Yamas Greek Restaurant — Restaurant in Austin

They deserve more than 5 stars. I can't say I got too much of anything but the service and kindness were wonderful. First, this is a beautiful place, and wish we had been there long enough to have the full experience. I did get to have the Aphrodite drink. It would have been wonderful to experience the rest of the night. It was my birthday, my husband was surprising me with dinner and a show, Chris Rocks' brother's comedy show. I have been struggling with my health for a few years and leaving the house hadn't been something we have the luxury to do as often. It hasn't been done in quite some time. I love getting dressed up. I used to travel for work, and eating great food was part of the luxury, I loved to do. I haven't done anything in several years due to my health that included this. My husband knew how I missed it. He knows how much I love Greek food. He went out of his way to find this gem and since my health has been pretty stable, he booked this night for us. This place was perfect! As soon as we got there, I could tell something wasn't right but didn't want to ruin this night since It had been so long doing something special like this.It being my birthday, our kid was out with her friends and it was a perfect night for us. I was dressed up and already started to enjoy the night. We were graciously greeted by the host in his perfectly pressed, crisp white chef smock and blue chef tie and the sweet waitress helped us choose from the amazing variety of yummy foods on their menu.As soon as my drink, Aphrodite, a perfect peach mocktail, and our first plate of fresh pitas with a beautiful array of mixed hummus arrived, I realized, I was not okay, it was happening, I was sweating and looked over to my husband to let him know.In sheer terror, worried I am going to cause a scene, I whisper to him, "You need to tell the front host, let him know I am having a medical emergency and need to get out of here before a big scene happens." He looks at me wide-eyed, he has never seen me in this state from beginning to end. You see he is scared and nervous. I can tell he is not sure what to do and how long we have.I feel my body start to weaken and worry I am either going to faint or vomit if I move my head. As he rushed to the front, he got the check and started to shovel what food we had in a Togo bag. Him knowing later I wished we had just tried a bit. I can tell some are confused around us, especially since we just sat down but we ignore it. The waitress checks on us and my husband just explains I am not feeling well and needs to check out with a heartfelt apology.She has a look of concern, but almost like she knows what is happening. He helped me up and I used every strength I had to get up and walk to the front without ruining the other patron's dinner and the other birthday celebration happening in the restaurant. The waitress comes running to us with more concern in her beautiful brown eyes.The host tells my husband he can get our vehicle and bring it up upfront while I sit and wait.The waitress sits next to me and knows immediately what is wrong. I am so grateful for her because she had a monitor. She knew and asked if we needed emergency service first. I know if I did it would be fast for my husband to get me there. I am having a hypoglycemia attack. I was dropping fast and knew I had minutes to seconds to get out of there before I mortify myself more. She checked my sugar keeping me calm and asked questions because she knew I was no longer coherent enough to speak. The peach drink got my sugar up just long enough to get out of the restaurant, The shakes are uncontrollable at this point and she tells the host to grab more juice for me. She was my angel and am so absolutely grateful for her. Even though she was so busy, she took the time to help us.My husband was able to get me outside and in the truck before the unthinkable happened, right in front of the restaurant I lost all my strength and whatever was in my stomach.Pure embarrassment sinks in. The juice got us home where I was able to get the...

My wife's birthday dinner at Yamas left us with mixed feelings. The restaurant's aesthetics are undeniably appealing - modern Greek chic with a vibrant atmosphere that promises an exciting dining experience. However, the reality didn't quite live up to the stylish facade.

We began our evening with cocktails, which unfortunately set a disappointing tone. The wait for our drinks was excruciatingly long, and when they finally arrived, the flavors were off-balance and uninspired. Given the time it took to receive them and their subpar quality, we decided against ordering a second round.

On our waiter's recommendation, we tried the halibut ceviche. While the concept was intriguing, the execution fell flat. The fish lacked the bright, zesty flavors one expects from a good ceviche, and we found ourselves leaving most of it unfinished. The fried feta, another appetizer we sampled, was adequate but unmemorable - a dish that could benefit from some refinement.

The calamari was a slight improvement. Cut into unusually large, steak frite-like pieces, the light frying gave it an interesting texture. However, it wasn't enough to elevate the overall meal experience.

The highlight of our meal was undoubtedly the dolmas. These stuffed grape leaves were delicious and stood out as the best dish we tried. That said, the portion size felt a bit small for the price, leaving us wishing for more of this standout item.

Service was the most glaring issue of the night. The staff, primarily composed of young, trendy high school and college-aged individuals, seemed more interested in socializing at the bar than attending to diners. The lack of experienced professionals was evident in the slow pace and general inattentiveness. Even on a relatively quiet night, we found ourselves waiting far too long for basic service.

The birthday celebration was another miss. Yamas goes for a big, showy display with a loud birthday song and an oversized sparkler candle. While some might appreciate the spectacle, my wife found it embarrassing and out of sync with the upscale ambiance the restaurant seems to be aiming for.

To his credit, our waiter eventually picked up on our dissatisfaction. He apologized and offered a discount, which was a nice gesture but couldn't fully salvage the evening.

Yamas has potential. The space is beautiful, and there are glimpses of what could be excellent cuisine, particularly with the dolmas. However, the restaurant needs significant improvements in service, consistency, and execution to match its ambitious aesthetic. The management would do well to invest in training their young staff and perhaps bring in some seasoned professionals to elevate the dining experience.

For now, despite its appealing looks and the delicious dolmas, Yamas falls into the category of style over substance. Until they address these issues, particularly with service and food quality, it's hard to justify a return visit or recommendation. There are simply too many other options in the area that offer a more polished and satisfying dining experience for a special occasion.

3/5 stars - Beautiful space with potential and delicious dolmas, but needs major improvements in overall food quality and service to be worth the...

Went to Yamas to catch up with a friend I haven’t seen in a while because we both love Greek food and this was on our list.

In terms of ambiance, it feels like a cute, intimate Greek restaurant inside and on the patio. But it is loud. It was like a loud party where you need to constantly shout when the music volume rises, which happened often because everyone seemed to be celebrating a birthday. It must have been everyone’s birthday on the Tuesday night we were there because every 5 minutes, the birthday song was blasting over the speakers and they were delivering a sparkler based dessert to another table. I wish I was exaggerating but it was pretty regular. Our server said when people see the sparkler come out, there would inevitably be another table who says, “oh, it’s also my birthday”.

The food and drinks, while a little pricey, were really good. I started with the Artemis Spritz and I cannot recommend it enough. A little bubbly and very refreshing. I want to learn to make it at home. My friend had the Santorini Mule and also really liked it; just the right amount of smokey Mezcal-ness. We then ordered the Zucchini Pancakes (my favorite thing) and the Spanakopita (flaky and delicious). Honestly, we probably could have stopped eating at that point. For the two of us, it was a lot of food. But we still ordered some entrees because, “when in Athens” :) I went for the traditional Moussaka which is like lasagna; but it’s eggplant and potatoes and cheese and ground beef and tomatoes and bechamel sauce. It was really good and so filling… but also pretty much lasagna. My friend had the salad and she said it was delish. We both got to-go boxes.

Lastly, the service was spot on. From the moment I sat down, our server was attentive and on top of things, even given how busy it was inside the restaurant. We were at a small table for 2 and with the amount of food we ordered, the staff was really good about clearing our table of things that didn’t need to be there so it didn’t feel too cluttered. The kitchen was a little slow as the entrees took a while to come out (maybe 20 minutes after we ordered them) but our server gave us regular updates and checked in. Luckily we weren’t in a rush.

Overall, the Greek food and fun cocktails tasted unique and were really good but definitely not cheap. We had a server who never had us waiting (except when waiting on entrees, which isn’t on our server) and she made our first time at this restaurant very welcoming. My only complaint is the loudness. If you want to go to a restaurant to eat good food and have a conversation, that could be a challenge. Lots of birthdays, lots of yelling. Now if you want to go to a hip and trendy place to eat good food but don’t want to hear your company… go here. I’d probably go back, but may try sitting on the gorgeous patio next time and see if the volume is...