C2C, AKA Chennai Grandma’s Kitchen is a new addition to Colombo’s throng of Indian restaurants.
Ambience
Found in a little corner on Station Road, C2C, with a giant board, outdoor seating and black and white theme, it’s practically impossible to miss.
The ambience here is pretty straight forward. White table tops, black chairs, air conditioning, a TV and not much else, it felt like we’d stepped into the Bad Romance music video. Which was strangely nice, to be honest. Clean and comfortable, we had nothing to complain about.
Food
The food menu at C2C, like most other Indian restaurants, is pretty big and slightly confusing. But, fear not, the servers were really helpful in giving you pointers on what to get. Thus, with a mix of us not knowing what to do and the servers pushing certain dishes towards us, we wound up with the Chennai Mutton Biriyani (Rs. 1,250) and the Malabar Chicken Curry (Rs. 790) with plain rice (Rs. 300).
Let me start with the Mutton Biriyani. While the rice was cooked to perfection and we could clearly see the bits of spice and herb here and there, its seasoning was a bit toned down. Meaning, it tasted blander than the usual biriyani we’re used to. Furthermore, it gave a slight stewish vibes. We’re not entirely sure why.
However, the mutton aspect of things was quite appreciatable. There were around 3/4 pieces of meat with plenty of fatty bits to make any fat lady sing. Fall off the bone soft and going hand in hand with the flavours of the biriyani, it was good.
The sides comprised of particularly oniony raita, a beautifully thick brinjal curry, a super sweet mango chutney and a cute little clay pot filled with rasam.
The Malabar Chicken turned out to be a giant bowl of extremely curried up chicken. Yes, there was quite a bit of chicken to go around, but, I, personally thought that it could use some more seasoning. Nonetheless, my lunch partner seemed to enjoy it. So, maybe it’s an “”acquired taste”” kind of dish.
However, combined with a bit of crunch from the raita and a little brinjal on the side, it could take a turn for the best with a helping of steamed rice.
We got a complimentary Chicken 65 which turned out to be pretty great. Spicy and deliciously crispy, it was good as it can get.
Drinks
Their drinks menu is pretty limited. But, they do have a vary of things including milkshakes, juices and tea. We got the Masala Tea (Rs. 175) and a Pineapple Juice (Rs. 325).
This is the Masala Tea. The spices were lost amidst all the cream they’ve added to it, which kind of killed masala flavour that we were looking for. Making the tea a little light would have made it better.
Served in a fancifully tall glass, the Pineapple juice was icy cold, rather sugary state of pineapple juice. Personally, I don’t prefer sugar in my fruit juice, which is probably why I wasn’t necessarily blown away by it. But, if you’ve got a particularly sweet tooth, we’d recommend going with this.
Dessert
As for dessert, we ordered up the Kulfi Ice Cream (Rs. 250). Sweet, nutty and deliciously creamy, this was a winner for us. We’d definitely recommend it. But, we do think that we should warn you that if it comes frozen to the point of being a rock. The staff is more than willing to soften it up.
Service
In terms of service, they were superb. From being super nice from start to finish. to helping us choose what to get and even checking up on us when it was all over.
Plus, they managed to bring our food within 5 minutes of ordering. We later found out that they don’t make their biriyani and such at the venue itself.
Conclusion
In conclusion, C2C is all right – a bit of the pricier side, for sure. But, they did have some nice Indian fare that you could go with.
