YaYas Cookbook — Restaurant in Short Pump

YaYas, I want to love this place. I’ve been here twice with my fiancé. The first time we were seated by the Manager and no one else was in the restaurant. He was walking around training a new server. We didn’t see him again for 15-20 minutes. We decided to order from the bar. Kabo was bartending and I knew him from other restaurants in town. After talking to the bartender we got our food and drinks quickly. Food was amazing. We tried the chicken satay and dumplings. We also ordered Margarita’s and they were delicious. The second time we sat outside and Francesca was our server. Service with her was terrible. She kept disappearing. There was a couple behind us and she got their drinks and both of their entree’s wrong. Having worked in the restaurant industry I felt I had more patience but she only had a handful of tables and she acted like she didn’t care. She forgot to put in our dessert order and put the wrong drinks in. We waited for 15 minutes before asking where our dessert was and then waited another 15 minutes to receive it. Our entrees were not great. My fiancé ordered the Pork Pad See-Ew and I ordered the Basil Beef. We both have had better Thai food. I like this location and the appetizers but the service is not great. We plan on coming back but will only be sitting at the bar to see Kabo for his amazing drinks. If you come to Yaya’s sit at the bar and talk to Kabo he will be friendly and get you the service...

This place is pretty cool. Some else said it best....calling it a hidden gem. A break from the normal restaurant 'chains'. The decor is unique and fun and the food/drinks are good too! This was my second time visiting (once with my coworkers, and the second with my road dog aka my hubby). The food is hit or miss....you've got to try different dishes to see what you like. But the chef, when he/she gets it right, its RIGHT!! The first time I came I had the shrimp tempura for my appetizer, which was amazing, and my entree was some kind of pork/rice dish. The pork was in cubes - it was well seasoned, but super dry. But the rest of the dish was good. The second time I visited, I simply had to have the shrimp tempura, again of course, and my hubby let me share his drunken fried rice with chicken. Wowsers! It was spicy, just the way I like it, and flavorful. Loved it!! We also had the California roll, which I thought was a bit too fishy for my taste buds. The drinks are a little pricey (it was after happy hour), but delish nonetheless. The White Lady was ok, but my hubby had another drink (the first on the menu) and it was super tasty. The service was a little slow, it was a Friday night after all. But my server was nice, knowledgeable, and friendly. It didn't take long for our food to come out, once ordered. I will continue to patronize this place, as my experiences have always been pleasant. Its on my...

Very dissatisfied. I’ve dined here numerous times and have enjoyed each experience. So much so I invite others to come join. Today I came with my significant other who enjoys sushi as well as other forms of Asian fusion flavors. Unfortunately the beef bowl he ordered had a weird aftertaste and had made him unable to eat the rest. Called the waitress over to exchange for something else, which in most restaurants is not uncommon. The manager comes over and says she can’t take the item off and that it’d be a lost to the restaurant (the entree was $17) which keep in mind I’m already spending about 100 dollars (2 appetizers, 2 cocktail drinks, 3 entrees and another drink in the que). So I’m a bit perplexed as again, this is not uncommon and I was SWAPPING a dish. I rarely use this option and I don’t frivolously go into restaurants expecting to exchange or say I don’t like something, but I do expect that if I’m spending well over $50 that there is a courtesy measure in place where some food options aren’t palatable to others. So I politely asked for boxes for my dishes and declined the drink that was coming (it wasn’t made yet) and the manager then asked if we wanted to box up the beef bowl … NO!! so not only was this a poor experience for the person I invited but also one for me as well! Lady you were going to recoup the cost on my same order! Poor management and customer service on her part. I doubt...