Na Ya Dessert Cafe

Cuisine	Dessert
Price	$$ (16-30)
Rating	6/10
Last Visit	April 18, 2023
Location	SFBA: San Francisco: West

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General Notes

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Na Ya Dessert Cafe is a delightful dessert restaurant in Hayes Valley. It has aesthetic, modern vibes and serves delicious desserts that pull influences from western techniques and Asian flavors. With especially strong Thai influences -- apparently Na Ya roughly translates to "the feeling of closeness". Their desserts are delicious but leaves something to be desired compared to top-tier dessert restaurants. Would still recommend giving it a try, especially if you're into ~aesthetic cafes. I wish there were more restaurants like this in SF because your options are definitely somewhat limited.

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Positives

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> The interior design is beautiful. It's a bit of a cross between IKEA and Japanese minimalist vibes. There are plants everywhere. If you meet someone who has ~aesthetic cafe~ in their dating profile this is the place to take them.

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Negatives

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> You'll probably be able to noticeably tell that this place feels relatively "cheap" -- they serve everything in disposable plates / cups / utensils. Their desserts also tend to be relatively deconstructed.

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Dishes Tasted

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• ★★☆☆ Fried Squid Tentacles -- served with a sweet/sour sauce. Could be a little more crispy, but I do like the "bouncy" texture of the squid tentacles.
• ★★☆☆ Ferrero Crepe -- ferrero, banana, strawberry, secret rolled crepe, ice cream. Definitely delicious; good combination. I did find the crepe to be a bit too heavy in nutella, surprisingly. Also note that this is a LOT of ice cream -- four scoops to be exact.. The texture of the wafer roll inside the crepe makes for a nice contrast.
• ★★★★ Kaya Toasted -- pandan kaya sauce, young coconut, banana, almond, vanilla ice cream. This is so good, I'm a huge fan of the pandan kaya sauce! It has a wonderful consistency and pairs beautifully with the toast and the other components.
• ★★★☆ Mango Sticky Rice Crepe -- fresh mango, sweet sticky rice, fresh mango sauce, toasted almond, sesame, coconut ice cream, coconut sauce. Lovely flavor combination! The mango and coconut work wonders. The crepe itself feels a bit out of place (it doesn't add much to the dish other than holding things together), and the sticky rice is a bit on the hard side.
• ★★☆☆ Salted Egg Custard Toasted -- salted egg custard sauce, vanilla ice cream, fresh strawberry. Fairly simple but works well. The salted egg custard sauce with the toast is delightful. The toast does feel a touch dry, though.
• ★★★☆ Strawberry Cream Croffle -- I forget if this is the actual name of the dessert, but it's one of their specials -- a croissant / waffle hybrid served with whipped cream, strawberries, strawberry sauce, and vanilla ice cream. The croffle itself is quite nice, and the dish comes together nicely.
• ★★☆☆ Chocolate Salted Egg Lava Cake -- chocolate cake with a salted egg custard center, served with vanilla ice cream, fresh strawberry, and oreo crumble. The flavor combination of chocolate + salted egg + vanilla ice cream is wonderful. The lava cake itself is a touch overbaked. The other components were a bit disappointing. Raw strawberries and oreo crumble ... just didn't really work with this dish.
• ★★★★ Golden Toast -- Vanilla ice cream, fresh strawberry, and clover honey sauce. The flavor of the honey dominates the dish, in a good way. The flavor is delightful, and apparently it's from Costco (I know where to purchase my honey in the future). It's not quite as good as the golden toast at Spot Dessert Bar (a bit of whipped cream would be nice), but still a very good dish.