Kaya
Filipino restaurant · Orlando
618 N Thornton Ave, Orlando, FL 32803, USA
Highlights
Filipino tasting menu with seafood & vegetables. Cozy space.
Filipino tasting menu with seafood & vegetables. Cozy space.
"Kaya occupies a small bungalow-style building in the Mills 50 district. Inside, there's a quirky charm along with views of the open kitchen. Diners enjoy a tasting menu served in multiple courses, some with more than one element. Expect a modern spin on classic Filipino dishes with local seafood and central Florida produce taking center stage. Kinilaw na isda, a ceviche-style dish with madai and finely diced fruit in a vinegar sauce is a stunning dish that wakes up the palate for a strong start. Then, the menu changes often, but you may enjoy kare, a rectangle of braised fork-tender oxtail resting in the classic and flavorful peanut stew/sauce, along with various vegetables. It's served with their pitch-perfect garlic rice, served classic or with a luxe update with King crab." - Michelin Inspector
"An Orlando restaurant whose chef, Lordfer Lalicon, was listed among semifinalists in the Best Chef category." - Missy Frederick
"An Orlando restaurant nominated as a 2025 James Beard Foundation semifinalist in the Outstanding Restaurant category, with Lordfer Lalicon named on the semifinalist list; finalists are due April 2 and winners will be awarded June 16 at the Lyric Opera of Chicago." - Erin Perkins
"Filipino spot Kaya is fine dining that’s not stuffy. No one will give you the side eye here for wearing a T-shirt, but it is the type of place where you need a reservation. Come here for a nicer date night and focus on the chef’s nightly menu: five courses that might include adobo with local mushrooms or fried fish sinigang in a clay pot whose lid, coated with tamarind miso paste, becomes the bowl. If you can’t get in, they do reserve a couple of tables for walk-ins where you can order a la carte and have Happy Hour specials Tuesday through Thursday from 6-7pm." - cheryl rodewig, gabe bergado, ryan pfeffer, macy johnson
"The “casual fine-dining” concept from Kadence alums Lordfer Lalicon and Jamilyn Bailey lives up to the hype with its nostalgia-steeped interior and deeply personal fare veering less towards fried and porky fare and more toward seafood and vegetables. Kaya’s “sama sama” menu plays up the bounty of Florida ingredients and presents them in five “waves” be it mung bean noodles sautéed in shrimp and blue crab bisque with Patagonia Bay scallops, or Skull Island tiger prawns in a coconut milk, crab fat, and bagoong sauce. The oxtail kare kare in peanut butter stew is a must from the a la cart menu. Curated cocktails and mocktails complement Lalicon’s dishes." - Faiyaz Kara
