YaYas Euro Bistro in Little Rock — Restaurant in Little Rock

Long Review

I just wanted to take a moment and share my recent experience at this restaurant and why I’m giving it 2 stars.

I recently had my engagement party here (brunch) and let me tell you, it was a rollercoaster of emotions. As I traveled all the way from Texas and had family coming from far places, I had high expectations for this restaurant.

The servers and the restaurant’s night manager were amazing, I have to give credit where it's due. They were attentive and made sure everything was running smoothly & setup nicely. But, unfortunately, I can't say the same about the banquet director.

To put it lightly, the banquet director was terrible. It was like pulling teeth to get a response from her. My friend, who was acting as the middle man in the planning process, had to follow up countless times just to hear back from the banquet director. Weeks would go by without any communication from her side. I was very frustrated about that. Sometimes I had to intervene (still wouldn’t respond promptly, only every so often).

The night before the event, we were promised ample time to set up after the restaurant closed at 10 pm. We all thought that was super late, but we went with it. When we arrived, we were shocked to find out we only had a mere 30 minutes to set up. We were all under the impression that we'd have at least 2 hours since the decorations were extensive & the director said the workers/manager didn’t leave until around 12am. Of course that wasn’t the case. Luckily, the restaurant's night manager came to our rescue and allowed us the time we needed. He was understanding and caring, restoring our faith in good customer service.

To make matters worse, the banquet director sent a long email on the day of the event, stating that she wouldn't be present and that her captains would assist us instead. It felt incredibly unprofessional and disappointing to find out at the last minute.

Despite all the challenges, thanks to the efforts of my friends/family, and the staff who served everyone. The event turned out beautifully. The food was delectable, and my friend did an amazing job setting everything up and hosting. We even received compliments from the workers on how well everything was arranged.

But, if you're considering hosting/having an event here, I wouldn't recommend it. This was only part of my frustration with the banquet director. Go somewhere else where the banquet director (or coordinator) truly cares about going the extra mile for you, communicates in a timely manner, and truly values your time and money.

Remember, the success of any event relies on the organization and commitment of the event venue staff....

Ugh, I hate to leave a bad review. I really do. I’ve worked in the restaurant business for years! But our experience was completely unacceptable, and I am sure there are others that can related. There were 2 main issues with our experience. First, we ordered our Thanksgiving Pick-Up Meal for 2 Persons ($80) from YaYas in early November, for a scheduled pick up time of 12:00pm on Thanksgiving Thursday November 26th. We go to pick up our pre-paid meal from YaYas at 11:45am, we’re greeted outside by a Host at a table taking down names. The Host stated it would be about 20-30 minutes of a wait. No worries, we were early. Noon comes, Host says they are delayed 20-30 more minutes. No worries, we can wait. We ended up receiving our pick up order at 1:52pm... Our scheduled pick up time was 12:00pm. That’s almost 2 hours that we had to wait outside, it the direct sun, waiting for our paid orders, with no explanation. The female manager came out every once in awhile to “take care” of upset patrons, but would quickly return inside while making rude comments on the side. The second issue, again, I hate to complain but once again completely unacceptable - the portion sizing we received. Horrrrible. The portions were maybe worth $30 total? We had no left overs, and were not thrilled with the quality of some of the items. I know there has to be a reason for all of the issues, but as a 1st time customer of YaYas, it’s very hard to say we will be returning. Unfortunately, the wait time, lack of explanation, lack of compassion from current manager at the time, and lack of actual food portions, were just too bad to not complain. Our meal was 4/10 stars and not worth $80 in any manner. And our overall...

This is the food experience I want for all meals! We started with a pour of their amazing bourbon selection, specifically George T. Stagg, which was a pop of bourbon flavor, opening the senses. The warm, soft house bread was served with a house buttery baba ghanoush, a treat the restaurant is known for in the area. The special was ordered-scallops over risotto with thick chunks of pancetta, mushrooms and asparagus- oh my-the richness of flavors were a perfect blend with the thick, tender grilled scallops with beautiful flavor! We needed the meal with the crème brûlée trio- chocolate, vanilla and berry- tasty, but not overwhelming-we left half of it on the table. Lexington was our server who was very attentive, made recommendations for the special (we both loved the dish), kept our glasses full and was a delight with the appropriate level of conversations. The bar manager/host (we didn’t get her name) engaged us in conversations about the restaurant and the bourbon selections, took the time to share the bottle of The bourbon for viewing, was friendly and proud of the many years of service and the reputation of the restaurant. My colleague is a frequent diner in the restaurant- during the warmer months, they have outside entertainment and is their favorite place to dine. The restaurant was busy, reservations are suggested. The decor was European, pleasing to the eyes, and the noise was very tolerable, considering the full restaurant. I will definitely visit again in the future- and would HIGHLY recommend to anyone in the area-call ahead for...