Details: Located at 54 West 56th Street, New York NY 10019, among other locations. The official site is https://www.nayaexpress.com/
Naya Express is a chain of fast casual restaurants, like Chipotle, which differ in that they lean more towards Mediterranean flavors. That just means that they add hummus and pita bread to your burrito bowl.
You can order your food in “rolls,” which are essentially burritos, or in your classic fast casual bowl. You can also get a salad if you’re into that. Like Chipotle, you get rice, a choice of meat (beef, chicken, lamb, falafel), and lettuce and tomatoes if you want. Unlike Chipotle, you can get hummus and a variety of sauces and toppings like pickled stuff. It’s fairly similar to Chipotle with a slightly different taste. You also get a pita bread in a zip lock bag.
The primary issue I have with Naya is price. A chicken bowl generally costs around twelve dollars after tax where Chipotle costs around nine. On that basis alone, this place loses to Chipotle since quality and quantity are similar.
Service is just okay. The one I went to in midtown Manhattan wasn’t great to be honest.
Overall, I wouldn’t come here unless I was sick of Chipotle or any of the other fast casual lunch places and I wanted to taste something slightly different. I don’t think it’s so expensive that I would never recommend it, it’s just that if you need a fast lunch, Chipotle does it better. Dig Inn does it better at a similar price point as well. Naya does still taste okay though.
Score: 5.8/10
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