Nao, one of the restaurants recognized by Michelin last year has moved its location from the El Koral shopping center to the former Riviera Bakery location, one block from the end of Blvd Antonio Mijares and kitty-corner from Osteria 107 on Miguel Hidalgo. Alex Branch, the chef and one of the owners is an experienced executive chef with restaurants in Dubai, Acre, and several others. The renovation of Riviera Bakery was true to the original restaurant, with the wine sands of Greece represented on the ceiling. The space is divided by two planters, and in my view, has a much more comfortable feeling than the previous space. You can enter the restaurant from either end. At the front door, the bar is on the right followed by the open kitchen. I stood and watched Alex plying his trade with extreme concentration of the plating of each dish and the presentation of the food. It is always a joy to watch a professional chef at work.

We were seating at a table set for three, and Alex came out to greet us, say hello and thank us for coming. We had arrived at 6:00 pm and as the evening went on almost all of the tables were full. We were asked what we would like to drink, offered water, and bread was brought to the table. The server poured a little olive oil out of a small container with actual olives in it. The bread was served on a platter mirroring the large pebbles of white sand.

We decided to select three appetizers to share – the hummus, a cucumber salad, and the fish carpaccio. The hummus was presented with a loaf of bread fresh from the oven – hot and filled with air from baking. It was amazing. The cucumber salad was also on a base of hummus and had toasted pine nuts and other garnishments. Another winner. The fish carpaccio has an arugula emulsion and a green olive tapenade. Each of the three dishes had incredible flavor, great presentation, and was enough to share.

For our main courses, we ordered two of the pastas – the hazelnut gnocchi and the pappardelle. The gnocchi were small and flavorful with hazelnut butter, parsley, parmesan reggiano and truffles. The pappardelle was with a light tomato sauce and mushroom ragout. Both portions were large enough to share between two people. I went home with a lot of extra pasta for another meal. They were delicious. As a final experience, we ordered the Chocolate Gianduia to share for dessert. We didn’t quite know what to expect – 70% chocolate, 30% hazelnut with cacao nibs and salt. It was served with four small crepes. It was soooo rich. The dessert could very clearly been shared by four people and every one would be delighted.

The evening was a great meal – quality, flavor, presentation – perfect service, and the new location has a great atmosphere. They even have a nice outside deck, where it would be great to have breakfast. Thank you Alex Branch and your staff for the wonderful time.