Digging into tapas for lunch at Curve! 

Curve does their menu justice. From their tapas to their wide range of beverages, you can be assured that flavours will be on point and something that’ll ultimately leave your taste buds wanting more, or making a mental note of what you’d want to order on your next visit there. They’ve introduced an Executive Lunch Platter recently, priced at Rs.999nett, and it’s a great deal for lunch – if you’re tired of mundane rice and curry!

You get to pick from a range of vegetarian starters which comprise of a crispy hash brown topped with mushroom and thyme cream, baked aubergine parmigiana, a grilled vegetable wrap with hummus or bruschetta with grilled tofu and tomato chutney. The hash brown is crispy and although slightly bland, it pairs excellently with the mushroom and thyme cream, and is overall a nice starter with its mix of varying textures. The bruschetta with grilled tofu and tomato chutney was fantastic! A great combination of flavours especially the sweet and spicy from the tomato chutney, and salty from the chopped pickled gherkins. Light and delicious.

The open sandwiches on offer feature a spicy masala prawn with coriander, the crab salad with pickled cucumber, the smoked salmon with capers, onion and lime, the curd marinated grilled chicken and the fried chicken strips with guacamole. Commendable options include the spicy masala prawn open sandwich with coriander and the smoked salmon with capers, onion and lime. The prawns have been tossed around in a creamy masala sauce and coriander making for great flavours, with the coriander not coming off too strong – just right, and served on two small slices of bread. If like me, you love smoked salmon, you wouldn’t regret this sandwich. The sandwich is topped with a hefty serving of smoked salmon with capers and drizzled with lime. The sourness of the lime hits you at first, but the fresh smoked salmon goes great with it.

Pasta is the main on this platter, and the options include eggplant mozzarella with tomato sauce, prawn with pesto and mushroom cream sauce, crab with tomato cream sauce, chicken with garlic, tomato, parsley and chillie and seafood with spicy sauce. Having tried the chicken with garlic, tomato, parsley and chillie and the prawn with pesto and mushroom cream sauce options, I found the former quite spicy with a nice balance of flavours, and the latter quite tasty and rather comforting.

For dessert, you can choose from the brownie fudge skewer with salted caramel sauce, nougat parfait with berry sauce, lemon curd tart with a dollop of strawberry coulis, and tropical fruit with light syrup. The brownie fudge skewer comes with three fudgey cubes pierced through a plastic skewer and generously drizzled with a salted caramel sauce – rich, and comforting. If you appreciate tart flavours such as lemon or lime, then you’d enjoy the lemon curd tart, which is a lighter option for dessert, quite refreshing and a perfect way to end your meal.

The starter, open sandwich and pasta are served together as a platter, and you can order a fresh fruit juice or iced tea to accompany your meal. For Rs.999nett, the Tapas Lunch Platter is great value for money, and a super option whether it’s for a casual business lunch or hanging out with friends or family. It’s available Monday through Friday from 12pm-3pm.

Curve is located next to Park Street Mews (50/1, Park Street, Colombo 02), and can be contacted on (011) 2300183. Visit www.curvebarcolombo.com for promotions and other events.

Text and photographs by Sarah Kellapatha