Possibly the best corn bread I've ever had. Â The "fish" nuggets & Mac & Cheese were absolutely scrumptious. Â I had the greens too which were fine and the lasagna I didn't care for. Â All the food came to the table luke warm, but despite that it was still quite good. Â The place is easy to get to if you drive, right off LSD and has a free parking lot. Â There's no menu which is a bit odd but the owner, Yah is there to describe all the dishes that she has cooked for the day. Â The place is tiny only having 6 tables. Â I was with a group of friends and took up three tables. Â I think that they could put more in the space but just don't for some reason. Â It's kind of a dive but overall, I like the place and will return.
Review Source:Disclaimer- I am a meat eater. Ok, I am trying to eat less but fail all the time.
But if  Yah's were closer - I'd be 100% a vegan adherent.
Let me echo what others have said- the mac n cheese was EXCELLENT. I am a cheese fanatic...
With Yah's Mac n cheese...I couldn't believe how cheesey it was. WHAT KIND OF MAGIC do you put in this? It's vegan! You have made me realize vegan can equal delicious. I am a firm believer.
But what really knocked it out of the park for me was the bbq . Tasted like it was just off the grill. Tasted like sinful succulent meat. HOW DO YOU GUYS do this???
I still can't get over how tasty the food was. I am definately going to my local health food store now to try out some vegan cheeses. One small step for me.. maybe one day I can do the whole shebang. Until then, I will be going to Yah's! Save some of that delicious vegan bbq for me!
Wow... as a recent convert to a vegan diet, I am eager to find really healthy, quality food that helps me in my transition to the my new way of eating. Well, I can't say enough about Yah's Cuisine. An always smiling owner and food that left me with taste buds in a frenzy and a most happy, happy belly when I was done. I had their vegan "catfish" that was out of this world. I also had their mac and cheese, which is quite possibly one of the most tasty I have ever had. People should seek this place out and give it a try. My plan is to tell as many friends as I can about it. Given its location, it may need a little extra support... of which it is certainly worthy based on my recent experience.  You can check out more information on their website at <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.yahscuisine.com&s=afec00586b1b39e7acd967f4ea399fd051c824c2650d73fb5efeec8852565a08" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://www.yahscuisine.c…</a>.
Review Source:If I'm in Chicago for five days, I'm generally at Yah's at least three times. It's the best vegan food in Chicago South of Chicago Diner. Great drinks (esp. the sorrell), Â rich desserts (we usually go in thinking we'll get one thing we love but are convinced to try something else--each one better than the last). The lasangas are always off the chain; I love the cassaroles, even though it seems I don't know how to spell it. The greens, kale, mac n' cheese, "fish"--it's all good. My non-vegan aunt and niece both love the place now. Â And it's super reasonable in terms of price. Yah's makes me love Chicago even more than I already do.
Review Source:Praise Jah for Yah's Cuisine! Despite being a tiny little vegan outpost deep in the hood, it is worth the pilgrimage. Good soul food is hard to find, even in Chicago. Good vegan food is hard to find on the South Side. Put these two things together well, add some live jazz and you have won my eternal devotion. Every dish I've ever tried here I gobbled up with little regard to my manners, and still couldn't believe as I threw it down it that it was completely vegan. Granted, their menu options are limited, but this is a small place. Â You pretty much have to work with whatever is on that day. These limitations are the only reason why I'm giving it four stars. But usually it's at least ten dishes, and a dinner plate is your choice of five of those dishes. Carefully choose and you will have a good variety of vegetables, grains & legumes and more to enjoy. I also love their ginger drinks and sorrel juice. This is soul vegan; it isn't an oxymoron!
Review Source:If you're anti-canned or processed food and only eat organic, this won't be your kind of place. Â I caught a glimpse of the kitchen. Â They used canned tomato sauce (ooohh). Â Their blueberry cheesecake tastes like blueberryish tofu. Â Not so good. Â Soul veg still has the better desserts. Â Don't bother reading whatever the special of the day is. Just pick the 5 items you want from the hot pans. Â The stuff on the special isn't always ready or even available. Â Their hot food though is greasy deliciousness and the juices are still amazing!
Review Source:Yum! Â Great food and a great value. I gathered here with a group of friends yesterday. Many of us ordered the Sunday special and for just $10 were handed a plate overloaded with food - eggplant lasagna, mac n cheese, greens, sweet potatoes and cornbread (I feel like I'm forgetting an item). Â Everything was very tasty, I was stuffed and still not a member of the clean plate club. Â We also tried the Jamaican Sorrel, a tasty drink of ginger, flower and berry juice. Â There were several other items on the menu that I wanted to try, it's definitely worth a trip out there agaim.
Review Source:I love the food here. Descriptions of food may sound familiar (collard greens, rice with broccoli), but the preparation is unique and really tasty. Best vegan mac&cheese I ever had, seriously. I no longer want to eat 'real' ones after having hers. Even my date, who claimed he didn't want to try it because he didn't like mac&cheese, was caught sneaking bites off my plate.
Decor is really simple, and outside looks like just a joint in middle of nowhere, but the staff is really friendly inside, and I love the warmth of the people who frequent here. Only thing is all food is precooked, so better to come early when it's fresh.
I actually prefer this place to Soul Veg, the other soul place on the s. side, despite the lack of decor, because I think the food here is more carefully prepared and not dosed in gloppy sweet sauce. It's a little out of the way but I definitely would come back here, or try to visit her Saturday at the 61st Farmers market (when it's really fresh!).
Yah has finally moved from the farmer's market to her very own restaurant, and it's a well deserved transition. Â Her new restaurant's menu is primarily food that would register to most anyone (even the non-vegetarian) as absolute comfort food and it goes beyond Soul Veg's own menu. Â Her Sunday menu, for example, is sweet potatoes, mac n cheese, eggplant lasagna, and smoked greens. Â The lasagna was incredible. Â I have also had her stuffing and fried green tomatoes, and look forward to trying some of what she has to offer under "live foods" including bbq mushrooms and kale. Â
Just keep in mind that Yah's is a new restaurant and since they pride themselves in invaluable freshness they often don't have everything that is offered as sides. Â Also, the service is usually a little slow at south side vegan soul food, I think because the food isn't expected to come out with extreme haste. Â But none of these are drawbacks to supporting a small community business like Yah's, a woman who loves her food and her customers and supports the members of her community as well.
I miss Yah from 61st st, and I still like her recipes, but the service at the restaurant was slow and spotty, and the food seems to have suffered. Some items were good, but the menu as a whole had a lot of duds. There was also live music which, while nice, was incredibly loud in the small, concrete space, and so made it impossible to have a conversation at our table.
Review Source:Yesterday I woke up late and ran out the door. Â Not even giving thought to what I would do for lunch. Â Usually this wouldn't be a problem. Â At the appropriate lunchtime I would make my way to one of the restaurants near my office to satisfy my hunger. Â But yesterday I was going to the south side for the entire afternoon. Â So I grabbed two cheese sticks and thought...well this will have to do!
When my coworker and I pulled up to our South Side office I saw "VEGAN SOUL FOOD"! Â I couldn't believe it! Â I was so excited because this girl (points thumbs at self) loves her some soul food. Â So at 1pm I walked down the street and oh my goodness!!!!! Â
I had the BBQ nuggets, vegan steak, broccoli, black eyed peas and spaghetti. Â I couldn't believe how much food I got and HOW AMAZING IT WAS!!!!! Â And for $11.08! Â It should have been enough for two meals, but I was greedy and ate it all. Â I wish I would have gotten one of their juices, but I figured I had enough to carry back with me. Â I am greatly looking forward to next month and the food I will devour!
Yah's is a new vegan restaurant located near the lake on 75th street. Â Although one of it's main competitors (Soul Veg) is near by, I much prefer Yah's. Â Yes it is smaller, but we had no problem being seated and the service was both friendly and timely.
My friend and I ordered the same exact thing, the dinner plate ($10), which consisted of a v-chop, mashed potatoes, mac & cheese, and fried cornbread. Â I didn't particularly care for the v-chop, but my friend loved it...he ate both of ours and even went on to say that it tasted like pork (maybe that's why I didn't care for it too much?). Â I loved the mashed potatoes, although I did have to salt them a bit. Â The mac & cheese was good, but I found it to be a bit on the oily side. Â Lastly, the fried cornbread was just amazing. Â Needless to say, between the two of us, we polished off both plates.
I'm very impressed with Yah's especially since they've only been open for a few months, I will definitely be back.
Yah's is a welcome addition to the south side of Chicago. While I don't think it matches its main competitor, Soul Vegetarian East, it's still good and worth visiting if you are in town.
The space itself is really simple, with about five or six tables that seat four a piece. There's a counter up front and a hotbar showing off the day's food options.
I started with an order of onion rings ($5) which were made fresh. They took a while to arrive (at least 15 minutes) but they were really tasty with a wonderful batter coating. I can't say that they're superior to Soul Veg's onion rings, but these were good in their own right.
I then had the dinner meal of the day ($10) which consists of a large plate with five of the day's options. Yah's also allows you to substitute out certain items for others. In my case, I dropped the grilled broccoli and instead got some mac and cheese (Yah's initially made their fame selling this mac and cheese at a south side farmer's market).
To go dish by dish: the lentil stew was good, but a bit oily. I wasn't a fan of the celery they added to the stew, however. The eggplant lasagna was really good with a creamy, cheesy-topping. The mac and cheese was okay, but not great, in my opinion (my friend thinks this was because it was old and had lost much of its freshness). Next, the stewed sweet potatoes were good but really basic; I would have preferred the BBQ nuggets that the menu suggested they'd give me (but they must have been out of). Lastly, the mushroom patty was excellent: a doughy pastry filled with mushrooms in a sweet wine reduction.
The service was really friendly and helpful but not particularly fast.
I think the main issue I have with Yah's is that the food is not made fresh on the spot. If you get there early in the day, everything probably will taste great; if you come later, and it's been sitting around for a while, it loses much of its appeal. This is why Soul Veg, in my opinion, edges out Yah's (at least for now).
That said, the price for the dinner plate is more than reasonable considering the quantity of food they give you. Sides are $5 a piece, which seems disproportionately expensive, but that's a minor quibble.
OMG, delicious!
Small menu, but that's fine because everything I tried was amazing. Â I got the special and some sides and shared with my boyfriend. Â
We had eggplant lasagna (OMG, amazing), mushroom patty (mushrooms on pastry dough), battered cauliflower, fried green tomatoes, fried corn-bread (why does anyone make it any other way?), grilled broccoli, BBQ tofu. Â For dessert coconut lemon cake and a berry cobbler. Â The waiter (I think he may be part-owner) thought that the food was taking too long (it wasn't) so he brought out some fried rice and battered tofu. Everything was awesome.
For now they are only serving dinner, but soon they'll add in a breakfast menu. I highly recommend this place. Â It's likely you'll see me there because I'll probably become a regular.
EDIT:
I'm totally a regular. Â I show up with friends and ask for 'magic' and the server makes us each up a completely different plate of whatever they have - we share so we each get some of everything. Â Even if I'm not there with a group I get the magic. Â It's all so damn good that it just does not matter what I get. Â
I disagree with Kedar, this place blows it's competition out of the water. Â I love Soul Veg, but this place has 'em beat.
We got addicted to Yah's food at the 61st St Farmers' Market last summer. Â She does amazing vegan soul food in a fresh new way that echos of Soul Veg but then goes above and beyond, and she's the sweetest chef ever. Â The problem for the past year was that we could only get her food during the summer. Â Now that her restaurant is finally open we can get it year-round, which might be seriously damaging to our ability to try new places.
We came in for the first time tonight, about a week after her official opening. The space is cute with about 5 tables and a case in the back where all of the food is displayed and served from. Â My wife and I shared the $10 Saturday special: kale salad, spiced sweet potatoes, creamy noodle casserole, creamed corn, and honey-glazed V-ham. Â We also added on the eggplant lasagna, which became one of our favorites this summer. Â Yes - this is all vegan, and all delicious. Â Go try it out if you happen to be in South Shore, or make a trip of it otherwise.