Casa Yari — Restaurant in Jefferson Township

I had the worst experience at a restaurant in my life. I walk in about an hour and 15 minutes before close and wait to be seated. They approach and ask me if I’m with anyone else or waiting for some people to meet up with me. I say no I’m by myself and would like to be seated and get a couple of drinks and something there and then also take food to go. So they say “oh well you are by yourself well I’m not sure we can do that I’ll ask the chef”. Then they come back and say well no I’m alone and I also want to go so no they are too busy and it’s too late. Like they are not closing for over an hour. So I say that’s bad treatment and I’ll probably never be back. So I walk out and leave a bad review. I decide to walk back in and speak to a manager. Like maybe the chef just made the decision and the owner or manager isn’t aware. So the person is one in the same. Comes out loud, argumentative, talking over me and therefore not even understanding. I’m trying to calmly say that their employee refused to seat me because I’m by myself and that it’s discrimination. They were offended by the word and then claimed they would seat me alone but that they won’t do to go orders. I then stated calmly that this wasn’t an option given to me before as they said because I was alone they wouldn’t serve me. They then didn’t like me pointing that out and said I was wasting their time and they don’t have time for me and refused service to me again. The whole restaurant hears as they have been practically yelling the whole time. They all look and me and start laughing like I’m a drama queen or something and it’s my fault. I’m glad some of you have had great experiences with this place but I just got discriminated against, refused service and humiliated in front of an entire restaurant. So I wanted everyone...

I've returned to Casa Yari for my second visit after going plant-based, and what a revolution this spot has come for me and the vegan food scene here in Chicago.

I'll be honest and say I had trouble recalling my first experience here 5 years ago until I started reading over my review. Now as a vegan, I find new appreciation in how nearly every item on the menu has a vegan option associated that is just as delicious as it's non-vegan counterpart.

Now, I have to be honest and say that it did take a while for the food to come out. They specialize in preparing everything fresh so it may take 20-30 minutes, so please keep your expectations in place. They still so BYOB so popping down to the nearby Walgreens for a bottle of wine could help ease that wait, but it's worth it!

My friends and I started with Sweet & Spicy Cauliflower ($13) and Vegan Pechuguitas ($13), drizzled with their house aioli (also vegan!). The cauliflower nuggets were fire for both taste and texture, and the tenders were very crispy. 5 out of 5 for each of these apps.

For our mains, we tried the Caderas En Coco ($20) with mushrooms, Doblados ($16) with jackfruit, and their famous Machuca ($26) with eggplants. Every single item on our table was bursting with flavor and they did an amazing job with the portions, presentation, and making sure that these vegan friendly items were kept at the highest caliber. Absolutely fantastic!

Our meal ended with a Berry Flan (vegan option!) which was the perfect sweet end to an amazing meal.

We ended up dining here for over 2 hours - largely due to the wait in the kitchen, but we had a great time and never felt rushed. So glad to have rediscovered Casa Yari's menu especially through these plant-based eyes. I look forward to returning...

4/21/18 we stopped by for a late lunch, nearly 4pm. Service was polite and attentive and willing to take questions and small substitutions, to accommodate a dietary need. I had the Caribbean nachos, chicken and tropical salsa on fried plantains, (not regular nachos..) my friend had the pastelon, because she loves it and she said not many places make it, she complimented the chef, she said she had not had beans with that flavor since her mother used to make them. We finished with the Bread pudding with coconut ice cream. The food is made fresh, therefore takes the correct amount of time to cook but not overlong, to keep us busy they brought some complimentary home made chips with caribbean sauce to the table and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese. The chef/owner is highly trained and talented, everything was delicious, and served as if it were a 5 star restaurant. We finished with the Bread pudding, putting that order in at the same time as the nachos because it takes 15 mins to cook. Again, delicious. Pricing was very reasonable for the quality of service and food. Having worked in restaurants, and cooking everything fresh, I don't know how well they handle an absolute rush, but this is a BYOB restaurant, so plan ahead and take advantage of this place in the afternoons, when the service, music, ambiance lets you really enjoy your meal...