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Yeh! is not new to me considering my sisters used to tell me about this special concept that they enjoy in Montreal. They even wrote a Friends&Co review about it a while back describing the place to have good frozen yogurt cups as well as pancakes, waffles and crepes.
To start with, I'll say what's on my mind, I was not too happy nor impressed with the way they promote the brand. Fancy cars like Mercedes CL, Range Rovers, Hummers and other brands are spotted with Yeh! logo touring Lebanon and promoting the concept.
They are succeeding in making their point… associating the brand to the rich, making it look too fancy, too sophisticated and inaccessible.
In all cases, I came down to try the place. Down on Kantari street, next to Aziz Yeh! is located, a frozen yogurt parlor and café.
The first impression:
- The place is too calm and dull, no music, TVs are off, no spirit.
- Tables are set one next to each other, like a Lebanese restaurant cantina.
- There is no printed menu, so we had to ask the waitresses to prepare food the way she wanted.
- The wall should have a menu and price list displayed.
- They use Nutella instead of homemade chocolate which is nice.
- The yogurt is self-service.
- The waitress is welcoming and caring.
Yeh! Decor:
- A square place with a bar on the left side and a black wall on the right.
- Under the right wall are four leather cushions for floor relaxation.
- One TV takes over the right wall and three others decorate the left, next to the logo.
- Facing the entrance are four yogurt machines offering seven flavors.
- 10 square and hard to enjoy tables fill in the space. The tables are broken and the place hasn't been open for more than two months.
- You can sit on the terrace in front of the glass facade.
- Wood and mosaics decorate the floor.
Let's eat: I like the food!
- The crêpe is huge, thick and generously filled. Served in a rectangular plate, a round crêpe folded in half is filled with Nutella, a milk chocolate bar and crunchy bits before being topped with Oreo crumble and Nutella. I like the dough, which is a bit chewy and lightly crispy on the sides, the Oreo crumble which adds an enjoyable crunch, the Nutella spread smoothly without being too gooey and themilk chocolate bar, which adds sweetness and the white chocolate has bits of crunchy biscuits in it. I liked it.
- We had a cocktail waffle, which is a large rectangular waffle with a row of bananas, another milk chocolate one, brownies, chocolate biscuit and strawberries with Nutella on top. Beautiful, this creation will make my kids happy. The waffle on the other hand, is done well, but there was nothing exceptional about it. It’s same old waffle many cafes have: the same rectangular machine with crunchy borders, which lacks the thickness and spongy feel.
- On a rectangular plate, three pancakes sit, one next to the other with Nutella decoration. The pancakes are good, spongy as you'd expect, fluffy and airy but I'd change the decoration of the plate. Actually, all the plates lack international professionalism and the design touch I'd expect Yeh! to offer. Anyway, the pancakes are tasty.
Now for the yogurt cups, since this is what's important here. 280 grams for LBP12,000; that can not be an everyday craving, to say the least. As for the flavors they indeed are good, and that comes from a yogurt fan.
Compared to Pinkberry, I found them to be a bit to heavy. The mango feels like you're eating a mango, the coconut is too creamy but thankfully I left the best for last, the lime is mouthwatering.
The minuses and things I would change:
- Since it's a self-service system, the cups should clearly be shown on a display stand with napkins on the side.
- We were not given any napkins and none were on the tables.
- Where are the placemats? They surely will make things look and feel cleaner.
- Print a menu today!
- TVs should always be on.
- The tables are too close to one another; the place's ambiance is a bit dull.
Thank you. Being our first time, we were offered coffee on the house.
The toilet deserves a line:
- According to the Ministry of Health, a restaurant should have at least two toilets. Yeh! has one.
- The toilet's door doesn't have a handle.
- The bottle of soap was empty.
- A large space looks industrial with no freshness, colors or decorative paintings.
That aside, generally, the food is good, but I would work on the details of the place.
Now that you know what Yeh!, the pink logo spotted touring around the streets of Lebanon is all about, all you have to do is head down to Kantari and try it.
