Cafe Yaya, the latest venture by Chicago restaurateurs Zach Engel and Andrés Clavero, opened last week in the Lincoln Park neighborhood, next door to their popular upscale Middle Eastern restaurant, Galit.
It’s an all-day café that allows Engel, the executive chef, to expand beyond the confines of Middle Eastern cuisine. But favorites from Galit will be available at Cafe Yaya, too, including pastry chef Mary Eder-McClure’s savory bourekas, sweet baklava, and challah bread, available with morning beverages from Sparrow Coffee Roastery and Rare Tea Cellar.
Dinner will feature food inspired by Engel’s travels as well as his restaurant experience, the latter of which is heavily Middle Eastern. Before moving to Chicago, he was chef de cuisine of Shaya, Alon Shaya’s modern Israeli restaurant in New Orleans, where he won the James Beard Foundation Award for Rising Star, which went to chefs aged 30 and younger.
He also worked for Michael Solomonov at Zahav, an Israeli restaurant in Philadelphia, and at Catit in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv. His résumé also includes time at Madrona Manor, a Michelin-starred restaurant in Healdsburg, Calif., serving modern American cuisine.
The space, by Siren Betty Design, is inspired by the sidewalk bistros of Paris and Tel Aviv and features natural materials and exposed brick walls as well as encaustic tiles. Other design elements include murals, mosaics, and artwork by Engel’s sister, Ilana, who also designed the restaurant’s logo and signage.
An upstairs space is available for community events and private dining.
Cafe Yaya’s inaugural dinner menu does feature Middle Eastern-inspired items including black garlic tahini with verjus vinaigrette and caramelized onion miso labneh, but also dishes from other parts of the world, such as pimento cheese as well as roasted Bulgarian feta cheese with collard greens and pickled cherry peppers. Those dips are priced at $10-$15 and can be accompanied by a fresh bread basket, crudités, the Italian chickpea flatbread called socca, the Yemini flatbread malawach, or gluten-free crackers for $5-$7.
Snacks, priced $9-$29 include raw and grilled oysters, roasted leek gratin with arak cream and garlic breadcrumbs, fried green tomatoes with skhug and shrimp rémoulade, and Yaya fries with kombu-green garlic labneh ranch sauce.
Larger plates, $24-$60, include steak frites, rotisserie half chicken, veal sweetbreads, a lamb burger, and grilled Pacific bass with a Philippine-citrus fish sauce called patismansi along with haricots verts and blistered tomatoes.
There’s also a $16 cheese plate.
Beverages have been curated by bar director Scott Stroemer and include around 20 wines by the glass that focus on small producers, as well as signature cocktails priced at $14, spirit-free options, and a tahini-washed Italian vermouth available as a Spritz or in a Negroni or Americano.
“We’re thrilled to officially open our doors and welcome the neighborhood in,” Engel said in a statement. “Cafe Yaya is all about creating a space where everyone feels at home — whether you’re here for a quick coffee, a special celebration, or just to connect with friends. We’re excited to be part of this vibrant community and share in the moments that make this neighborhood so special.”
The restaurant plans to offer brunch and takeout service in the coming months.
Contact Bret Thorn at [email protected]
