Overall rating: Good 
 

Located at the GSH, Colombo Street Foods by Punjab Grill offers a decent array of Punjabi inspired dishes of which the chaat stands out.

The restaurant is a part of Lite Bite Foods (LBF), one of the largest Food and Beverage retail companies in India. Speaking to Sharad Sacheva, CEO, LBF India we were told, 

Sanjeev Rana, Executive Chef, Tajinder Pal Singh, Business Development and Operations Manager, Lite Bite Foods Lanka (Pvt) Ltd and Sajith one of the stewards at the restaurant 

 

"Sri Lanka is an extended part of India while a lot of Indians travel to Sri Lanka. So we wanted to give Indians travelling to Sri Lanka a chance to taste Indian street food," 

adding,

"We are planning to expand in Sri Lanka shortly while we have trained chefs from India, thereby maintaining quality at all times."  

Ambience – 3.5 stars 
The atmosphere is clean, casual and quite basic. There are no frills with the focus being mainly on the food.

Taste and value for money (Chaat) – 4.5 stars 
Among the dishes we tasted, I felt it was the Chaats that stood out. The flavour punch in each dish was unique and had the perfect balance of tangy, savoury and sweet elements. 

The Samosa Choley (Rs. 225) was our pick as the flavours and textures complemented each other well. The potato stuffed whole wheat pastry topped with crunchy vegetables and sweet and tangy sauces were delightful. We also liked the Crisp Aloo Tikki (Rs 225) – the base of this dish is that of potato cakes served with mint and tamarind sauce, topped with veggies and papad bits – pretty lip-smacking.

 We were the first to try out their Golden Cheese Bullets (Rs. 950), which were essentially crumb fried cheese and mixed vegetable cutlets.

The Paani Poori (Rs 225) and the Stuffed Golgappa (Rs 225) were also noteworthy with the latter being the better of the two due to the sweet curd element and the hit that comes through with the fresh coriander. The former was just as it should be with its tamarind flavoured water.

Taste and value for money (Grilled items) – 3.5 stars

We were served the Non-Vegetarian Platter (Rs 2,200) and the Veg Platter (Rs 1,500). Each dish was served with crunchy salad and mint chutney. The latter included two pieces each of Paneer Tikka, Harabhara Kebab and Mix Veg Seekh Kebab while the former comes with two pieces each of juicy Chicken Tikka, Chicken Malai Tikka and a flaky and flavoursome Fish Tikka. 

Taste and value for money (Thali's) – 4.5 stars

There are four Thalis to choose from with the dishes being priced at Rs 600 upwards. The Non-Vegetarian Delux Thali (Rs 895) was value for money – it consists of Dhal Makhani, Butter Chicken, the Vegetable of the Day of which ours was Palak Paneer, Raita, Rice, Papad and a Choice of Bread and – it was delicious and filling. The thali also includes Kheer which is a rice pudding. 

Taste and value for money (Rice, Rotti and Mains) – 4 stars

Chicken Biriyani (Rs 895) with its aromatic Basmati Rice, juicy and flavourful chicken and refreshing raita is a decent dish. The rice in itself isn’t overly rich and oily – a definite plus. 

If rottis are what you like, you can pick from their array of breads which include Plain Rotti/Butter Rotti (Rs 150), Plain Naan/Butter Naan (Rs 195), Garlic Naan (Rs 225), Laccha Paratha (Rs 225) or Stuffed Kulcha (Rs 325) and dig in with either their Dhal Makhani (Rs 550) or Paneer Makhani (Rs 695). 

Taste and value for money (Dessert and Lassi) – 3.5 stars
The milk and rice-based Kheer (Rs 425) was the ideal light dessert to end our review, while the Sweet Lassi (Rs 275) was not overly sweet or thick. 

Parking – 4.5 stars
There is parking on the street and at the hotel although we couldn’t quite locate the latter. Street parking wasn’t entirely problematic on a Sunday afternoon. 

Toilets – 4 stars 
The toilets are clean.  

Address: 382,Galle Road, Wellawatta
Tel: 011-236-2400 
Facebook: www.facebook.com/StreetFoodsbyPunjabGrillColombo/ 

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Pics by Kanishke Ganewatte