Kopi Haus restaurant at the Holiday Inn has a new name, a new menu and a new vibe. Mary Tao reports.

The new-look Faya Haus at the Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites. Credit: IHG

Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites has been a family-friendly accommodation for decades, surrounded by lush gardens and lots of amenities.

“Most Papua New Guineans come back because their parents used to bring them here. They have what we like to say a ‘staycation’, where you live in Port Moresby and you come here for the weekend,” says the general manager of secondment Belinda Jardim.

Its main restaurant, Kopi Haus, established a loyal following over the years, known for its daily hearty buffets served at breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Faya Haus presents an opportunity to try bold Papua New Guinean flavours with a mix of international cooking styles.

Last October, the restaurant premiered its hot new revamp and is now called Faya Haus (Fire Haus).

There’s been a clear change of pace: from the introduction of the restaurant’s first-ever cocktail, Sweet Fire, for the fun night crowd to the view of chefs taking out thin-crust pizza right in front of you from the woodfired oven – the diavola is a popular order.

The a la carte menu has been enhanced by executive head chef Harald Rinderle, who sources the freshest produce for his kitchen from many small local farmers.

The meat platter is a perfect way to sample the range of charcoal-grilled meat available. It has rib eye on the bone, sirloin, lamb chops, wagyu steak with a choice of sides and sauces, one of which is the marata (the red fruit of the pandanus plant) barbecue sauce, an invention for Rinderle.

“Because we’ve come out of an older legacy, the old Kopi Haus, what Faya Haus presents is an opportunity for a lot of guests to actually try bold Papua New Guinean flavours with a mix of international cooking styles, so it’s really good for a fusion as far as the experience and the culinary side,” says Hudson Mitchell, portfolio director of sales and marketing.

The restaurant and pool area can now be hired for private functions.

Faya Haus is open Monday to Sunday from 7am to 10.30pm. See fayahaus.com.

This is an edited version of an original article first published in the February-April 2025 issue of Paradise, the in-flight magazine of Air Niugini.