Ambience – 4 stars
Located next door to Burger King in Etul Kotte, Chapter One is hard to miss. Especially in the evening as it is well lit up. The ambience is relaxing but the slightly uncomfortable chairs don’t make for an entirely comfortable evening.
Taste and Value for money – 3.5 stars
The food is pretty fresh but on a whole most items just missed that wow factor, in my books. The starters, which included the Prawn and Citrus Trio (Rs 450) and Salmon Duo (Rs 470) were the best part of the meal.
The former included grilled spicy marinated prawns served on an orange salsa with a sweet chilli dip as well as grapefruit and prawn skewers which went well with a lovely mint citrus vinaigrette dip while the other aspect of this dish included two prawns wrapped in thinly sliced cucumber – the prawns were accommodated with crunchy celery, fresh arugula, mandarin and a delicious red pepper mayo au jus.
The latter included delicious slices of salmon gravlax served with a sweet mustard dressing as well as a relatively average smoked Norwegian salmon tartare with avocado, green apple, celery, topped with a walnut, and melba toast.
We were served three mains which included a delicious Chicken Peshawari (Rs 700) which was by far the tastiest of the three dishes with a handsome piece of chicken and flavoursome rice which included a generous helping of fried cashew nuts and raisins. The simple raita and chutney also enhanced the dish.
We tried out the Mint Tea Sea Fruits (Rs 1,900) which was like a mini seafood platter that consisted seared yellow fin tuna, pan-fried butterfly prawns and calamari flowers a top a bed of wasabi infused chickpea and spinach mash and topped with a Moroccan mint tea cream essence. The dish was served with a crispy vegetable salad dressed in a green tea dressing and served with a melba toast.
The final dish among the mains was the Silver Modha Fusion (Rs 900). The fish had been marinated with lemongrass and chilli but this didn’t quite come through strongly. The fish was lightly breaded and baked and served with angel hair pasta. The pasta was quite tasty and was what brought the dish together.
In terms of desserts we were served Hot Chocolate Fondue (Rs 470), Trio of Ice Cream (Rs 470) and Tropical Fresh Fruits (450). The fresh fruit platter consisted mainly of Sri Lankan fruit as well as a serving of buffalo curd and kitul treacle and a few pieces of what was supposed to be lychee jelly, but it tasted more like strawberry jelly. The description on the menu also included Turkish delight but it was not on this platter.
The Hot Chocolate Fondue was essentially a warm chocolate lava cake topped with vanilla cream and served with a nougatine topped with vanilla ice cream. Among the fruit on the platter was a papaya ball which didn’t blend in well with the chocolate and vanilla dish.
The three ice creams served with Turkish delight (which were more like the local jujubes than Turkish delights as they were hard and really sugary). The ice creams – vanilla bean, butterscotch and coffee however were fabulous. They were creamy and so flavoursome.
Efficiency and Friendly staff – 3.5 stars
The staff were friendly but a bit slow with regard to orders. While there were long lags in between serving the dishes. We were told that the garnishing and presentation takes a long time and to bear with them.
Toilets – 5 stars
The toilets were spotless and contained all the necessities.
Parking – 5 stars
There is plenty of parking.
Address : 931C, Ethul Kotte Rd (off Parliament Road), Kotte
Tel : +94 11 2 053330
By Natasha Fernandopulle
Photographs by Kanishke Ganewatte
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