BY JAMILA MAE FERNANDEZ
For food aficionados looking for a new and unique dining experience, COYA Restaurant should be in your bucketlist.
Let your tastebuds travel to Peru as COYA Restaurant is now in Riyadh. The pop-up restaurant is situated at the Oud Square, brimming with the Incan-inspired interiors that are both earthy and elegant. Their namesake depicts hospitality and service, with the Mayan moon goddess as its symbol – an icon known to take care of the people around her.
We were eager to be surprised so we let our host choose the dishes that they would like us to try. Soon enough a lava stone bowl with avocados, tomatoes and onions was set in front of us and there he made a fresh serving of guacamole followed by crispy tortilla chips. A classic appetizer of the Latin Americas.
Sourcing from Peru’s natural resources, corn and potatoes are abundant in their cuisine and COYA made sure to highlight them in their menu. Hence the Trio de Maiz – a serving of corn cooked in three different ways: grilled, steamed and candied. Each method gave the corn a varied flavor, from sweet and savory and smoky. Peruvian food has also been influenced by Spanish, African and Japanese cooking and this was evident in the Ceviches (cured fish) and the Atun Chifa (yellow fin tuna). Both were doused in vinegar and reminded us a little bit of sashimi. The Langostinos Tigre Anticuchos feature two large grilled prawns, dipped with flour and served on a stick – its flavor was similar to a tempura, albeit prepared in a totally different way.
For the main course, we had the Patatas Bravas, an array of crispy potatoes drenched in two different sauces and eating plenty of it can easily fill you up; Lomo De Res, a tender beef fillet topped with thinly sliced tomatoes and cucumber – a must for meat lovers; and the Arroz Nikei, where a Chilean seabass is cooked in an iron pot with rice resulting to a perfectly cooked piece of fish with a little lime flavor to taste.
Desserts were encouraged in the form of their signature Churros, a crunchy fried dough sprinkled with sugar and orange zest with a milk chocolate dipping sauce. For those opting for a healthier dessert, there’s the Chicha Morada with ice shavings topped with fresh berries. A hot cup of coffee punctuated the rest of our evening.
The fusion of flavors is paramount at COYA as they bring in fresh, organic ingredients and put forward a premium Peruvian dining experience.
Opening hours: 4:00 PM – 12:00 AM
