Kosher- Meat
Located just outside of Jerusalem in Beit Nekofa, Naya is a little foodie oasis. Similar to an American style Asian dining experience, the large space, open kitchen, and massive bar reminded me of big city life in the U.S. The menu at Naya is quite large with a variety of options from sushi to rice and noodle dishes.
While I had heard how wonderful their food was, I was quite disappointed by the extremely small selection of gluten free options offered. Generally gluten free items like fresh spring rolls and sushi were said to contain gluten and the kitchen was not accommodating about making gluten free versions of dishes- even though the manager assured me they had gluten free soy sauce in house…
After coming to terms with the very few safe options offered, I ordered the papaya salad and a rice noodle curry dish with tofu. Both were to die for and more than made up for my initial disappointment.
The star of the show however was their Coconut Mule- a fun twist on my favorite cocktail. It was light, refreshing, and paired perfectly with dinner. For dessert they brought us their malabi and sorbets which were all decent but nothing too special. We tried the wasabi margarita with our dessert which was sweet and spicy all at once with an intense flavor!
The vibes are what I would consider “fancy” or “high end” by Israeli standards and we dropped over 300 NIS a piece including the cab to and from Jerusalem. It isn’t the kind of place I would recommend going to for a casual weekday dinner but it was the perfect spot for celebrating finishing my masters.
Update: They have now opened a second location in Beit HaKerem which is more take away vibes and seating is at a busy intersection. They didn’t lower their menu prices to account for the downgraded dining experience so I recommend doing delivery or going to the Beit Nekofa location.