Nawa — Restaurant in Fort Wayne

What a fantastic restaurant! As soon as I walked in the relaxing, modern ambiance of Nawa was apparent and inviting. The lighting level and the stylish light fixtures set the mood along with some excellent low-level music playing.

Our waiter, Estevan, was highly knowledgeable; he initially gave us some information about the nature of the restaurant and some background on the culinary staff. After giving us a moment to look over the menu, he gave multiple excellent recommendations regarding our desire to find something unique for an appetizer as well as selecting our entrees. He also was very attuned to the way they prepared their food.

The appetizer we had was the "Gyoza Panang" which was a rice-dumpling in their panang sauce that was done to perfection and had plenty of mixed flavors with the inclusion of chicken, lightly seared red pepper slivers, and cabbage.

We thoroughly enjoyed the food as the flavors were bright and unique. My wife had the "Basil Stir Fry" with chicken and she was a big fan of the basil flavor that was evident in the dish that made it very unique. I ordered the "Green Curry" with pork and the bamboo shoots, basil, and eggplant were all welcome and unique additions to the meal. Both dishes were cooked masterfully and each had their own nuances that I wish I had the capacity to describe more in-depth.

Both of our meals were prepared at a moderate level of heat, as was the recommendation of our waiter but was weak enough that my wife didn't mind. Possibly my favorite part of the dining experience was the presence of a set of three ceramic jars to add different amounts of heat to the food. There was a sauce similar to (if not actually) Sriracha sauce, then a chili oil with chili flakes, and then some dry hot chili flakes. I ended up adding quite a lot of each by the time my bowl was empty. Both of our entrees also came with a generous portion of rice as well.

We enjoyed some Thai Iced Coffee during the meal that I had wanted to order a single serving of, but the waiter kindly split the drink for us and seemed to have provided much closer to two full servings for us--and they were delicious indeed! Chocolately notes of coffee mixed mixed with cream made for a tasty and enjoyable compliment to the spiciness of our meals.

At the end of our meal, we were close enough to the bar to grab the attention of the bartender and ask about some mini white oak barrels they had been using to make some signature drinks in. The bartender we spoke to was full of enthusiasm, as he was the one responsible for crafting most of their specialty drinks (which we unfortunately didn't try during our meal). Hopefully next time!

Nawa is making an excellent reputation for themselves in Fort Wayne as a unique and high-end dining experience with reasonable prices and a variety of options for both cautious and adventurous diners alike. We can't wait to have a chance to...

I have been to Nawa a couple of times now and my rating has not changed. The food and atmosphere here is very good. Highly recommend it.

Had a chance to visit Nawa at the landing tonight. I had to say it was a very enjoyable experience. The upper dining room is very nicely appointed and has a nice vibe. I think it would also be a really nice experience eating at the bar too. We ordered the calamari appetizer. The breading was light and not overbearing. It also had a nice crunchy texture and great flavor. The calamari itself was tender! It came with a sweet chili sauce to dip the calamari rings in and I thought it was fantastic. It really complemented the light but flavorful breading of the calamari rings. I would say this is really up there with the calamari from the oyster bar. Nice job Nawa.

On to the main course! We ordered the Drunken Lo Mein and the Pad Tie Me Up entrees. Both were ordered with chicken and both were ordered mild.

I thought the Lo Mein noodles were the best part of that dish. They had good flavor but unfortunately I didn't think that flavor transferred over to the vegetables. I did enjoy the amount of vegetables that came in the dish. It was just unfortunate that the vegetables didn't seem to pick up the flavor.

The Pad Thai Me Up was very good. The flavor was excellent and everything on the dish worked well together. The sauce made the dish I think but squeeze a little lime and sprinkle on some peanut and the dish became amazing.

Overall, this was a great dining experience. The wait staff was excellent and the table setting was elegant. I would highly recommend this place and I look forward to going back and trying another dish or two.

One note about about our seat was that we were next to a foldable area divider with a nice corner light that you see in some of the pictures. Unfortunately, we were right next to the restrooms and while it did not smell at all, sometimes the flush of the toilet ruined a bit of the experience. It's unfortunate that restaurants feel like they have to add that extra table right next to the hallway where the restrooms are. It was nicely hidden with the room divider and again it didn't smell. But still unfortunate that a table has to be...

We didn't have reservations, but that didn't seem to be a problem with the Columbia street construction. The atmosphere is delightful with many warm tones of natural wood and Edison bulbs. The bar staff is very friendly. The host was ever so accommodating because we had our 7 year old daughter with us and they were able to pull a table for 5 together relatively quickly. The waitress was professional and friendly, however service was a tad slow, but one waitress had several tables and apparently knew the other patrons and chatted for a bit. The food was definitely the star of the show. The steak my mother in law had was huge and she shared with my daughter. The Thai noodles my father in law had were tasty to him and plentiful. My husband had the whole fried snapper. Omg such huge portions, but you pay the price for it for sure. But the breading the fish was fried in was light and tasty, not over salted at all! Beware if you're the average American and done want to see fish heads or fins, just ask them to not send that portion out! I had the lettuce wraps as my meal. They were plentiful and filled up with lots of chicken. There are only two things I didn't like, that was the chairs that we sat on most uncomfortable to me. However they are nice to look at. The sexy is the music was a bit loud and it caused the do of the place to louder than I appreciated, especially when one table was practically yelling so loud I couldn't hear the conversation at our own table. Once they left it was much better. I'd like to say that we'll be back. It was really good food. Not to mention they have really good handmade house cocktails....