ON14: Menu refresh hits the spot

By Madushka Balasuriya 

On our last visit to ON14 a few years ago our final verdict read “ON14 has a few problems but nothing terminal”. That stemmed from a menu which promised much but failed to deliver on many counts, but also a truly delightful rooftop bar. Three years on, under new Executive Chef Clifford Perera, the menu is reborn.

Shifting away from its tapas and bites-centric nature, the new menu is one more focused on delivering a quality dining experience. For one, it’s now more expansive with some 73 items to choose from – not including desserts.

The beverage menu too has been revamped, with more of a focus on local spirits – there’s one entire section simply dedicated to arrack-based cocktails! – while every cocktail, barring the classics, has been conceptualised in-house by the incredibly talented team behind the bar.

“The highlight of this menu is not only its use of great flavours and innovation, but also its commitment to authenticity and sourcing of high-quality ingredients,” stated Chef Clifford.

And all this is punctuated emphatically by ON14’s incomparable location. Yes, there are other rooftop bars in Colombo, but few are as breathtaking as ON14, atop OZO Colombo. 

Indeed, if you’ve ever been to ON14 – if not, put it on your bucket list, now! – then you’ll no doubt be familiar with the exquisite view that overlooks the Colombo coastline; the media event to launch the new menu was quite cleverly held late afternoon, just in time to coincide with one of the best sunsets in Colombo.

This owes itself to ON14’s breezy layout, with its spaced out bar – even on a crowded night it seems unlikely to bring forth any bouts of claustrophobia – and ample seating, a lot of which allows for glorious views overlooking the ocean. And if you’re an in-house guest, the infinity pool, which is sandwiched between two outdoor seating areas, offers up the same extraordinary view.

What we loved

So as this was a menu launch, we were positively bombarded with nearly every item available. So for brevity’s sake, this review will only focus on a few of the dishes which we were absolutely enthralled by. The first comes from the salads and appetisers, where the Combination of Beef and Pork Thai Salad (Rs. 850) offered some real bang for your buck. Its authentic Thai flavours – that beautiful blend of sweet and spice – meshed with a liberal coating of peanuts, and finally a generous serving of meats, meant this was the ideal start to our evening’s epicurean journey. The next dish of note is for all the vegetarians out there, as the Butternut Pumpkin Gnocchi (Rs. 750) with its Basil Pesto and Tomato Pronto sauce really hit the mark. The gnocchi itself was exquisitely made, not to chewy or sticky on the palate.

Of the mains, while there were many we loved – such as the Parmesan Crusted Rack of Lamb (Rs. 4,250) and the deliciously spicy Nasi Goreng (Rs. 1,200) – it was the Indonesian Classic Caramelised Beef Rendang (Rs. 2,200) that stole our hearts. Slow cooked in spices and fresh coconut milk infused with galangal, lime kaffir, ginger, garlic and red chilli, the beef was just perfect in its mix of sweet and spice. The steamed sticky Thai rice on the side, meanwhile, was plentiful. There were also several interesting dishes such as the sizzling Wagyu steak and orange and honey marinated roasted duck breast, which we didn’t have a chance to taste but are more than eager to make a return journey to try out.

What to avoid 

It’s important to note that 90% of what we were served we thoroughly enjoyed, but there were a handful of dishes that would be best avoided until the kitchen staff fully come to grips with the menu. The first was the Steak Burger (Rs. 1,750), which was filled with a steak slice that barely filled half the bun. The burger too was lacking in terms of juiciness, while the meat to bun ratio was genuinely disappointing. The other two dishes come from the dessert section with the Lemongrass Creme Brûlée too eggy, while the Blueberry Cheesecake seemed to have come straight out of the freezer – the texture all wrong.

Verdict

That said, this new menu by and large looks set to be much more of a hit with ON14’s clientele than the one which preceded it. We tried some 16 dishes all together, of which 13 were genuinely excellent – some such as the Beef Rendang and Nasi Goreng among the best in Colombo, both for value and taste. The bar staff meanwhile executed each delicious cocktail with consistent precision, while there was even one member showing off some nifty juggling skills. Guests can also relax to the soothing music of in-house DJ Dulshan every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, and live band DeeZone every Saturday. Then there’s the view, oh what a view. The view alone has been enough to bring guests through ON14’s doors in recent years, but with the addition a fresh new menu and some truly yummy cocktails, they just may be on to a winner.

Pix by Ruwan Walpola