Yaya's — Restaurant in Manchester

I attended Yaya's on 21/08/21 I called ahead to book a table (to avoid waiting around) gentleman over the phone stated we don't do bookings. - that fine I can understand.

Arrived around 18:30 as I come from Bury parked further down the side street as the same as everyone else. There was a gentleman with his Mrs waiting for a table so myself and my Mrs waited then a few guys come in and walked past us to get served/get a table and one of the worker saw us waiting (he was outside the entrance on a break) and asked if we have been severed which I stated no and he got us table and told the guys who walked past us to wait as we arrived first (I honestly thought we would get ignored and I really appreciate the worker get us a table) - top marks for that never forget that thank you.

I ordered Fillet Steak Medium Well - Peppercorn Sauce (the sauce tin was pushed on the mash didn't like that I am sure they could of made space for it else where on the plate).

My Mrs ordered Chicken Tagliatelle Pasta Creamy Peri Peri - with Cheese extra £1.25 (kind of bit expensive when the pasta is 11.25 on it own through the cheese in for free or incorporate in your price).

I did ask the server if we could move tables (too more private area) but as we ordered we were told it logged in the system (Table 9B) and would cause problems - we didn't mind this.

So, the food arrived quite quick I was assuming it would take longer food was nice no complains the only thing I can say it is a bit pricey and the portion are bit small (well for my steak it was and the chips were small portion also).

They tried to sell us mocktails but we were not interested got normal drinks can £2 bottles £2.65 more than double the normal price!

Then comes this service charge added without your consent (I did some googling and its 10% of your bill they add on) very cheeky.

I spoke to my friend about this service charge he was like your in a restaurant just pay I was like the restaurant it on Bury Old Road not some top end in Manchester, my Mrs is like leave it just pay but personally this should be advised to the customers before adding it on.

The place seemed a bit crammed like tables were too close to each other so privacy is not really there but was really busy the local like the place and the music is a bit too loud also.

The customer service was decent and so was the food but just giving an honest review.

As we were leaving we saw 2 family waiting so we know the place is busy.

Also, there is not a variety of food compared to other restaurant but you can't do much about that.

-1 star for being pricey -1 star for service charge -1 star for small portions

+1 star for the gentleman (the guy with the beard and glasses older gent) greeted us at the entrance an getting us a table - this one of the many reasons I paid the...

Heard lots of great things about Yayas, over many years, therefore as we were in Manchester we thought we should try it out.

I scored it overall 2 for the following reasons:

POSITIVES The decor has a certain vibe, and I liked it. It was very different to other restaurants, rough around the edges sort of thing, but it looks good. The menu is quite vast, as many places these days. Usually I'd say that's a negative for me, but on this occasion, as the 4 of us all preferred different dish types, it was a positive. The presentation was on point and I like the fact that the plates are distinctive. The restaurant itself was very clean.

NEGATIVES You cannot have your starter and mains together, no matter what. One of our party wanted the mix starter but as her main meal, so we can all eat at the same time. The waiter said NO, and in a very firm manner as well. Basically, if you are the type of person who enjoys a mix grill as a mains as you have a small appetite, you need to go as a party of one, otherwise you'll be sat watching others eat. Our person ended up getting something she didn't want to eat, and then only ate 40% of her meal - she said she wouldn't go back. I ordered the Gourmet Beef Burger, and I have to say, it was tasteless, but even worse it was like eating rubber. Presentation was nice, that's about it. For the price paid, I thought it would be a freshly prepared beef patty but instead it tasted pre-made and like a packaged beef patty from a wholesaler. This is quite a busy establishment, probably sits around 80 people, plus staff. However they have 1 cubicle in the men's toilets and there was a queue of 4 people waiting to use it. As you'll read from all my reviews, fancy restaurants need good toilet facilities and regular cleaning, and Yayas has neither unfortunately. SERVICE CHARGE - as if the prices are not on the expensive side already, they then have a 10% service charge. I did ask the till staff why a service charge and the chap just looked at me and processed the payment in full. Only 1 of the 4 of us actually ate more than 60% of the meal, and we didn't do a take home as the food was very average. Not that big a deal for me, but on display they have meat cuts, literally in front of a set of tables. I can imagine it would put many people off. It certainly put one of our party off.

Maybe this place was created to be instagrammable, it certainly is that, but the food is a 1 out of 5 for me.

They must be doing something well because they were busy, quite busy in fact.

Personally I wouldn't go back, Manchester is a big place with lots of options, so Yayas doesn't stand out to me, but I still...

9th Sept 2023 Update

4 years since I last visited. First impressions weren't great as literally almost half the menu had been crossed off in black marker. Why not just print a new menu?

Ordered the lamb chops again and this time significantly less meat and much more expensive (£9) for 3 chops but tasty. As was the starter mix grill. The keema nacho starter was tasty, good heat and spice.

Ordered a double patty beef mince burger and felt more like a double cheeseburger from McDonald's than a gourmet burger. Very flat, not tender or juicy and couldn't find the caramelised onions I'd ordered with. Fries were good. Mixed berry mocktail was beautiful.

Received starters quickly but after that service went downhill fast and very disappointed. We had to request our table be cleared in order to even make space for the mains, waiters giving plates of food to the wrong people even after asking who ordered before putting on the table. We had to fetch our own cutlery. We never received a jug of water for the table we asked for. Getting a hold of a waiter was next to impossible because even though we were the closest table to the till, nobody would look our way yet staff walked past us constantly.

Only positive to the service is my sister couldn't eat the Chicken Alfredo she'd wanted because the peppercorn sauce was very spicy for her, (why is there peppercorn sauce in a Fettucini Alfredo anyway? It's supposed to be mild). We swapped it out for a chicken steak which both were crossed off the bill. I appreciate this a lot, however, it seems to me after the refurb done to the building, the quality of the mains and the staff service leaves a lot to be desired. Staff seem very preoccupied in sitting people first rather than the experience from ordering to eating. 3/5 only for the final bill otherwise lower. Won't be returning for a while. Shame.

Brilliant place to eat. Food was prepared very fast, staff were very polite and made an effort to answer our questions.

Our starters included lamb chops, chicken wings and boneless chicken strips. The strips were decent, the chips were great but the chicken wings we had were amazing. Tender meat, wonderful marinade with a satisfying heat.

I had a fillet steak with creamy peppercorn sauce, steak cooked medium rare. The meat was tender with hardly any stringy meat. Cooked to perfection. Roasted vegetables had a spice to them as did the peppercorn sauce which gave the dish a kick. The creamy mash was lovely, no chunks and served hot.

The price was reasonable and the sides and sauce came with the meal unlike some places where this is extra.

Very happy and will be...