Early this year, my friends and I had a quick meet up at a cute cafe named Naro. I believe it's the most aesthetic boho seaside cafe in Lingayen.
Lingayen is a municipality and also the capital of the Pangasinan province. Lingayen is known for bagoong (fish sauce), beach, and the provincial capitol located beside the Lingayen Gulf where Douglas MacArthur landed in 1945 during World War II.
Whenever I go to Lingayen, it's mostly to see the beach and eat taho, sweet corn with cheese, and other street foods. I didn't know a cute cafe exists in this town.
NARO Cafe
It was one of my friends who recommended this place. The cafe will give you a chill and boho beach vibe once you step into the entrance.
To get to Naro, you can ride a tricyle in front of the provincial capitol and tell them you're going to Naro. If the driver doesn't know of the place, you can say it's located at the right side of the baywalk. The baywalk is just a long straight road but if you're not eagle-eyed, you can just switch on your google maps so won't get past the cafe.
Going to Naro from the provincial capitol.
This part of the Lingayen baywalk has no public vehicles around. We're just lucky someone with a tricycle had offered to drive us back to the capitol, of course with a fee. It's best to go here with private vehicle.
I thought Naro would look like a typical cafe but I was impressed of how well this cafe was designed. The posts were wrapped with bamboo and the ceiling was adorned with various decorations; from dreamcatchers, hanging lights with macrame, rattan (if my observation is correct), and hanging pots. The are literally plants everywhere inside this cafe.
As I have observed, Naro has divided their dining area into three. The first area beside the entrance is more on the typical-looking cafe. The second area, where we sat, was a floor sitting table.
Then the third area which has the most aesthetic look. It has a translucent roofing that is perfect for the natural lighting when taking pictures.
As you can see there's a huge aircooler obstructing the view. This cafe is not airconditioned and so they keep the cafe cool with a couple of electric fans and aircoolers.
I arrived around lunch time. The cafe was busy and most tables were already occupied. Two of our friends arrived an hour earlier so they were able to choose their prefered table. The floor sitting table.
Even the seat cushions look artsy. And if you notice under the rug is a banig, a handwoven mat.
The wall behind and beside our table was also adorned with pots of cactus and other decors.
But you know what surprised me? They use iPad for their menu.
If you can see, the welcome screen on their menu explains the meaning of Naro. It was from the word "inaro".
The plates, bowls, and cups also matched the style of the cafe. I find the iridescent and oddly-shaped glass cute but I struggled a little when drinking.
Our other friend finally arrived and we started brainstorming our foods to order. We were planning to order the set menu but ended up picking one dish each for us to share.
We ordered bulalo, shawarma with rice, and calamares. Calamares was the dish I ordered because I missed the soft and crunchy breading of calamares.
It seems like a word was written using a mayo on top of the shawarma. I just found it out now while writing this blog that the word written was "Naro". It was facing the other side which is why I can't understand it.
And of course, let's do a short food review! The bulalo was delicious, shawarma rice was good, and the calamares was easy to chew. The price was reasonable considering the aesthetic interior and maybe the fancy digital menu.
You know, I wished we had ordered more dishes. The serving size of the shawarma rice looked like it was only good for one, but we divided it into four. Lol. While the bulalo and calamares seem to be good for two to three people only.
After paying the bill, we checked out the side area of the cafe and found this vertical metal net filled with various plants. Although I'm skeptical if they're real or not. My selfie addict friends, of course, posed for photos.
This is how the side looks like. I don't know if you can see the beach from afar. You'll literally just cross the road and your feet will be touching the sand.
A led signage that says, "Naro ta ka" (inaro ta ka), a Pangasinan sentence which translates to "I love you".
The cafe also has a second floor. We haven't been there so I only took a photo before we left. I saw how it looked like on a Facebook reel and I wish we went up too. It has a nice view of the beach.
A Must-See Cafe in Lingayen
If you happen to be in Lingayen then I recommend that you visit this place because this cafe is such a feast to the eyes. It's a great place to drop by and rest after basking into the sun at the beach. People who are also into aesthetic photos for their social media would 100% love this cafe. Foods are okay but I believe people come here mainly for the interior. There was even an on going photo shoot while we were eating.
Before I end this post, here's us..
And me. Ah, I miss my dyed hair.
Thanks for reading! 💚
