A royal setting for a Somerset Maugham story
Lovingly restored: Old world charm in a heritage haunt and (below) the antique bar counter
Part of the fun of eating out of Colombo is discovering a place full of character, even if it’s empty. The restaurant above the Royal Bar in Kandy exudesa 1930s’ Somerset Maugham charm not just through an interior decorator’s brilliance but also because it is a genuine colonial haunt lovingly restored.
On the first floor of what was once an arrack tavern, the restaurant is testimony to the striking beauty of white wicker chairs set around uncovered round wooden tables against a backdrop of a genuine antique bar counter. It is easy to imagine planters of the past standing at the bar with a foot resting on the brass rail as they order another round of gin and tonics. The room looks like a film set but far from being ephemeral, it is a solid setting for stylish dining.
The building was originally a grand mansion of great importance because of its location near the residence of the king of Kandy. The British sequestered it to convert into a club for officers when the Queen’s Hotel opened in 1844. Records show it was licensed to sell liquor in 1860 becoming a popular haunt of British planters. Over the years it lost its exclusivity as the roadside bar became an arrack tavern.
It was rescued from decay a few years ago and renovated in keeping with the style of its heyday of the 1930s. he arrack tavern has been converted into a genteel coffee lounge. This leads to a cobbled courtyard where drinkers gather to gossip alfresco around upturned barrels serving as tables. The restaurant is up a wooden staircase to the first floor where a gallery overlooks the gaggle of well behaved carousers in the courtyard, and a balcony gives a view of the traffic surging along King’s Street. The building has so much history, it even has its own museum and chart room with maps of old Ceylon.
In the restaurant, the combination of white furniture, teak doors and a dark leather banquette under a white painted, peaked wooden ceiling with white whirring ceiling fans, immediately inspires nostalgia for bygone days. The room is a divine retreat from Kandy’s cacophony and welcome respite after a long drive.
A yardstick used by restaurant reviewers in assessing an establishment is to order a classical (not the “house”) cocktail. My judgement drink is Margarita which should taste the same whether made in Mexico, Manhattan or even Kandy. The beverage list promised a classic Margarita at Rs. 1,100. Alas, the concoction did not pass my taste test: somehow the orange liqueur that is an essential ingredient had been replaced with concentrated orange juice. I ordered a soda water as an antidote.
Ajantha expertly dishing up the sizzling pork
Incredibly, this amazing restaurant so full of what younger diners might describe as “funkiness,” was empty when I popped in for lunch on a recent Friday, although there were some tourists drinking beer on the balcony. The simple menu of seven starters and a dozen main dishes reflects an Oriental fusion influence where I expected colonial cuisine.
Nevertheless, the portions were plantation size as I discovered in my choice of “Prawn Cakes with Thai Red Curry Sauce” (Rs 700). This was a pair of cakes as rotund as tennis balls, each one topped with a deep fried prawn, perhaps a tribute to the traditional Prawn Wade street food. The cakes had moist chunks of prawn pillowed within the mashed potato ball, making a stout starter.
I eschewed Fish & Chips (Rs.1,500) to savour “Sizzling Pork in Black Bean Sauce” (Rs.1,500). Thus I was introduced to Ajantha, the lady in charge, who bravely sizzled the pork utilising as a side table a stool commandeered from the bar. The dish was rich, even nutty, in flavour with a moreish taste as enticing as chocolate. I was impressed by the serving of soda water with the bottle being opened in front of me and then decanted into a carafe.
Ajantha was assisted by a trio of giggling girls who were obviously trainees, getting lots of things wrong, such as removing my magazine along with the menu, and keen to show off their English by asking me, “Where are you from?” The total bill, boosted by the cost of the fake Margarita as well as service charge and tax, was Rs. 4,275.70. It was an enchanting experience that probably would have inspired Somerset Maugham to set a story there: about a grumpy old gentleman melting under the charm of Kandy’s charismatic Royal Bar restaurant.
(The Royal Bar, 44 King’s Street, Kandy; tel: 081 2224449; www.royalbarandhotel.com)