The Blac gets vintage setting for its modern fusion on Bagatalle Road
View(s):By Yomal Senerath-Yapa
Bagatalle Road is well-known for its colonial mansions, including the old Bagatelle House which gave the road its name. For The Blac café to open its new branch in this neighbourhood signals that they are on their way to the big league.
Their original restaurant is in Nawala and owners Kaushal Mendis and Amoda Rathnayake have taken the cue to expand to a venue that gives a vintage veneer to their brand with Amoda’s own touch as an interior designer – the black dominating but with coppery and glinting touches visible within. The photographs on the walls, shot across the globe, are Kaushal’s, while the art is by Amoda.
New location: The Blac at Bagatalle Road
This stately old house in Kollupitiya retains an impressive wooden staircase, giant pillars and a leafy garden where a great nuga tree spreads itself like a grove. The most exciting feature is the glass conservatory in the garden (seating forty) where you feel like you are in a country house.
Having built its reputation over a little more than two years, Blac brings to Bagatalle several of their signature dishes (including Jaffna curry kottu, the pineapple rice (served in a pineapple), chicken linguine and chu chee prawns) but the new café will of course get its own curated menu. Adds Kaushal, “If however a diehard Blac Nawala fan comes here and asks for a classic Nawala dish, we can still do that for them.”
With ‘modern fusion’ as their theme, it is a mélange of cuisines. Special attention is paid to desserts especially cakes, of which the Bagatalle branch has a decadent selection.
Signature dish: Pineapple rice. Pix by Indika Handuwala
Their sutra, adds Kaushal is to “keep the staff happy to keep the clients happy.
“Amoda and myself, we have never advised our team to compromise on the quality of food or service (as) our principle is to make someone happy.”
Open from seven in the morning till 11 in the evening, Blac at 32, Bagatalle Road, Colombo 3, is also available for events and content creation as well.
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