During our two night stay in Colombo, we stayed at the boutique Uga Residence and found the nearby Park Street Mews: a pedestrianised cobbled mews of old warehouses, now converted into upmarket international restaurants and bars.
Having enjoyed a chilled beer and lime soda during the heat of the day at Café Francais, we returned later for pre-dinner G&Ts. Unfortunately Curve, the tapas bar opposite, was pumping out thump-thump beats and so we didn’t linger or return. On our second night we enjoyed happy hour cocktails (5pm to 7pm) at Monsoon bar which was much quieter.
When it was time to eat, we discounted a busy middle eastern place and instead opted for PST or Park Street Trattoria, an Italian with tables in the street. However, we decided to eat inside and as there were only high stools and tables on the ground floor, we chose a table on the mezzanine. We ordered gnocchi with gorgonzola and a simple Cesar salad with additional bacon and shared both. The salad was huge and although the gnocchi wasn’t the largest of portions, the cheese was very rich. We also had a complimentary basket of bread served with oil and balsamic vinegar. ‘Jug water’ was provided and we had a bottle of Pinot Grigio for 4,800 Rupees (£17.60). Although there was only one other table occupied, the service from the two guys was excellent in that they were attentive and friendly.
In fact we enjoyed it so much, we returned on our second night, our last in Sri Lanka, and opted for the chef’s platter: a board with three types of thinly sliced meat, chunks of parmesan, pickled cauliflower, gherkins, olives and triangles of a pizza bread. It was light and tasty and just right as we had a very early morning start.
As well as the restaurants, The Stables is an events space which can be hired out for parties etc. During our stay, there was a free exhibition about the work of the renowned Sri Lankan architect Geoffrey Bawa which we found interesting as we had just stayed at the Heritance Kandalama, which he had designed.
Even if you’re not staying nearby, I’d highly recommend Park Street Mews for an evening out.
