heyday cookshop preview new naples restaurant
Courtesy Heyday Cookshop/Carlos Gonzalez

First Look: Inside Naples’ Most Ambitious New Restaurant

Chef Kayla Pfeiffer debuts Heyday Cookshop with a bold menu, rotating chef residencies and a hi-fi listening room.

by

Food + Drink

There’s undeniable momentum in Southwest Florida’s restaurant scene right now. In the past year alone, award-winning chefs Michael Mina and Gavin Kaysen have opened local outposts, while homegrown restaurateurs are injecting fresh, creative energy into the region’s dining landscape. 

Among the rising stars shaping this evolution is Kayla Pfeiffer. When her North Naples restaurant, Bicyclette Cookshop, debuted in 2023, it was so transformative we rewrote our Best New Restaurants feature at the last minute to include it. The James Beard Foundation took notice, naming Kayla a semifinalist for its Emerging Chef award last year. 

On April 27, she raises the bar again with Heyday Cookshop. Her signature riffs on familiar flavors and penchant for weaving narrative into each dish carry over from Bicyclette, but Heyday feels like a step forward. Like the chef herself, the restaurant is more mature and self-assured. The menu comes with a deeper point of view: cerebral without veering into pretentiousness, layered and ambitious yet still approachable.  

“With Heyday, we wanted to take things a step further,” Kayla explains. “It’s still stemming from memory—a journey, childhood, a collaboration—but the techniques have a lot more depth. We’ve created our own style and feel.” 

Heyday will also introduce Southwest Florida’s first chef residency program, hosting visiting chefs for extended collaborations that spotlight the region’s farms and fisheries through new lenses. Guest chefs will contribute dishes to the menu, offer nightly tastings and participate in special events.

The inaugural lineup sets a high bar: Jorge Pabon, former executive chef of Michelin-starred Estela in New York City (May 10–31), followed by chef Isaac Villaverde (June 18–21), whose acclaimed Panama City restaurant La Tapa Del Coco champions Afro-Panamanian culinary heritage. 

To lead the beverage program, Kayla tapped Palace Pub & Wine Bar co-owner Ryan Lay. As with his Cape Coral establishment, Ryan focuses primarily on small producers and emphasizes transparency. Think: less big, bold California cabernet and more easy-drinking, indigenous grapes. “The point is wines that tell a sense of place,” he says. “When you talk to Kayla, 90% of her dishes have a story behind them. It’s the same with the wines I carry.” 

He’s also curated a dedicated vermouth program, bringing the aperitif culture that’s trending in foodie cities like New York and Barcelona to Naples. Imbibers can sip a glass in the bar, which doubles as a hi-fi listening room. “The whole theme of this restaurant is collaboration and bringing everyone together,” Ryan says. “The motto is: Let’s have a good time.” 

Below, Kayla shares a preview of the menu, dissecting the inspirations and techniques behind each dish. 

Boiled Peanuts, Florida Citrus

“Growing up, I would go to this little bodega, and by the checkout, there was always a crockpot of peanuts,” Kayla says. “I wanted to do that, but different.” At Heyday, she simmers the shell-on peanuts with orange, Meyer lemon, pink peppercorns and ginger, creating a bright, aromatic elixir that’s as addictive as the nuts themselves. 

Crab Salad en Brick, Pink Lemon, Caviar 

A nod to the steakhouse crab salad, this dish tucks pink lemon-scented lump crab into crisp shells and crowns each bite with caviar. “It’s low-fuss—a perfect textural bite,” she says. 

“Beef” Stroganoff Mushrooms, Egg Noodle Sabayon, Crème Fraîche Curd

“Stroganoff was the first dish I ever tried to cook. It went terribly wrong. We needed to redeem it,” she muses. Lightly grilled mushrooms are seasoned with housemade mushroom-vinegar salt, then nestle onto a deeply savory mushroom curd. The classic egg noodles are reimagined two ways: as an airy sabayon and a crisp cracker for scooping. 

Radish Salad, Lap Cheong, Pineapple-Funyuns Crunch, Sesame Leaf Green Goddess

What started as a wedge salad evolved into a riot of color and texture. Peppery radishes from 12 Seasons Farm in Fort Myers sit atop rendered Chinese sausage, crunchy Funyuns and dehydrated pineapple that’s been reconstituted with umami-rich fish sauce and chili crisp. “When you have a bite of everything, it’s texturally amazing,” Kayla says. 

Lamb Tartare, Pistachio, Key Lime, Mustard Seeds

Sprouted broccoli, pistachio pesto, pickled mustard seeds and grilled scallion vinaigrette bring tons of texture to supple diced lamb. “There’s not much more to it,” Kayla says. “We didn’t want to serve it with a cracker. The broccoli gives it that texture.” 

Asparagus, Whipped Bottarga, Potato, Garlic Blossom 

“I wanted to take an item I wasn’t fond of and bring it to life,” she says. To transform the spring vegetable, she compresses and marinates the asparagus, then pairs it with briny bottarga (Italian cured mullet roe) and a delicate potato crisp. 

Peking Duck Snack Wrap 

“This is an ode to Louie [Mele], my business partner, who was the president of McDonald’s,” Kayla says. The duck undergoes a five-day process to achieve lacquered, crisp skin, then gets tucked into individual wraps with hoisin aioli and pickled daikon—a perfect high-low riff on a Chinese tradition.