Meet Cafe Yaya, Now Serving Pastries and Bistro Fare in Lincoln Park

Let’s start with some logistics

Limited reservations are for parties of three or more (mostly at dinnertime), so come in whenever you want your morning treat and a coffee or tea, as walk-ins are welcome throughout the day. Sure, some people will post up to work, but there should be enough turnover that you won’t have to wait long. Come nighttime, you’ll check in at the front and make your way to the bar until a table is ready. If you find a couple of spots, snag them — the full dinner menu is available at the bar, where beverage director Scott Stroemer and his team will guide you through the wine and cocktails. Before sitting, you’ll place your order. Don’t worry about putting it all in at one time. You can order more dishes and drinks from the floor staff if you need.

Bakery and cafe by day …

When you have a hankering for buttery croissants, flaky baklava, a savory olive twist, a tomato-y eggy shakshuka bun, challah stuffed with strawberry cheesecake, or a fragrant caramelized cardamom kouign-amann, start your day here. Every morning, Eder-McClure and her team begin even before the crack of dawn to bake all of these and more.

All in all, they’ll have about a dozen daily rotating pastries, plus various breads including focaccia, sourdough, baguettes, and pretty much whatever else they feel like making. Yaya works with local Sparrow Coffee for their beans, Rare Tea Cellar for the tea lineup, and Freeman House for the chai. Add in a housemade syrup — cardamom rose, halva, or mocha — to spruce up your coffee or matcha latte.

Bistro by night

Yaya’s concept takes inspiration from Paris and Tel Aviv. And while you will absolutely see French and Middle Eastern ingredients, dishes, and techniques mirroring that, Clavero says the concept is straight-up bistro, with a smidge of California and New Orleans sprinkled in. This gives Engel and the kitchen team more room to feel creative and get out of what he calls the “Middle Eastern box” at Galit. Take the two first items on the dinner menu: caramelized onion labneh and pimento cheese, inspired by North Carolina chef Ashley Christensen’s creamy dip. And that bread program? The basket will come in handy for these dips, as will crudités and various flatbreads.

After the dips, get a half-dozen Murder Point raw oysters or a single wood-grilled oyster topped with spicy Cajun tasso ham, bearnaise butter, and a dollop of double cream brie for good measure. Move on to a creamy leek gratin with garlic breadcrumbs or fried green tomatoes with zhoug and shrimp remoulade.

Seeing the various influences yet? Larger plates range from slow-cooked mushroom and eggplant daube or grilled Pacific bass with haricot vert and blistered tomatoes to a pork loin schnitzel with maitake mushrooms and parsley or roasted half chicken with challah croutons and za’atar. Of course there’s steak frites, with one of two cuts of Slagel Farms prime beef. And there’s veal sweetbreads grilled “a la Manion” (a nod to El Che chef John Manion), served with challah, caramelized onions, and chermoula. What you won’t find on the menu? Hummus or pita. If you want that, book a table next door at Galit. 

Don’t skip the slice of the day or weekly sundae

You didn’t think the daytime visitors would get all the sweets now, did you? Eder-McClure has a slice of the day — that could be pie or cake and, as the name suggests, it will change each day. And every week they’ll offer a rotating ice cream sundae where the ice cream flavor and toppings will always be changing. Good excuse to go back more often.

And a beverage program to support it all — including “line wine”

Sure, you may have to wait for a table, but that’s where “line wine” comes in. There are two wines — a white blend and red blend — on tap from California’s Folk Machine. If two of you both want the same wine, get a 500ml carafe for $1 more than the price of two individual glasses — more wine for the line! 

Stroemer has also compiled an eclectic selection of global wines (versus the mostly Middle East/Mediterranean picks at Galit), many of which are produced organically, biodynamically, or with lower intervention. There are nearly 20 by-the-glass options and all bottles come in under $100. For cocktails, expect to see some made with tea infusions, like the Vérité with French vermouth and peach rooibos tea, or the Marguerite with Mallorca melon tea. Other drinks are made with common Middle Eastern ingredients like medjool dates or Urfa pepper. Push yourself and try one of Stroemer’s tahini-washed Italian vermouth cocktails, too: a Negroni, Americano, or Spritz. 

The mural tells a story

When you walk in, you’ll notice a faint mural along the exposed brick wall set above the banquettes. It looks like a ghost mural — the faded advertisements on buildings around town from decades ago. That’s intentional. The team wants Yaya to feel like a well-worn joint. Engel’s sister, Ilana, designed the mural (as well as the logo and branding). It’s a graphic depiction of the space itself, with a bakery on the left and a vineyard on the right. In the middle? That’s Yael, a biblical figure and also the namesake for Cafe Yaya (which is Engel’s daughter’s nickname). She’s posing with an ibex, which is Hebrew for … yael. It all ties together.

You can book an event on the second level 

Yaya’s second floor will mostly exist to host events — baby showers, office parties, wine tastings, community workshops, art gatherings, and the like. With some 2,800 square feet (about the same as the first floor) and a separate bar and kitchen, the upstairs can accommodate upwards of 90 guests. You’ll work with the Yaya team to craft a menu at least a week in advance, which can include drinks.  

And there you have it — Cafe Yaya has so much to offer. Go in and get it. 

Ari Bendersky, a lifestyle journalist specializing in food, wine, spirits, and travel, is the author of Something Glorious with Ari Bendersky on Substack. Follow him on Instagram and Twitter. Follow Resy, too.