Yasouvlaki — Restaurant in New York

My (adult) kids and I ate here on Yasou’s first Friday night, and we were so satisfied!

First, the space is warm and inviting, a marked contrast to the establishment that occupied this location for the past few years, which gave off a weird private club vibe. The corner spot is tastefully decorated, well-lit, and comfortable. We ate in the front room with the bar, but the second looks lovely (maybe nicer).

When we arrived at 7:30, a few people were waiting outside, and we worried that going to a newly opened restaurant on its first big night might have been a mistake, but we had a reservation and were seated right away. Once inside, it did seem that the staff was scrambling a bit to keep up; it took about 10 minutes before we got menus and water.

We got our waiter’s attention, and he took our drink and appetizer order. The first round of signature “Hellenic” cocktails that arrived were much too sweet, but when we mentioned this, they were quickly remade and then perfect. Our fried calamari and three-dip combo starters arrived quickly and were delicious. We were hungry, and everything on the menu looked so good, so for a main course, we chose the $65 Pikilia Kreatikon (mixed grill), which contained a huge sampling of different grilled meat skewers, gyros, and sausages, plus veggies, addictive Greek fries and pita, and it was amazing! The menu said “serves 2-3,” but it was certainly enough for four or even more; both of my kids took some home. We shared an Ekmek for dessert and were blown away!

Overall, this was an impressive first experience - the atmosphere, food, and hospitality were all much better than expected for a place that just opened a few days earlier (our waiter was a little green, but the kitchen was in top form). Also, Alex, the manager, stopped by our table and was friendly and interested in our feedback. With time, I’m sure Yasouvlaki West will get even better. I expect it to become a regular spot for my family. Can’t wait to go back and try everything else...

Yasouvlaki – A Beautiful Setting, But the Flavors Fell Short

I really wanted to love Yasouvlaki. In fact, I was rooting for it to surpass Nosouvlaki, but unfortunately, our experience didn’t quite live up to expectations.

Let’s start with the positives: the service was genuinely great. Lucas, our French waiter, was friendly, attentive, and efficient — which we especially appreciated since we had a theater event to catch afterward. The ambiance is also lovely — modern, clean, and inviting.

However, the food just didn’t deliver. The Taramasalata dip was overwhelmingly salty, and when we brought it up to someone who appeared to be a manager, he didn’t offer to remove the dish or suggest an alternative. Instead, he just noted that he was aware of the issue and would “let the chef know.” Not exactly the response we were hoping for.

The eggplant appetizer was underwhelming — bland and lacking seasoning and small. My main course, the lamb chops, was a letdown. Despite requesting medium rare, they came out overcooked, mostly fat with very little meat, and accompanied by a small portion of soggy potatoes. My niece’s salad was equally disappointing — bland, with a tiny skewer that left her still hungry. My sister wasn’t thrilled with her lamb burger either. She felt the lamb didn't have enough taste, and the bun was dry. One thing we liked a lot was the green mocktail with mint and cucumber. It was refreshing.

It’s hard to criticize a place so new, and I genuinely hope this was just an off night. The potential is there. Maybe the kitchen needs a bit more time to find its rhythm — or maybe the chef needs a quick trip to Greece for some fresh inspiration.

We’ll keep our fingers crossed for improvement — because with a bit more care in the kitchen, Yasouvlaki could...

Newcomer to the UWS, we love Greek food and wanted to try this portmanteau of the greeting "Yassous" and Souvlaki. Whole place is stylish enough for a date night. Pleasant atmosphere in the front room which has a quiet bar but, ironically, the back room with tables jammed in was excruciatingly loud. If it wasn't for the promise of some mezes, we would have left. Anyway, we decided to share their Seafood Grill Platter, noted as for 2-3 diners. I agree, it was a lot of food and the two of us had leftovers to bring home. We liked the swordfish skewers best, shrimp skewers good but salmon skewers were very un-Greek, without flavor. Falafel samples were good, tzadziki yoghurt dip was tasty but not garlic-y enough for us, pita was standard. We won't eat octopus after seeing "My Octopus Friend" so we had chicken skewers as a substitute but the dark meat was very dry. They do serve moussaka and spinach pie and other Greek diner fare, but we did not try it. Our meal felt like good value at $70 for two because fish is so expensive, However, next time we would add some other dips and vegetables or a salad to mix up the textures and flavors, and then bring home more leftovers. LMK if the food improves, it's still a very new place and...