Joining the ever increasing number of cafés sprouting around Colombo is E Café, situated opposite Police Park in Colombo 5. It's a little easy to miss and you will most probably end up driving past it. Adjoining the cafe is their parking. 

For a café that looks very minimalistic and unassuming on the outside, the interior is thankfully a welcome contrast. The café is not only very spacious with the seating comfortably spread out, but it is also very colourful and welcoming. A mix of plain gray and colourful patchwork chairs, as well as booths make for comfortable seating across two floors. There are also a few relatively private areas inclusive of a dedicated smoking room through which you can also access a balcony which is quite spacious and has considerable seating space. Both floors had a bookshelf each that included a few novels to pick from. Without a doubt, E Café is a tastefully decorated space you could spend hours in. 

They have a decent selection of coffees, cakes and bread, although their savoury items are limited. And by limited we mean that there were literally two burger options and an Egg and Tuna Sandwich. So if you're vegetarian, you'd have no savoury items to pick from. When asked if this was all they were planning on offering in terms of savoury fare, we were told that they were hoping to make some additions to that list in the near future. Here's hoping they will also add vegetarian options to this. 

We started off with the Iced Hazelnut Latte (Rs. 530) which came in a huge glass. We loved how perfectly sweet it was, with the hazelnut flavour seeping through. 

Of the two burger options we tasted the Prawn Burger (the other option was the Teriyaki Chicken Burger), which at Rs. 980 was on the pricier side. But hold your guns - we’re gonna go out on a limb and say it was worth the price! The shrimp burger was accompanied by salad and potatoes. The prawn patty and the bun were both handmade (both the patty and the bun falling apart while we were eating them was a dead giveaway. Also, we asked, for good measure). The patty was made of sizeable pieces of cut up prawns, ensuring you tasted the texture of the prawn with every bite. The bun too was perfectly fresh and toasted. The salad was crunchy and colourful, and along with the potatoes, were all very well flavoured. Especially considering the fact they they didn't skimp on the prawns for the patty (which sadly a lot of places tend to do with prawns) and the portions were sizeable and the presentation was great. 

Finally, we tried their handmade Oreo Cake (Rs. 400) which was also another win. We loved that it was not overwhelmingly sweet. To top it all off, the cake was wonderfully moist and light with delectable creamy frosting. 

E Café has got great food and ambience; whether you're hanging out with friends or want a quiet space to work. They have WiFi and plug points where there's seating, AND they're open from 6am -12am everyday. 

Ambience : 4.5/5 
Food : 4.5/5 
Value for money : 4/5 

By Rihaab Mowlana 
Photographs by Kushan Pathiraja