Java Lounge’s claim of being the largest local coffee house chain is reflected with their outlets popping up left and right. One of the newest addition to their roster is the Nawala branch.
Food & Drinks
Their menu more or less consistent across the board, sporting a range of items including a selection of coffee that you can have in different forms – hot, iced, and ice blended. To pair with your beverage, they offer all-day breakfasts, waffles, burgers and Italian dishes like pasta.
Our meal here was comprised of a Crispy Chicken Wrap (Rs. 690), American Breakfast (Rs. 990), Cafe Latte (Rs. 530 for tall) and an Espresso Cream Frap (Rs. 530 for tall).
The Crispy Chicken Wrap was a bit of a letdown, as the chicken was shrivelled in and seemed like it was refried and not freshly made. The mayo was a bit too watery to our liking ,which is probably why it didn’t contribute any flavour and made the whole thing very dry.
There were bits of lettuce and onion trying hard to add some crunch to it while tomato provided a little tang. Vishvi, who likes their chicken wrap and gets it whenever she drops by Java Lounge, was quite disappointed – especially compared to the ones she has had in other branches.
It came with a serving of French fries and ketchup, which sort of helped alleviating a bit of sadness from the fish.
The American Breakfast came with two sausages, two eggs (sunny side up), and a hashbrown tagging along half of a cherry tomato.
It also contains two slices of lightly toasted bread, one slice of banana bread accompanied by strawberry jam and Lurpark butter.
The banana bread slice was quite good, with a tasteful balance of sweetness coming through with plenty of banana taste. The bread slices were okay too. They paired nicely with the butter and jam.
A highlight of our dish was the hash brown which had a good chunkiness, along with a savoury flavour and a hint of onions.
The eggs were all right, while the sausages are just your average store brought ones, cooked well. This whole plate was pretty basic, to be honest, especially considering the price tag.
Our Cafe Latte was filled to the brim with with a tiny latte art. The taste of coffee was almost non-existent here while the milk being dominant. We had to add sugar to get some flavour in it. The milk left some burns on our tongue but we managed to gulp it down.
The Espresso Cream Frap wasn’t impressive either. The whole thing tasted kinda flat with almost no flavour. Whatever the coffee notes it had, was like six feet underneath the thick cream. However, as the drink began to lose its cold, the coffee notes started to seep through but even then, it not much.
Service & Ambience
As expected, the normal Java lounge ambience here can be seen. It was rather pleasing to see they are more or less sticking to their guns with the calm, chill, and relaxing ambience that we are used to from their other outlets.
You have the indoor section with varying seats to fancy your sitting preference and an outdoor area where you can enjoy your meal (with a cloud of smoke, if you prefer).
We always got a familiar smile from their wait staff and got provided pleasant service. They were prompt and the food came to us without any delay.
Conclusion
While we can try to overlook their shortcomings since they are the newest outlet, we hope that they get geared up and offer more value and quality. However, because of their ambience and the service, they still remain a decent spot to grab something with a friend or just kill some time.