Eclectic Flavours at Clay Studio Café

by Iyath Adam

We recently visited Clay Studio Café, a delightful, relatively new restaurant in Hulhumale’.

Located right next to The Clay Studio – pottery and ceramic studio – the café is a charming space. The wooden tones, green plants and the eclectic interior filled with books, trinkets and ceramics gives it a pleasant, slightly Bohemian atmosphere. Both indoor and outdoor seating options are available too.

While you’re there, you can also check out The Clay Studio next door, which has some endearing clay and ceramic pieces up for grabs.

The menu encompasses a variety of food with pasta, rice, and salads. They also have a pretty comprehensive all-day breakfast range along with artisanal coffee and drinks plus great desserts.

Since it was lunch time, we went for their Thai peanut chicken curry and the Sri Lankan koththu roshi. Although we opted for chicken koththu roshi, you have the option to choose from chicken, beef, or veg.

Other noteworthy options from the menu include their ham and Brie melt, aglio olio e pepperoncino and Thai railway rice – all of which sounded absolutely delicious.

But onto our tasting now!

Let’s start off with the Thai peanut chicken curry.

This dish came with a hefty portion of basmati white rice and a side of prawn crackers with the curry. The chicken pieces were lightly fried, then mixed with the tangy, lightly spicy and somewhat sweet curry paste which brought a new depth to the dish’s flavour.

The Sri Lankan koththu roshi, as the name suggests, was extremely reminiscent of authentic Sri Lankan cuisine. Although the dish was the dry type of koththu roshi, it came with a side of peppery gravy for those who like their koththu a bit on the runnier side. The pappadum served with the dish was cut into thin strips and fried – perfect for mixing in with the koththu roshi or even munching on the side.  The chilli paste was nicely balanced and brought the whole dish together very well.

The portion sizes for both were extremely generous and the end of the meal left us entirely full for sure! 

We’ve also had the chance to try out Clay Studio Café’s signature chocolate & pistachio tart as well as their Basque burnt cheesecake. Both desserts are delectable and well-balanced and go great with their range of coffee drinks.

So, if you’re looking for a cute space for your next breakfast, lunch, dinner or even tea, be sure to check out the Clay Studio Café!