Yaya's Kitchen — Restaurant in Ontario

We were in town for a family event and 2 of us decided to try YaYa's Kitchen. Although they were fully booked, they managed to fit us in for the Friday evening Afro-vegan blind tasting menu. I'm so very glad we had an opportunity to experience this delightful and delicious dining experience.

We've done a few other blind tasting experiences over the years to celebrate special miletones and events, and have enjoyed all of them. This one was different, though. The group seated at tonight's dinner was very small and helped make the experience that much more intimate - I think there were only about 13 of us in total.

Part of the special nature of this experience was having our host explain to us what was in each course as it was served, and describing where the ingredients were sourced and, often, how they were prepared.

The 5 course meal exposed us to so many new flavours and mixes of flavours and textures, which were enhanced by our host's suggestion that we eat as much of the meal as we felt comfortable with with our fingers. Before we began to eat, our food servers came to us with water and bowl and poured water over our hands so we could be cleaned and comfortable eating without utensils. (Of course there is also hand sanitizer available for those who want to be certain.) I would urge you to try this, as beyond enjoying the taste and mouth-feel of the food, there's an entire extra dimension to having the tactile sensations associated with handling the various courses.

Since the menu changes regularly, I won't describe the various dishes we enjoyed, except to say they were all so good! (I do have to say, though, that caramel sauce with some sort of hot spice was incredible! ) And it has made us eager to visit London again to try their other offerings, and to bring friends.

We also had the wine pairings, which were great.

I would encourage anyone who's looking for an intimate dining experience to try YaYa's Kitchen. It's a unique and wonderful dining experience that won't...

My boyfriend and I went for Valentines Day and the food was fantastic. Awesome courses that give you a taste of so many different cultural dishes. I loved that the food was explained, not only the ingredients but also where the ingredients grow, how they’re typically used in those regions, and why a particular ingredient is impactful. The culinary experience was awesome! The only issues were that the service was quite messy. We ordered a glass of wine and a beer (not included in the wine pairing) and were forgotten, and when we asked again I was given the wrong wine and oz, and my boyfriends drink was forgotten again. We definitely know that the experience was going to be around 2-3 hours but we ended up there for 4 hours, with 2 small dishes coming out an hour. Again, the dishes were phenomenal but we left needing some more food. A couple at our reservation showed up without a table prepared which was also surprising considering the prestige of the restaurant! There really should have been a rhythm to the service but there didn’t seem to be. I’d like to say that mistakes do happen and such an experience must be extremely difficult to pre-plan but for $300 I felt that the service should be seamless, as you’re paying for an experience more so than the food. Overall, I felt that for the money we paid, I wished the service had been better and the food came out quicker than 2 dishes an hour.

Loved how the dishes were presented, it made for a really immersive experience, especially with the ingredient being shown and explained throughout. I love the goal of this restaurant, such a rich idea. Wish the execution was slightly better but again, such a thing is difficult to...

I had my first dinner at Yaya's, and it won't be my last. It's some of the most interesting food in London (which, I know, isn't saying a lot, but it can hold its own just about anywhere). Fresh and unusual ingredients, lovely presentation, and an inviting atmosphere. Do note that the menu on Fridays (at least as of this writing) is VEGAN. It only says "blind" tasting menu on the reservation system. Also, although I couldn't tell from the online reservation system, you can order wine a la carte at the restaurant, so you don't need to purchase the wine accompaniment in advance (and the wine for this option comes off of the menu, anyway, and isn't that much more expensive by the glass). I found the portions on the small side, but maybe that's a North American perspective and a problem, if at all, only for the Friday, five-course menu. If your worried about the spiciness of African food, I found that it wasn't spicy at all (except for the chocolate, which was amazing!). If you love spicy food, they can make adjustments for you. There's a nice atmosphere about the place, although your conversation will be put on hold as each course gets introduced to the entire gathering (there's only one seating and one menu, so all parties get each new course at the same time). And plan ahead! There are only two seatings a week, and they...