Aplaya the Beach Bar & Italian Food — Restaurant in Malay

We spend lots of time reading reviews and we were looking forward to coming to this place but were sadly let down! Firstly, they have a “50% off pizzas Monday to Thursday from 5pm sign” outside the front. When I asked about this, the waitress said it only applies when sitting on the 3rd floor, so that was deceiving. There’s no air con or fans on so it was rather warm sitting in to eat. The staff’s service was disappointing for 2 reasons - the lighting in the restaurant changed 5 times which became annoying, and also the waitresses would scream when they saw mini lizards/geckos crawling along the wall. They were very focussed on pointing at them and asking each other to get rid of them which put me off my food instantly as all I could focus on were them. I did not enjoy my food from this point onwards. Attention should NOT be drawn to creatures when there’s diners trying to eat.

In terms of the food, the pizza was alright but we would not recommend the carbonara (sadly the main reason we wanted to try here). They use loads (too much!!) of Parmesan which was a very overpowering taste and smell, it wasn’t creamy. We would not return when visiting...

If your ultimate morning on the beach involves lounging with coffee, fresh crossiants and a stunning view of Boracay’s turquoise waters, then Aplaya is your spot! It’s the perfect balance of feeling tucked away while being in the right spot to people-watch & be in the midst of Station One happenings. With lovely touches of the Meditteranean, this airy space offers the full barista experience, with the array of coffee choices from strong espressos to frothy oat milk cappuccinos. And the crossiants! Divine! You first bite into the initial crunch of a crisp, freshly baked crossiant with delectable buttery, but not-so-buttery and delicate but not-so-delicate and fluffly, very fluffy layers that melt in your mouth for the ultimate crossiant experience! Step it up and get a breakfast crossiant, with parma, mozzarella & arugula and it is instant gratification that you want to hold on to for another cup of coffee or hey, since you are on holiday, pop a bottle of prosecco & let breakfast continue to lunch, to sunset cocktails, to dinner because Aplaya is open through the day! Expect friendly & attentive service & a welcoming, unrushed,...

Our first time at Aplaya was in April 2022 and we immediately fell in love with the service, music and drinks. This July 2023, we were back at Aplaya (new place) and had dinner and drinks several times here (maybe 3 visits out of our 6-day stay in Boracay). On food: Porkchop and salmon servings were huge; both were also tasty and our teens loved their margherita pizza. I’m just sorry I didn’t manage to take photos as we were really tired that night. Also, I think this is a very rare place/combination as you can have drinks and cake at the same time 😉. I think the DJ starts at 9:30pm and ladies’ night with free drinks are on Wednesdays (please check these with Aplaya). They have a promo of free croissant with coffee for PHP200.00. Their cappuccino (I ordered both hot and cold on different days) were lovely. Croissant was fresh too. Our group highly recommends the chill vibe of the place and its team. The food and drinks are a bonus, actually. Harold is a genius with drinks and Awra, as we fondly call her, is one of their sweet servers. We really felt that they loved what they’re doing and we surely recommend Aplaya to friends and...