A saucy saga of Peppers
Nishadha Kumaranayake. Pix by Indika Handuwala
Many stepping into this well-known Colombo’s mall linger for a pizza that has been baked for the Sri Lankan palate (no Neapolitan subtlety here; it’s all rich, flavoursome, juicy jinthu) and they do a roaring trade with the pastas, lasagnas, macaroni, submarines and burgers too. The place is Peppers.
It all began in 1995 when Nishada Kumaranayaka – a chef with experience in five stars like the Taj, Kandalama and earlier, Kandy favourites like Hotel Suisse and Queen’s, was asked to take over the (rather small) vacant spot for an Italian eatery in the food court of Majestic City.
Nishada says they began with ingredients brought from Italy and keeping in mind a clientele of a pizzeria you’d drop into on an Italian street- chequered tablecloths, al fresco with faded peeled Tuscany yellow walls and vine leaves creating a breezy patina; smells of baking and herbs lingering in the narrow cobbled streets.
But this was too costly to maintain in a mainstream mall cutting across diverse demographics from hipster youths to lower middle class families so a local note was rung in with more easily obtainable ingredients, and it proved all too addictive; they are today the one stall doing sales at any given time.
A taste of Italian and Sri Lankan
The pizza comes in four flavours – Hawaiian, Seafood, Chicken and Veggie with a thick signature slather of sauce combined with toppings.
The mantra is to give the juiciest, healthiest Italian at affordable prices. The chicken burger comes with a fluffy bun and fresh salad and cheese while the lasagna, spaghetti and macaroni are adapted to our sunny climes and hot tangy palates.
Mediterranean meets island savoury even with dishes like Bolognese spaghetti chicken and Baked fish macaroni salad and garlic bread. Amongst a range of other dishes are Spaghetti Neapolitan, Chicken meatballs with spaghetti and cheese, devilled prawns and spicy chicken macaroni with cheese.
During the pandemic, their sales went online and Peppers was one of the first to go on Uber. Today, despite the economic crisis, they keep the cashier trilling merrily, with families returning for time-tested comfort food.
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