Whight & Co. Café

Newly opened in a converted art deco mansion on Marine Drive facing the ocean (and the afternoon sun) this is a coffee house with food (and wine). Run by the same Australian couple behind Colombo’s popular Cricket Club Café, the atmosphere is both retro and businesslike. Customers sit with their laptops at broad tables on the ground floor, or retreat to the upstairs lounge, where the acoustics can create a noisy atmosphere when a lot of people start talking. Coffee is the raison d’etre but this is not imported coffee; it’s grown in the hills and roasted on the premises and has a real kick. There is a modest menu, with modest prices, and cheerful service.