Yalm — Restaurant in Norwich

I've wanted to try Yalm for a really long time and when The Bodega opened The Diner (insta - thediner_norwich) it felt like the perfect time to head down. I was not disappointed!

Food - Yalm is at its heart a fancy food hall and offers a tonne of different options for small independent vendors, it's an ideal option for groups as there's something for everyone. I ate at The Diner which serves deli sandwiches, subs and bagels and the food was impeccable! I had a beef melt and my partner had a chicken and cheese sandwich, both were amazing and huge. We had to box up half and take it home. Other vendors offer things like ramen/noodles, African food, tacos, pizza etc etc. the lower level has a wine bar and a conveyor belt desert bar.

All of the establishments inside look clean and tidy.

Service - The wait staff are lovely and attentive, food was delivered swiftly and with a smile. You order your food through a QR code accessible menu and each person can order whatever they like from whichever vendor. They were happy to box the other halves of our sandwiches and were very happy to answer questions and direct us. At the end of the ordering process you can leave a note for the kitchen, I asked for no onion and they come through which is more than a lot of establishments I've tried have managed.

Atmosphere - The upstairs area is loud and busy but beautifully decorated and overlooks The Royal Arcade, there is plenty of bench seating as well as a number of individual tables.

The downstairs area by contrast is a calm space with comfortable seating, it's a more brightly lit space but as the day progresses they bring the lights down to a more ambient level. You are totally fine to have food brought down to the lower level and if you struggle with social situations I'd recommend waiting for a seat.

Accessibility - The whole establishment is level access. Accessible toilets are available on both levels and there is a generous lift for people to get to the second floor, seating upstairs might be more tricky but there is room for a wheelchair if necessary, I'd sit downstairs as a preference though.

Definitely head down if you get a chance, it's...

Update following the representatives comments on my review:

There was nothing wrong with my phone. Your own staff said about the WiFi "it never works when it gets slightly busy and is always a problem". She then told us to order with a server at the till and when we did were told just keep trying on the WiFi, it'll get there eventually... Not helpful.

Perhaps instead of arguing the toss with honest reviews and trying to blame a customer who's paid you decent money you spend time taking on board what they say as just possibly being true and talking to your staff because it certainly seemed like something that is a constant problem!

Always a bad sign when a place won't accept anything wrong being pointed out. Urgh. What an annoying place.

You have to order online but their WiFi doesn't work because everyone is using it at the same time and there is no phone signal.

After you've faffed about for ages trying to actually order you see that most of the options aren't available.

The atmosphere was horrific. A vibe is nice. Being in a cavernous foodhall reminiscent of some boarding school canteen is not. The noise from everone shouting was just hell. They insisted on piping in music from speakers above on top of this to you know give it more atmosphere. However it just got lost in a muddled bass due to placement of the speakers.

The food was average at best. Partner had the greek option and that was okay. What I had was the most overpriced day to day nothing special burger from On The Bone. Tasteless not cooked well absolutely nothing worthwhile about it. Should be ashamed to make out they're anything more than a greasy spoon cafe.

I'm amazed how the modern world seems to tolerate such overpriced mediocrity just cos someone mentions 'street food' in the same sentence. As terrible as...

I never leave reviews but I feel like I need to for yalm.

I've been a handful of times and each time I've been very underwhelmed. The first time I went it was with a load of friends and we all ordered at the same time from the same kitchen, yet our food came very spaced apart despite it being the same food. The second time I went I ordered the bone marrow toast and when it came the bone marrow was solid and inedible with the toast being so hard you couldn't even bite or cut it and when I tried to send it back the waiter said "yeah it shouldn't look like that" and when I asked what could be done he just said "hope that when you next order food it doesn't look like that" ???? I didn't eat it so surely it should have been taken back but instead I just wasted my money and went hungry. The third time was most recent and I ordered a ramen bowl and it came super late and was cold. I was so hungry I just ate it but it was so disappointing. You'd expect that if you pay on the more expensive end for a simple meal that it would atleast come warm. I also ordered a chai latte that tasted like hot milk for nearly four quid.

The atmosphere is hit or miss. Visually it's pretty but is a sensory nightmare for the ears. It is so loud. I understand it is a food hall but you can hear the music getting louder at times whereas if it wasn't so loud, people wouldn't have to shout to hear eachother.

It feels like the staff don't want to be there. Unless you're okay with the chances of being underwhelmed then I'd stay away. A shame that I can see lots of people having a nice time here but me and my friends I've gone with have not multiple times now even when really trying to give it a chance. Never had an experience like this...