Chill out this summer
Try Peruvian food with a few twists at Coya
abu Dhabi can’t get enough South American food at the moment. Coya, in The Galleria, is the third venue to open in the past few months and this one focuses on cuisine from Peru. It’s already a popular haunt in Dubai and there are also branches of this award-winner in Miami and London.
Coya is a decidedly hip venue and we’ll let the photo do the talking on this occasion with regards to the décor, because we want to talk about the atmosphere. What’s On visited on a Tuesday night and the place was rammed. A band was playing, but at times it was hard to hear them over the chatter from the guests. It’s incredibly buzzy.
The menu is full of ceviche dishes, guacamole, tacos, meat skewers, small dishes such as roasted octopus, iron pot casserole- and risotto-style courses, plus mains such as Wagyu sirloin and lamp chops. A lot of the food is served tapas style and is made for sharing, and portion size was spot on – not too stingy, but not overwhelmingly big.
Coya impressed from the off with a colourful sea bass ceviche made with red onion, white corn and sweet potato. The chunks of fish were plump and the sauce zingy and fresh without being sour. Two dishes served on skewers on a charcoal grill followed and it’s worth trying the chicken. Marinated in an aji amarillo (a type of chili) sauce, they were subtle and slightly sweet, although skip the forest mushroom skewers in aji panca (a red pepper) marinade. This smoky, intense flavour was overpowering, and too sweet. On to the mains, and the Papa Vegetariana (an iron pot with peas, tomato confit and goat’s cheese) was hearty and full of flavour, while the spicy beef fillet also excelled. The meat was tender and finished off simply with garlic and crispy shallots that ramped it up another level. Want a side dish? Coya’s patatas bravas blew us away – fried and served with spicy tomatoes and huancaina sauce (a dish in Peru also made with peppers), they were beyond addictive. For dessert, the salted caramel ganache was extremely rich, although the salty flavours really shone through, while a praline mousse with passion fruit and popping candy was decadent, rich and cheeky.
The waiters were friendly, and know their stuff, but they had a tendency to ask you if you’re enjoying the food a few too many times. It’s a minor irritant, but they need to let guests enjoy the food and their company. Our courses arrived at a hasty rate surely never seen before in Abu Dhabi and while this impressed at first, by the end we felt like we were being rushed.
Coya certainly impressed though on our first visit and it’s the kind of restaurant that should make other outlets up their game.
The Galleria, Al Maryah Island, Abu Dhabi, Mon to Sat 12.30pm to 11pm. Tel: (04) 3169600. Taxi: The Galleria. coyarestaurant.com