Tea Avenue

Tea avenue, located in Barnes Place (Col 7) has been our “chill spot” since the days we were schooling. Tea avenue having a history of over 80 years, has now opened two new outlets in Marine drive (Col 3), and in World Trade Center (Col 1).

With ample parking space and outdoor dining area (upstairs and downstairs), Tea Avenue opens at 7.00 am. Though their prices have gone up a little, this place is still a very calm and cozy place suitable for a date, family time meal or even a meeting.

My absolute favorite would be the Creamy Chicken Pasta and the Creamy Prawn Pasta which cost LKR800 and LKR850. And for all my vegetarian friends out there they serve vegetarian pasta- both cream based and tomato based (LKR750), and an additional LKR150 for extra cheese. Even though it did not look very creamy or cheesy on the outside, the more you dive into them you’ll be surprised to see your first impression change right in front of your eyes and I’m sure your taste buds will agree.

Whenever I’m in a mood for a Tea Avenue breakfast or brunch, my choice is always waffles, priced at LKR350 with a topping of your choice. My favorites are always honey (LKR150), ice-cream (LKR150) with strawberries (LKR150) or even Nutella (LKR200) with ice-cream or strawberries.

On a recent visit, we tried their newly introduced “Charcoal Waffle” both the savoury and sweet options. We had their Fried Chicken Waffle with Salad (LKR850), which turned out to be our favorite as it comes with a crispy piece of chicken and melted cheese. However, it wasn’t the same when it came to the Charcoal Waffle with Ice Cream (LKR750). The dish did look super pretty, #FoodfortheGram, but like they say “Instagram food is a Sad,Sparkly Lie”. It took us forever to cut through the waffle, 50 minutes to be specific. We kept it aside and finished up the other dishes hoping the ice cream might soften it a bit, but at this point even the ice cream seemed to be failing and it was ONE BIG MESS! That’s when we called the Manager and he explained that Charcoal Waffles are usually hard, cause of the Activated Charcoal used in the batter and that something must have gone wrong with the batter, and was willing to serve a fresh new waffle.

For drinks I always go for milkshakes as they are totally worth the price. Strawberry, Chocolate and Vanilla milkshakes priced at LKR500, and obviously the kid in me always go for the Chocolate. It’s very thick in texture and super chocolatey. I’ve tried the classic Mojito with lime and mint priced at LKR450 and its been one of my favorites ever since. We tried their recent addition, the Avocado Milkshake (LKR520) which is a healthy and super refreshing drink to keep up with the heat.

Me myself wasn’t much of a blueberry fan, but after my friend force-fed me a bite of Tea Avenue’s Blueberry Cheese Cake, I always crave for a slice whenever I’m around. Priced at LKR450 a slice, I would say it’s totally worth it, as it is thick but very delicious.

Finally, ambience and staff. Staff are very friendly, but that’s it. No proper service. When I asked for some tissues, I got just ONE tissue. And for seating, I’d recommend the ground floor as upstairs is very compact and stuffy and no proper space to even sit comfortably, and also the long couch is torn in many places. And some of the wooden tables are very sticky. I didn’t like the Creamy Chicken Pasta the very last time I visited as the pasta didn’t look or taste fresh (it wasn’t even warm). But I think it’s worth giving them another shot just because majority of the food there are pretty good.

3/5.

RAMP