegetarian Options	Yes
Value for Money	*****
Health Conscious	****
Ambience	*****

 

 

 

 

By Sarah Kellapatha