Niyama Private Islands Maldives has reopened its Asian restaurant Nest following a redesign, with a new menu to boot.
Located deep within the heart of Play island, Nest brings dramatic flair to Asian fine dining, with a unique setting of wild, indigenous flora that envelops guests.
The experience begins with a stroll along the meandering boardwalk through the jungle’s overgrown vines. The magic of Nest then reveals itself under the canopy of a banyan tree decades in the making. On the ground floor, tribal, thatched-roof huts centre around the showcase teppanyaki. Alternatively, guests can ascend the spiral staircase, then cross the bridge to their dining platform suspended six metres in the air.
Conceived in 2013 by Poole Associates and landscape architect Drew Anderson of TOPO Design, Nest was envisioned as a multi-level treehouse connected by a labyrinth of wooden walkways and bridges that appears then melts back into the trees.
After a decade of operation, Niyama has unveiled an enhanced setting, with denser, more dramatic landscaping by the resort’s chief engineer Michael Selvin to envelop each table more fully in nature and exclusivity. At night, the trees shimmer with hundreds of lights, and hints of red add an element of the exotic, reminiscent of the neon glow of the streets of Saigon, Tokyo or Bangkok.
A new menu has also been revealed, with flavours of the avant garde by new Executive Chef Thierry Vergnault. Highlights include the wagyu and sea urchin tataki (Japan), sizzling bo lok lak (Vietnam), and chilli reef lobster from local waters (Singapore).
With a relentless pursuit of the novel and intriguing, Chef Vergnault’s creations combine fresh, high-quality ingredients with unexpected culinary techniques and innovations. Hard-to-find Asian herbs and spices come from the island’s own garden, which also inform the experimental cocktail list by consultant Mathew Atkinson of Bruff Drinks.
