Yaya's Hellenic Kitchen & Bar

Straightforward, excellent Greek Cuisine
Fantastic.
Visited on a Tuesday, went back on Thursday with friends. Straightforward, classic Greek cuisine. Nothing experimental, everything perfectly executed.
Portions too large for desert. So, if you want to try them, save some room.
Friendly and attentive staff.

On a recent trip to Cairns 16th of August to 30th. We dined at Ya Yas restaurant. The food was great except for the female manager who was so rude, she embarrassed us by berating her staff in front of customers. She came across as very arrogant and unprofessional. Won't be back and will not be recommending.

Food was tasty but the banquet did not have enough to satisfy us ! needs to be abit more food ! The manager was not really friendly ! The waitresses were great ! You r paying for a banquet at least have enough to satisfy everyone . Had to go buy ice creams after as we were all still hungry ! I wouldn't recommend eating there unless they improve on the quantity of their meals . Take note management if u want to survive you need good reviews ! Doesn't take long and everyone finds out that it's not up to standard !

Never have I been so impressed with a restaurant. The food was amazing and we were made to feel like family. Would recommend to anyone and we will definitely be visiting regularly.

Went there in may 2014. Seems to have improved judging from previous reviews. Service was very friendly and prompt. Great location with balcony seating overlooking the Esplanade. Food was decent though not exceptional considering for the price.

The food was really nice. My husband and I had the buffet meal which was great value for money. The table service wasn't that great as we would have bought more drinks if the waiter came around more often. We were there with 9 other people and when going to the bar we were told that you could only purchase drinks through the waiter. As a new restaurant there are a few improvements needed but overall it was pretty good. We will go back.

been hanging for yayas to open since we moved to cairns in january, finally went for dinner tonite. the waitresses were friendly and attentive, but by the 16th time that one of three had asked if we were waiting for our food my upbeat mood started to sour...i hadnt even noticed how slow the meal was til they kept reminding me. i ordered lamb cigars, basically shredded lamb spring rolls but quite yummy, then moussaka for main. the moussaka was cold and i dont mean sitting in the kitchen waiting to be served cold, but not cooked long enough cold. now anything with potato and zucchini in it that comes out the oven cold is clearly not cooked. we were super polite and didnt let it worry us, my husband and i value our'date nights' more for the time spent together than the place or food, but when we ytried to settle the bill and in the midfle of charging us a ridiculous price for bad food the apparant woman owner chose to berate the waitresses and shout demands ratherthan enquire whether we enjoyed the meal ( and i would have made a polite comment to advise all the above) thats when i decided i would post this unfortunate review when i got home. so much potential but just chaotic and unprofessional, despite my best wishes for them. dont waste your time or money folks

Mains were well below par. I ordered the Yaya Special which was meant to be tender lamb on baked potatoes- the portion size was very small, the lamb was tough and the potatoes were cold. My husband ordered a scallop souvlaki - which was a chef special - the scallops were undercooked and it looked like a meze sized dish despite being charged for a main. The service was terrible - when we told the waiter of our compaints, he said he'd feed it back but never apologised. He told the Manager who asked us if everything was alright but she didn't care at all about our complaints and never apologised or offered to make it better, she just said "ok, I'll tell the Management" (even though she WAS the manager). We were charged full price and were told that we were entitled to our opinion. Terrible customer service, terrible food. Would not recommend at all.