Kaya - Orlando

our Sama Sama set menu is back in FULL SWING!
enjoy our specially curated five-wave dinner made with filipino & florida love 💜👩🏽‍🌾

“sama sama” means together -> this is a perfect time to connect with your friends, family or lover!
solo diners are more than welcome to enjoy this experience at our cozy bar.

reminder, this experience can be made vegetarian or vegan friendly!🌱

we’d love to see you soon, come hungry! 🍽️

Come over, we’ll cook! Wednesday night, you know what that means, Jami’s spaghetti, Lo’s fried chicken, and karaoke 🎤 ! And if you don’t know, now you know! Kayabee combo is now available every Wednesday and Thursday. 🍝🍗✨

LAST CHANCE! it’s the last few days for our TIKIM TIKIM tasting menu, a choose your own adventure three wave experience that starts at the very special price of $55pp, with a few options to customize and upgrade your menu. check availability at kayaorlando.com and come see us soon! walk-ins also welcome, as always

👉🏽 swipe through to preview the menu

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For one of our OG chefs de partie, Natasha “Tash” Santos, the definition of joy is sharing the food of her childhood to the community and the city she loves. “It makes me happy knowing that I have a hand in the components that eventually become the full dish and that I’ve come a long way from cooking at home and only being able to share my culture with friends and family.”

Tash has been in the industry for about 6 years and thrives on the ability to create and bring recipes to life. She began her culinary career at Domu CHIBI as a fry cook and would also pick up dish shifts at Domu at East End Market on the weekends. After two years, Tash progressed to become the Kitchen Manager of that location. The following year, she met Lo and Jami, and the rest, as they say, is Kaya history.

When Tash isn’t ideating dishes at Kaya, she’s binge watching shows with her wife or experiencing new foods around the city she calls home. In addition to food, Tash loves music and seeing shows and dancing the night away with friends.

Although, Tash hasn’t had the opportunity to do much of that lately. “I have been creating a little human and this new life will be the new reason I smile going forward!”

Congratulations, Tash! Looking forward to the inspiration this little human will undoubtedly bring to the kitchen

TICKETS ARE NOW AVAILABLE for this LEO SZN collab of collabs! Chef Wendy Lopez of is coming to Kaya on August 21st to celebrate, collaborate and cooooook up a storm with her birthday buddy, Chef Lordfer Lalicon 🥳🥳🥳 (on their actual birthday!)

The Philippines and Mexico have a long history of shared culture, trade and influence - this multicourse menu explores and showcases some of our favorite parts 🇲🇽❤️🇵🇭 Invite some friends, then tap “reserve” in .orlando profile to book.

Won’t you celebrate - and EAT?! - with us? ✨

NOW HIRING - we are looking for great people to join the kaya team!

if you are serious about hospitality, delicious and excellently executed cuisine, community and culture, we want to meet you! we’re currently hiring for full or part-time back of house positions - dishwashers, cooks, prep cooks, pastry - as well as front of house bartender and server positions

experience, while helpful, is not the most important factor to us. we value team players who are willing to work hard and are committed to both individual and collective growth

we especially encourage folks with an understanding and passion for filipino cuisine and culture to apply, though if you’re willing to learn, we are willing to teach!

benefits include paid time off, sick leave, family meal, comped kaya meals, professional development and continued education via our community and farm partners (benefits vary based on FT or PT status)

read more about our team and express interest by filling out the form found here: kayaorlando.com/people

(link also available in the linktree on our profile)

“Working with local creatives to help them reach the community and continue to grow toward a more ethical, inclusive, prosperous future,” is how Kat Abrenica, Kaya’s lead host, describes her passion. It’s no surprise that regulars and new guests alike feel an incredibly warm welcome as soon as they walk through the doors, greeted by her beautiful smile and intentional hospitality.

Kat joined the Kaya event team during the summer of 2022, when we produced our inaugural Filipino Freedom Fest at East End Market and continues to play a huge role as Kaya’s market coordinator, overseeing Malaya Market, Filipino Freedom Fest and our other pop ups throughout the year.

A San Diego native and teacher by education, Kat relocated to Orlando at age 22, and began her career in the hospitality industry as a server at Daren’s family of restaurants. From there, she served and hosted at SoCo Thornton Park, a southern contemporary chef-led concept by Greg Richie. This led to a move to Florida’s west coast where she was the front-of-house shift lead and pop-up coordinator at Love Food Central, a vegan/gluten free cafe that features local produce, bread, kombucha and artists. 2019 brought Kat back to Orlando where she worked at Dragonfly Robata and Sushi until the pandemic.

Some of Kat’s best Kaya memories include karaoke-ing at Bayani Bar, painting in the Bodhi Garden and nurturing our greenery. However, encouraging guests to explore Kaya’s ever-changing menu is what really sticks out in her mind: “That’s the magic that is Kaya!”

Outside of Kaya, you’ll find her running a full and new moon night market, encouraging Orlando locals to gather in a common, positive space. She also spends her time hanging with her two pups, Callaloo and Jackfruit, eating KBBQ with her homegirls, and biking with her partner.

ok ok we’ll keep the special one more day!
thursday (july 11), come see us for kayabee’s filipino spaghetti and fried chicken. it’s a classic combo 🇵🇭😋🍝🍗
we also have strawberry 🍓 matcha silvanas!

sundays are for BONGGA BRUNCH!! we serve filipino 🇵🇭 breakfast favorites like homemade pandesal with our ✨ butter, ube salukara pancakes, chicken tocino, beef tapa and of course garlic rice, eggs and mooooree (our brunch cocktails are 😍)! vegetarian and vegan options are available.

walk ins welcome, and now taking reservations! tap “reserve” in bio to save yourself a table. walk in waitlist will also be open tomorrow starting at 9:30am

we are closed today, july 4! enjoy the holiday ✨

we spent our morning with our friends learning about their syntropic agroforestry approach to farming and touring the farm - we are so thankful to know the garcia family, to serve the bounty of their land at kaya, and that folks like mike are working so hard to strengthen the abundance of our local community.

be sure to check out their CSA offerings and programs - everoakfarm.com

lots of fun planned this summer - here’s what’s happening at kaya this week!

kita kits! ☀️🎶🇵🇭

wishing a very happy father’s day to .lordfer.lalicon and all the papas, tatays, lolos, titos, ninongs and father figures in our lives ✨

celebrate them today with filipino brunch! we are open from 10:30-2:30pm (swipe for menu)

walk ins only, and you can join the virtual queue starting at 9:30am. our host will then text with you regarding availability and seating times

kita kits!

we are reppin strong at awards for and filipino culture 🇵🇭❤️✨

no matter what happens tonight, we couldn’t be more proud of this team and the community that lifts us up! all our love and gratitude!



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Sunday means BONGGA BRUNCH!! join us from 10:30am-2pm for filipino breakfast faves. walk ins only, but join the virtual queue online starting at 9:30am - tap “reserve” on our profile page to access it. once you add yourself, a host will be in touch via text with info regarding waiting/seating times

maraming salamat to chef tash for these awesome pins 🍀 to celebrate our recent recognition as one of florida’s first michelin green star restaurants!! bongga!

✨ this sunday, april 28, join us for an afternoon delight with the homies as we EAT ROCK SKATE at .bar .orlando | 3-8pm

libations
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.bar 🍹
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eattinto_ 🇨🇴
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rock
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skate
🛼

shop
💁🏻‍♀️ko 🕯️

flyer by

HAPPY EARTH DAY 🌏 what a perfect day to celebrate the news that .orlando has been awarded Florida’s first MICHELIN GREEN STAR for an outstanding commitment to sustainable gastronomy.

this distinction is especially meaningful to us because it speaks to one of our guiding values - UTANG NA LOOB, or inner debt, or as my mom would say, “the debt you can never repay.” while most often we think of this in terms of personal relationships and reciprocity with others, we intentionally extend this principle to the land and the abundance of resources it provides us. we have a responsibility.

while culinary trends like low waste, snout to tail, and farm to table have been popularized over the past few decades, we deeply understand these concepts as ancestral technology (our people have been doing this for generations… there’s a reason vinegar is such a central component to philippine cuisine!)

a huge part of our ethos is to re-learn those practices while evolving them for our time and place. we know we still have a ways to go, but we are thankful to be on the right path.

we couldn’t do it without the visionary leadership of chef lordfer lalicon and our forager hanah hadeed, the relentless work and attention to detail of our back of house, culinary, beverage and front of house teams, the generative relationships with our farm and community partners, the wisdom and direction of our elders, and - maybe most importantly - the support of our guests. maraming salamat po sa inyong lahat, this green star belongs to all of us! congratulations!













isulong! onward!

just a reminder that we are closed today for a deep clean. brunch will be back next sunday, april 21!

happy sunday!

😱 big news! we are finalists for awards best new restaurant! ✨

we are overjoyed and overflowing with gratitude for this huge honor we get to share with our team, families and our community. lets go, orlando! filipino food forever!!

🙏🏽😭🇵🇭♥️

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pssst… we have lots of room for walk ins tonight! plus it’s wednesday, so we have karaoke 🎤 on the patio at .bar tonight … and of course 🇵🇭🍝 filipino spaghetti 🤤

we open at 5pm…

…did you know you can get a head start by joining our walk in waitlist? simply tap “reserve” on our profile starting one hour before we open and a host will be in touch about availability and wait times if there is one

This beautiful human is our beloved bar manager, Renate Spurlock. If you’ve had the pleasure to sit in front of her at the bar, you know that she is hospitality, creativity and bayanihan personified!

has been with us from the start and has already made a huge impact on Kaya & Bayani Bar. She’s constantly thinking about ways not only to get the next most delicious spirit, cocktail or bottle of wine into your hands, but also how to continue growing and pushing the entire team to new heights.

A constant learner, she purposefully seeks out experiences that expand her knowledge of various cuisines, cultures and styles. Before Kaya, she most recently served as a beverage director for Domu Dynasty for several years, and worked before that at other local favorites like Luma and The Woods.

When she’s not at Kaya, you can find her on the water, rock climbing or hiking. She also loves hosting dinners for friends and family and adventuring around the world with her partner José to eat, drink and turn strangers into friends.

YOOO!….. KAPWA is on the cover of - how cool is that? 🇵🇭♥️✨

…AND Kaya is the critic’s choice for restaurant of the year!

congratulations to our team, families, farm partners, creatives, vendors and community who make it all happen - Kaya is such a special place because of ya’ll 🥰✨

we are always thankful to for all the ways she lifts up the orlando food scene and the stories that give it life. maraming salamat po! 🙏🏽

🇵🇭 2/24 brunch menu! forecast calls for ☀️ which means we will be seating inside and on the patio. come hang with the Kaya crew and these comforting eats 🥞 🍚🍳 ICYMI brunch is now EVERY sunday 10am-2pm

lobster bicol express agnolotti ✨ housemade lobster stuffed pasta, spicy coconut cream, bagoong xo

this was one of the beautiful courses from last night’s valentine’s day dinner… and it’s available TONIGHT on our a la carte menu alongside some other specials including buro sushi w/ flounder & caviar poqui poqui (eggplant egg scramble), and our vday cocktails as well.

PLUS it’s filipino bbq on the patio .bar where you can also enjoy all night happy hour drinks and 20% bottles of wine!

see you soooon 💕

look no further for valentine’s day plans

our fancy dinner is sold out, but we are partying and celebrating love with our friends at bayani bar! homies, lovers and friends welcome 💕

will be behind the bar, 🎤 is hosting and will be setting up a photo booth. and who knows? might be posting up with chair massages…plus complimentary shot of ten to one rum when you sign up for your first song! so stop by or stay awhile for dinner and drinks

for dinner we’ll be serving a turo turo style menu where you can pick 1, 2 or 3 items with garlic rice (keep an eye out for the menu, but there will def be filipino spaghetti) 🍝

what are your favorite karaoke love songs?

☀️ magandang umaga! here’s today’s brunch menu 🍳🍚🥞 we also have bloody marias, san miguel micheladas, mimosas, wine specials and moooree

plussss it’s a beautiful day for all fresco dining on the patio 🌴

walk ins only, but you can get on the list before you come - tap “reserve” on our profile page to access the online wait list.

see you soon ✌🏽

valentine cocktails have arrived 💌

👉🏽 swipe to see the menu then come in to experience the love our bar team put into these dranks ✨ available alll month

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Say hello to our Sous Chef Mark Anthony Catacutan. His last name translates to “one to be feared.” So intimidating! But Mark is a gentle giant who works hard to ensure Kaya’s kitchen runs smoothly.

He started his career dishwashing at Rum Bay in Palm Island, where from the age of 16 he worked up the ranks to lead line cook. He attended Le Cordon Bleu in Orlando, where he built a stronger foundation of cooking and baking - and met his wife Julie. Over the years he’s worked at restaurants like Deep Blu, Emeril’s Tchoup Chop, The Osprey and Victoria and Albert’s - each stop on the journey adding to his experiences and skillsets, from whole fish fabrication to sushi, molecular gastronomy, wood burning ovens and fine dining. One of his most inspiring experiences was learning the rules of cooking can be bent, opening up new possibilities for creativity and playfulness. He brings all of the above to Kaya, where he is excited to share his beloved Filipino and Kapampangan cuisine.

“Kaya is like a second home for me, it doesn’t feel like any other job I’ve worked. When I’m at Kaya it feels like I’m representing my culture and my grandmother especially. My lola passed away when I was young - she’s the one that inspired me to become a cook. She was always cooking breakfast, lunch, and dinner for me, my brothers and cousins. There were a lot of us! Her food is amazing. When I’m cooking at Kaya, I’m always reminiscing about my lola - that’s very special to me.”

In addition to bringing his creativity and love to the kitchen, he’s also a talented painter - check out his work - and enjoys playing guitar and piano.

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We got some great news yesterday… Kaya has been named as a Semifinalist for BEST NEW RESTAURANT ✨😭🙏🏽♥️🇵🇭

What an incredible honor and testament to the hard work and love of the village that lifts us. We are humbled to represent our culture and our city in this special way

Maraming salamat po/much gratitude to the kaya pamilya - our families, our unstoppable team, guests, farmers, fisherfolk, purveyors, creatives, community partners and cheerleaders - we build this together (present tense)… and it’s still just the beginning. isulong! onward!

Hey y’all! Next up in our meet the team series, it’s me - Jami - co-owner and general manager of this very special place.

I haven’t always been in the restaurant industry, but I’ve always been in the business of hospitality by creating space for folks to feel seen, loved and cared for.

Whether that was starting random clubs in elementary school, recruiting folks for the Filipino Student Association at the University of Florida (how I met Lo 20 years ago while he was eating alone in peace at the Reitz Union… “hey, are you Filipino?”), or cooking for 30-40 people at my apartment in Chicago for “Filipino Dinner,” building community by sharing our culture, passing it down, and celebrating it has always been a central part of my life.

Professionally, I have been a facilitator and culture architect for over 20 years. I find great joy and great responsibility in bringing people together to connect - whether by sharing stories over a meal, grappling with complex challenges, or anything in between. After thirteen years as a leader in national youth development + education organizations, I started my independent consulting practice to focus on working with social change leaders, teams and organizations re-imagine the ways they work so that they are in closer alignment with their values and visions. I’ve worked with organizations including The Posse Foundation, The KIPP Foundation, Color of Change, The Pahara Institute, Third Settlements, and The Education for Liberation Network. I still work part-time for The Management Center training non-profit leaders across the country build and develop effective teams, as well as serve on the Board of Directors for

When I’m not working, you can find me taking a nap, eating delicious food at one of our awesome local restaurants, spending time by the water or catching up with friends or one of my 20+ Godkids. But most days you’ll find me at Kaya, waiting for y’all with a big ol’ hug 🫶🏽

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