Yia Yia’s, the PB & J restaurant group’s venerable Euro-bistro, opened at its free-standing Leawood location (119th and Roe) in December 1993. Since then, the Leawood corridor — which could be considered located in the heart of the Jewish community — has seen numerous restaurants have come and go. Even PB & J has changed. Over the years Coyote Grill at Mission Center and Paradise Diner at Oak Park Mall, two beloved PB & J spots, were closed. The restaurant group no longer runs Paulo and Bill’s or Grand Street Café, and now runs restaurants in several other cities well beyond the Kansas City area.
But Yia Yia’s in Leawood remains a PB & J mainstay — and a Leawood restaurant icon of sorts. It would be easy to overlook a place like Yia Yia’s, given the binge of upscale spots that have opened in the area in the past 10 years or so. But Yia Yia’s still warrants attention from serious gastronomes.
The restaurant occupies a beautiful space. The entrance is isolated from the rest of the place — keeping the mood tranquil in the dining area on busy nights. The large dining room rests atop mosaic tile floors and within stone columns and fabric-covered wall panels. Tables and booths are comfortable and spacious, and there is ample room between one table/booth and the next. An appealing outside patio has always been a dining hot spot in the nicer weather.
One evening our waitress confessed that she had recently started working at the place. She was charming and attentive throughout the meal, though, and her only slip was an unduly strained and verbose explanation of the seafood special — a whole sea bass. We had to ask her to repeat the description, and were surprised to learn that she had described merely one entrée, rather than two or three. Before taking our orders, she brought out a basket of wonderful, warm sourdough bread, along with complimentary babaganoush for dipping, which was frankly a little bland and underwhelming.
We shared an outstanding plate of Gnocchi ($9.95), as an appetizer. The gnocchi was perfectly cooked — firm but not overdone — and sat in a delicious gorgonzola cream sauce, with tender pieces of roasted chicken, chunks of gorgonzola, spinach and walnuts. A nearly perfect dish. We were somewhat less fond of the Short Rib Ravioli ($12.95). The meat pulled from the ribs was tender and moist in the ravioli pocket, which was coated with a very light hazelnut brown butter. Tart, dried cranberries were an unusual component, however, that did not marry well with the dish. I tried the Cream of Mushroom Soup ($4.50) one night — the soup of the day — and found the creamy, pureed mushroom soup to be flavorful and fresh, though the slightly grainy consistency was a little distracting. I did also add a dash of salt. Our waitress kindly brought (on her own initiative) an additional wedge of the bread to dip into the soup. Yia Yia’s makes a fine Caesar salad ($6.95), a well-chilled and unusual take on the classic, with ample anchovy and garlic flavor, but also a Dijon mustard flavor, to some extent.
Yia Yia’s does some nice things with poultry. Roasted chicken is, to some, the comfort food gold standard. There is something about tender and juicy chicken, wading in the chicken’s own juices, along with fresh herbs and roasted cloves of garlic. Yia Yia’s offers Campo Lindo Farms Natural Chicken ($17.95), a free range rendition from a notable family farm about 35 miles north of Kansas City, in Lathrop, Mo. Served on the bone, the terrifically moist one-half chicken was sitting in its own juices, and was surrounded with red onions, olives, roasted garlic, red chiles and capers. The large hunks of Yukon gold potatoes served alongside were cooked to a perfect, crispy finish. The Spiced Roasted Duck Breast ($22.95) was beautifully sliced and moist — cooked just before the point at which the duck might have been dry. It was flavored with Albarino (a white wine grape distinctive for its fruity apricot and peach notes), apples and chilies, and served with a decent toasted almond basmati rice.
But it was not just the poultry. Yia Yia’s has a decent way with fish and beef, as well. Fresh Atlantic Salmon ($22.95) was also perfectly cooked and moist, with a hearty grilled flavor. Yia Yia’s has always excelled with its seafood offerings. The wait staff is wholly accommodating, and will gladly leave off the sherry-shrimp cream served atop the salmon, and will substitute the shrimp ravioli served alongside for another accompaniment, if requested. My wife opted for the Flat Iron Steak ($19.95) one night, a generous 10-ounce portion sliced and fanned on a long, narrow plate, and served Southwestern style, with roasted sweet corn and grilled scallions. She ordered her steak medium well To this day, I cringe when she requests it north of medium — though she has made some progress, over the years. She used to ask that it be prepared well, well done (yes, she would say it twice). I was pleased when the steak actually came out closer to medium rare. It was flavorful and well-prepared, if not spectacular — probably rendering it our least favorite of the sampled entrees. It had been a pretty tough group of entrees, however, within which to compete.
Seventeen years from now, it is hard to imagine that the Yia Yia’s formula would become outdated: European comfort food prepared with fine ingredients, and served by attentive wait staff in an inviting atmosphere. Hard to imagine what Leawood will look like by then, but Yia Yia’s will surely still be alive and kicking.
Food: 3 1/2 stars
Atmosphere: 3 1/2 stars
Service: 3 1/2 stars
Out of four stars.