Shoulders By Harpos

While open for both lunch and dinner, the lunch menu primarily focuses 
on on-the-go Souvalki Greek wraps with marinated grilled meats made from their custom 
charcoal grill. 

Colombo is always mushrooming new restaurants, cafes and bars that it’s hard to keep track and even harder to say you’ve tried them all. But ever so often, we find a restaurant that’s a ‘must try’, a spot worthy of the “have-you-tried-this-place-yet?” word of mouth recommendation. In this case, its a swanky little nook at the new Havelock City Mall called “Shoulders” that’s been getting the foodie nod of approval around town. 

Shoulders: A Harpo and Shehan Setunga Story

 
Is the name Shoulders a little odd for a restaurant? It certainly is, but the name reflects the space - cozy and intimate, sitting shoulder to shoulder with your fellow diners. It’s also the perfect ode to the man behind the business - Harpo Gunaratne, a giant in the F&B industry, who has rubbed shoulders with almost every who’s who for the last 40 years. 
Joining him on this partnership is chef Shehan Setunga (Juppè) a Sri Lankan-born Aussie chef with over 10+ years of experience in the culinary world. Setunga honed his skills as a chef under Michelin star chef and former Masterchef Australia judge, George Calombaris, working as a sous chef at his modern Turkish cusinine restaurant Tulum before rising to Head Chef of Calombaris’s Greek restaurant, Hellenic Republic - an expertise he brings to Shoulders with its Greek inspired cuisine. 
With Setunga being long time friends of Harpo’s daughter Asherah and her husband Shehan, the partnership was an easy decision to make. “As soon as we got this space, my dad immediately thought of Juppè and knew he would be the perfect fit. We’ve been good friends for almost 15 years so we already have a great relationship coming into this partnership” shared Asherah. 

The Greek Inspired Menu 

The menu at Shoulders is largely Greek inspired with small twists of local flavours and other combinations. Almost all their ingredients are locally sourced, including their signature slow roasted lamb, save for an exceptional few items such as their Taramasalata. 
While open for both lunch and dinner, the lunch menu primarily focuses on on-the-go Souvalki greek wraps with marinated grilled meats made from their custom charcoal grill. The dinner menu is more extensive with cheeseburger cigars for snacks, 12-hour slow roasted lamb shoulder served with arrack jaggery sauce and spit roasted porketta for mains. But whether its for lunch or dinner, each item on the menu stands out on its own, making the diner curious to try every dish. 
While we were at Shoulders we had the opportunity to try a few dishes, here’s what we thought: 

Taramasalata

This is one of Shoulders signature dishes that had all of Colombo talking. At first glance, this dish looks incredibly unsuspecting, a dip accompanied by pita bread but one taste and it is the burst of flavours that takes you by surprise. Taramasalata is salted and cured cod roe and as its only made in Greece, it is one of the few imported ingredients at Shoulders. Here, the Taramasalata is whipped into a velvety smooth dip with lemon juice, onion and herbs and it is the most decadent of dishes full of umami and salty flavours. It’s incredibly rich, creamy, full bodied and truly, pure goodness on a plate.  

Flaming Saganaki Cheese with Apricot Chutney 

Also a Shoulders signature, the Flaming Saganaki, as the name suggests is a theatrical dish - flambéed at your table. A traditional Greek dish, Saganaki is an appetizer made with fried cheese. Shoulders serve their Saganaki with a sweet apricot chutney which cuts across the saltiness of the cheese. The combination of the warm, stringy cheese and the tangy chutney creates a perfect balance of flavours but it’s definietly a sharing dish since both the cheese and the chutney are very rich. 

Chicken Souva 

We also couldn’t resist grabbing their on-the-go Souva wraps, opting for charcoal chicken as our meat of choice. They’ve also got mutton, lamb, pork and prawns as alternative options and zucchini for the vegetarian. The wrap, made with soft pita bread, is filled with tender and juicy pieces of charcoal chicken from the rotisserie and chunky potatoe chips brought together by a mustard aioli. Simple, unfused flavours - its a perfect option for those looking for a quick flavour filled  lunch.