Award-winning

Yafa

4.4

522 Reviews

$30 and under

Mediterranean

Charming
Good for special occasions
Neighborhood gem

Yafa Restaurant is a casual corner cafe serving delicious Mediterranean and Middle Eastern dishes in a warm and homey environment.

Not available on OpenTable

Unfortunately, this restaurant is not on the OpenTable booking network. To check availability, please contact them directly.

Is this your restaurant?

Claim this listing

There’s more to explore

Discover countless more restaurants like this one with our app.

Scan the QR code to discover countless more restaurants like this one with our app.

Open app

Additional information

Dining style
Casual Dining
Price
$30 and under
Cuisines
Mediterranean
Hours of operation
Daily 5:00 pm–10:00 pm Fri–Sun 11:30 am–2:30 pm
Phone number
(831) 624-9232
Website
http://www.yafarestaurant.com/
Payment options
AMEX, Discover, Mastercard, Visa
Dress code
Casual Dress

Location
Junipero at 5th Avenue Street, Carmel, CA 93921
Award-winning
1. MICHELIN Bib Gourmand 2023
2. MICHELIN Bib Gourmand 2022
Neighborhood
Carmel
Parking details
Street Parking

Popular dishes

Jerusalem Lentil Soup
- Cup$4.95
- Bowl$6.95
Ouzo Shrimp$12.95
Jumbo prawns sautéed in olive oil, lemon, garlic, bread bits and ouzo liqueur
Santorini Plate$13.95
Assortment of sliced ham, Mediterranean olives, feta and sun-dried tomato dip, sliced tomatoes and pita bread
Labne and Pita$7.95
Creamy yogurt dip topped with Zaatar and olive oil
Hummus and Pita Bread$7.95
Homemade garbanzo bean dip with pita bread
Jordanian Hummus
Grilled Octopus$13.95
Topped with special sauce of oregano, lemon, garlic and olive oil
Whole Artichoke$9.95
Oven baked in olive oil, lemon and garlic
Mezza$19.95
Combination appetizers plate with humus, feta cheese, olives, artichoke, sun-dried tomatoes, feta dip, sliced cucumber, tomatoes and pita bread

Salads

Grilled Pear Salad$11.95
Organic mixed greens, feta cheese, walnuts and honey lemon vinaigrette
Yafa Salad$11.95
Organic arugula, roasted beets, oranges and avocado with a mustard orange vinaigrette
Watermelon Salad$9.95
Cubed watermelon, feta, basil and pine nuts drizzled with olive oil

Pastas

Artichoke & Fontina Cheese Ravioli$18.95
In tomato cream sauce, chopped sun-dried tomatoes and sliced green olives
Butternut Squash Ravioli$17.95
In a browned butter sage sauce
Lamb Ravioli$19.95
Organic homemade ravioli with Kalamata olives and get in a sun-dried tomato/garlic sauce
Yafa Pasta
Homemade lamb and beef sausage, zucchini, garlic and tomato sauce on fresh artisan pappardelle pasta. Vegetarian option available
- Regular$19.95
- Vegetarian$17.95
Seafood Pasta$24.95
Shrimp, salmon, octopus and petrale in a tomato cream sauce over frsh pappardelle pasta

Entrées

Specialty Kebabs
Two skewers served with a sice of rice pilaf, Tabouli salad and tzatziki yogurt dip
- Aleppo Kafta (Ground Lamb & Beef)$22.95
- Chicken$22.95
- Shrimp$24.95
- Lamb$29.95
- Shrimp$27.95
Teta's Eggplant Delight$18.95
Grandmother's recipe of eggplant, potatoes, bell peppers, tomato, garlic, basil and olive oil. Served with rice and pita
Pan Seared Salmon$22.95
Fresh salmon pan seared in lemon and butter, side of rice and sautéed spinach
Petrale Sole$20.95
Fresh local petral sautèed in butter, lemon and almonds. Served with spinach and choice of rice or potato
Mishmish Chicken$18.95
Classic Moroccan dish. Chicken breast with apricot sauce and almonds. Served with butternut squash and a choice of rice or potato
Gorgonzola Filet Mignon$24.95
Charbroiled and topped with a brandy and gorgonzola cream reduction. Served with roasted potatoes
Costeleta ~ Rack of Lamb$29.95
Premium New Zealand cutlets accompanied with mashed potatoes and spinach

What 522 people are saying

Overall ratings and reviews

4.4

4.4 based on recent ratings

4.5Food
4.3Service
4.3Ambience
4.2Value

Noise • Moderate

Review summary

AI-generated from verified diner reviews

Yafa is a charming, intimate restaurant with a warm ambiance and "impeccable" service. Guests rave about its "exceptional cuisine" and recommend trying the Mezze Platter, Lamb Tagine, and Moroccan Mish Mish Chicken. While some note slow service, the overall experience is highlighted by "wonderful food & hospitality," making it a must-visit in Carmel.

522 Reviews

C
Cindy
Denver
1 review
5.0
1 review
Dined on December 14, 2024
1. Overall 5
2. Food 5
3. Service 5
4. Ambience 4
This was a great ‘find’ for us…great service and accommodation of several special requests and the food was awesome! Will definitely plan another meal here
Is this helpful?
I
Ishita
San Francisco
1 review
2.0
1 review
Dined on December 8, 2024
1. Overall 2
2. Food 4
3. Service 1
4. Ambience 3
The food was decent but the service was extremely poor. We did not even receive water when we got seated for a while. Then we requested water and was only given a bottle of Evian that was $9. Other tables received glasses of regular tap water as they got seated. I’m not sure why we received such horrible service and treatment. The waiter was very curt and stern with us. Would not recommend.
Is this helpful?
S
Sirosh
Houston
4 reviews
4.0
4 reviews
Dined on December 5, 2024
1. Overall 4
2. Food 4
3. Service 4
4. Ambience 3
Enjoyed my dinner at Yafa. A charming Carmel establishment with great food and excellent service. Loved the grilled octopus and the Kebabs.
Is this helpful?
J
Jobst
Los Angeles
30 reviews
4.0
30 reviews
Dined on November 30, 2024
1. Overall 4
2. Food 5
3. Service 3
4. Ambience 4
Food was great. Server was very nice, but it took 2.5 hours to eat dinner. Very, very slow service. Seems to be a theme in other reviews, but obviously isn’t a concern for them.
Is this helpful?
D
Dan
VIP
San Francisco
3 reviews
3.0
3 reviews
Dined on November 17, 2024
1. Overall 3
2. Food 4
3. Service 1
4. Ambience 3
Good food but took forever to get our dishes. they obviously lost our order which happens sometimes but they didn’t acknowledge and didn’t even apologize.
Is this helpful?
J
Jeff
San Francisco
1 review
5.0
1 review
Dined on November 3, 2024
1. Overall 5
2. Food 5
3. Service 5
4. Ambience 5
Fantastic experience from the food to the service!
Is this helpful?
S
Steve
San Francisco
8 reviews
4.0
8 reviews
Dined on October 25, 2024
1. Overall 4
2. Food 5
3. Service 4
4. Ambience 4
Rack of lam was excellent , wine was very good, very nice decor inside
Is this helpful?
J
Jeffrey
Orlando
1 review
5.0
1 review
Dined on October 14, 2024
1. Overall 5
2. Food 5
3. Service 5
4. Ambience 4
They have enough vegan options for me and ample options for non-vegans. It was a great meal after a long day of travel. The wine list was smaller but very good! Will definitely go back.
1 person found this helpful
L
Lisa
San Diego
4 reviews
5.0
4 reviews
Dined on October 14, 2024
1. Overall 5
2. Food 5
3. Service 5
4. Ambience 5
We loved our dinner! We 4 each ordered a different entree, and all were delicious. The service was perfect and the ambience friendly and lovely. The owner gave us personal attention, too!
Is this helpful?
m
m
San Francisco
22 reviews
3.0
22 reviews
Dined on October 13, 2024
1. Overall 3
2. Food 4
3. Service 2
4. Ambience 3
The restaurant seemed to be experiencing a staffing issue. The staff seemed to be rushing around, but the food took a long time to arrive. When it did get there, it was quite good. It wasn’t amazing Michelin star level, but it was good and we enjoyed ourselves. It just took a while.
Is this helpful?

FAQs

Yafa is rated 4.4 stars by 522 OpenTable diners.

Yes, you can generally book this restaurant by choosing the date, time and party size on OpenTable.

Not available on OpenTable

Unfortunately, this restaurant is not on the OpenTable booking network. To check availability, please contact them directly.

Is this your restaurant?

Claim this listing

Junipero at 5th Avenue Street, Carmel, CA 93921

Additional information

Award-winning
1. MICHELIN Bib Gourmand 2023
2. MICHELIN Bib Gourmand 2022
Neighborhood
Carmel
Hours of operation
Daily 5:00 pm–10:00 pm Fri–Sun 11:30 am–2:30 pm
Price
$30 and under
Cuisines
Mediterranean
Dining style
Casual Dining
Dress code
Casual Dress
Parking details
Street Parking
Payment options
AMEX, Discover, Mastercard, Visa

Website
http://www.yafarestaurant.com/
Phone number
(831) 624-9232

Yafa

Not available on OpenTable

There’s more to explore

Additional information

Grilled Octopus

Mishmish Chicken

Lamb Ravioli

Appetizers

Jerusalem Lentil Soup

Ouzo Shrimp$12.95

Santorini Plate$13.95

Labne and Pita$7.95

Hummus and Pita Bread$7.95

Jordanian Hummus

Grilled Octopus$13.95

Whole Artichoke$9.95

Mezza$19.95

Salads

Grilled Pear Salad$11.95

Yafa Salad$11.95

Watermelon Salad$9.95

Pastas

Artichoke & Fontina Cheese Ravioli$18.95

Butternut Squash Ravioli$17.95

Lamb Ravioli$19.95

Yafa Pasta

Seafood Pasta$24.95

Entrées

Specialty Kebabs

Teta's Eggplant Delight$18.95

Pan Seared Salmon$22.95

Petrale Sole$20.95

Mishmish Chicken$18.95

Gorgonzola Filet Mignon$24.95

Costeleta ~ Rack of Lamb$29.95

Overall ratings and reviews

Review summary

FAQs

How is Yafa restaurant rated?

Is Yafa currently accepting reservations?

Not available on OpenTable

Additional information