Charcoal: Food for the soul!

By Cheranka Mendis

The best way to describe Charcoal is ‘homely’. A little café on the side of Hotel Road with jazz music playing, walls full of paintings, books to read, yellow gerberas on the table and big windows showing the world roll by, Charcoal Gallery Café is the ideal pick for anyone looking for a quiet break in Mount Lavinia.

It is the perfect nook for writers to sip their coffee and muse over the plight of characters, for poets to vent their feelings and turn them into words, and for budding artists to let the black pen move across the paper.

Charcoal is not your average coffee stop or café; it is a quiet hideaway, a retreat from the daily hustle, packed with the best food and beverages.

Run by Priscilla Caren who wears many hats as a mother, teacher, baker and artist, the café carries the distinct flavour of a typical Hollywood movie coffee shop with handwritten menus and fragrant apple tarts on glass dishes at the counter.

 Encouraging creativity

The catchphrase of the café is ‘It is the beginning of your creative expression,’ Caren acknowledged, taking us on a tour of the small but treasure-filled space.Adjoining the café is the gallery where she showcases the colourful work of Sri Lankan artists and conducts music lessons for kids, while upstairs holds space for kids’ arts and photography classes which also opens up to a spacious veranda with lanterns, hammocks and low wooden chairs.

“This is a beautiful place to unwind in the evenings. We have fairy lights on the balcony railing and we light up the lanterns,” she smiled.

Caren has always been pulled towards art and creativity. Having started her colourful career hand-painting T-shirts for Laksala of which the profits were set aside for wildlife conservation, Caren also taught art to tiny tots in a Montessori for five years. “It was then that my friends planted the idea of opening up my own art school. Having done that, I always wanted to incorporate this with my own little café. I have always dreamt of this.”

Her art school is called ‘Secret Garden,’ she tells us, and encompasses art, music and photography. “I believe in free expression. If Picasso was taught to do exactly this or that, he won’t be Picasso,” Caren mulled. “I teach them how to use material, not how to draw.”

Also a big supporter of local arts, the paintings on the walls in the café are that of local artists selling their work at Kala Pola. “We encourage our customers to buy these paintings as well. This is what I do; and this is what I love.”

Further promoting creativity, customers are given a blank post-card sized paper with blank ink markers after their orders are taken at the café. This is to let them “sketch whatever they like” until the order comes through.

 Happy stomachs

What she also loves is her little café. Using fresh ingredients, all dishes featured on her simple menu are cooked as and when the order comes in. “Except for the cakes, all dishes are cooked when an order is placed. We don’t have any pre-cooked meals ready to be served after heating.”

The burgers are fresh and succulent and the vegetable quiche looks divine. “Our tuna salad sandwich is well received and some come here for a daily fix.” The three cheese panini and mushroom panini are also must-tries. Caren added: “It is true we don’t have an extensive menu. But then again we are a café; so many in Sri Lanka confuse cafés with restaurants.”

They do have a yummy selection of waffles – crisp and hot. There is the classic and then there are with banana, strawberry sauce and chocolate sauce waffles.

For those who love their cakes, Charcoal is a godsend. The chocolate mint cake and country cheese cakes with Philadelphia cheese are personal favourites. They are made following secret recipes from Australia and Canada with proper ingredients, some shipped from abroad.

Affordably priced, there are also delicious chocolate chip cookies and Scottish shortbread, all home-baked and fresh.

Thirst quenchers

For those who seek the comfort of Charcoal to quench their thirst, there is a lot to choose from. From single or double espressos shots to cappuccino, café lattés, hot chocolate, Americano or macchiato – this is the place for your everyday coffee fix.

Promoting Ceylon’s infamous teas, it also offers kade tea and iced teas. The virgin mojito is superb, as are the fresh juices.

For kids there are Ribena and ‘Spyder’ – a coke and ice cream mixed drink that is a hot favourite among little ones. And if they like to play grownup and drink cappuccinos with the adults, there is Baby Chino for them. 

On the drawing board

“This is a place where I would personally love to come and spend my time. We keep everything simple so that our customers will feel free and be themselves when they come here. I hope everyone feels the same,” Caren reflected.

In the future, she hopes to extend the menu by adding a few savoury items, while a weekly BBQ night is also being planned.

The café and gallery is also promoted as a venue for poetry readings, book launches, photography exhibitions and small-scale parties. “We urge you to come try our café; and we assure you, there is nothing quite like this,” Caren pledged.

Pix by Lasantha Kumara