Café Naya Celebrates its First Anniversary

The first time I visited Café Naya was December last year for Nuffnang Philippines’ Country Manager’s dinner. On first glance you can already tell that this establishment offers premium dishes in its menu, and the ambiance exudes an aura of class and exclusivity.

Café Naya has a shared platform of Meditarranean, European, and Northern African Island cooking by Chef Mikko Reyes (The Hungry Hound, Niner Ichi Nana and Valkyrie Nightclub). Its coastal cuisine concept is on-point, with The Palace Pool Club visible from inside the Café.

With Café Naya’s first anniversary also come new items on their menu, some of which were served during the dinner party held last June 29. It was a laid-back night of great conversations, good food by Chef Mikko, and cocktails  by Erwan Heussaff. Here are some of the dishes that we had:

Steak and Bulghur Wheat Salad – Php 389.00

Seared Foie and Hummus – Php 398.00

Cured Meat and Pate – Php 598.00

Truffled Mushroom Pizza – Php 389.00

Right from the appetizers, you can already tell that Café Naya may be appreciated most by a very specific niche of customers only.  The carnivore in me happily sliced through the steaks in my salad, and went through the salami in the Cured Meat and Pate, although some may shy away from it given its price.

Glazed Duck Rice – Php 1,497.00

Chopped Chicken Parm – Php 369.00

Grilled Skirt Steak – Php 1,598.00

Glazed Pork Belly – Php 398.00

The mains felt more welcoming to me than the intimidating appetizers, as the dishes served were more familiar to my Pinoy palate. The duck and pork belly were sweet, the skirt steak was tender, and the chopped chicken parm was just how I wanted my spaghetti to be. I wanted to gobble up more but I had to make room for dessert!

Chocolate Mousse – Php 267.00

Almond Tarte – Php 298.00

I would have preferred for the desserts to be sweeter, although I know some people who may appreciate more the mildness of Café Naya’s sweets. Both desserts were leaning towards being sour than sweet, most likely because of the calamansi curd in the mousse and the cranberry puree in the almond tarte.

Of course, an experience in Café Naya won’t be complete without drinks! My friends enjoyed the Spiked Lavender Lemonade Cocktailand Ye Old Punch Cocktail presumably prepared by Erwan Heussaff. I, on the other hand, indulged in a glass of red wine.

Whether you are looking for some late-night eats after a night of clubbing at The Palace, a quiet restaurant ideal for a lunch meeting, or even just an after-work happy hour sunset session, Café Naya would be a great option for you to lay back and enjoy the tides.