Yapa Kitchen Fresh Take Away

Yapa on Holcombe is closed. The site is cleared out and for lease

I’ve been a customer since they opened. I’ve found their food uniformly very good. I also go to whole foods for larger shopping, but I don’t think Yappa’s can be beat in quality and convenience.

Dined here last week and while the food was decent, nothing stood out in particular. I kept thinking that I could easily make all these dishes myself like steamed broccoli, meatloaf, sweet potato wedges, etc. I do appreciate their concept and the fact that they offer fresh food requiring minimal to no effort to prepare in your home, but personally I don’t see myself spending the money here if I don’t need to given how simple the food is.

I got catering for an event, using the $ 95 for $ 125 deal. Mostly got chicken salad sandwiches, and turkey (with the cranberry mayonnaise) were both pretty good. The biggest issue was that there was a miscommunication about what time I wanted to pick up the sandwiches, so they weren’t ready at the time I wanted to pick them up.
I also would like to see more choices in the kind of bread they offer. Sure, wheat is healthy, but I love nutty breads and croissants.
Overall, to me, not the greatest bang for the buck, because I could have gotten Vietnamese sandwiches (of which I bought 10 from Simply Phở) all for $ 3 each, and even after this Unilocal discount, I was paying almost $ 4 per sandwich, and the Vietnamese sandwiches were more popular.

I am so absolutely disappointed AND having nightmares.
I sampled a bunch of the food here & the server was very generous at how much he let us try. Ended up getting 3 fish tacos & couscous. Everything was good until I got to my 3^rd-​ish bite of my taco & WHAM. Huge hair staring back at me. I took it out, thinking it was just a lash/​brow hair but it just kept going… It was probably longer than the hair on my head. I’m so mortified & can probably never eat tacos again, let alone at this place. I did notice that not all the people that work here wore their hair back OR a hairnet.
I know, it was probably a single bad luck event but it warrants 1 star. Sorry to burst the bubble :(

Best sandwich and specially food carry out period. Len. Chicken salad is fresh tasty and Ample. Len I

Food is decent and they have good lunch specials for the price. Samir is a very nice host behind the counter and will gladly help you out. The turkey meatloaf is good, even as a sandwich.
The interior is something to be desired. It feels like a sort of grocery/​deli reminiscent of places I have been in NYC. Not really inviting to stay and eat there, but they do have some tables if you want to eat lunch there.
Recommendation: worth trying. they have a variety of healthy-​ish things to choose from behind the counter.

GREAT food! Well-​made, fresh, good and good FOR you! Had the butternut squash soup and turkey meatloaf sandwich. Both were excellent, highly recommended and well-​priced. I travel around the country and would definitely recommend Yapa to anyone who comes to through Houston.

I decided to try this place after I realized that there was nothing at my apartment to eat. When I entered, the place was nice and cozy, and I was greeted by a nice cashier. I wasn’t exactly sure what I should order, so the cashier suggested the chicken enchiladas. I also decided to get a side of green beans. The food was alright, but I thought it was a little bland. Overall, I thought this place was okay. The service was good, but the food could have been a little bit better. I think I will try the place one more time to see if there are better options on the menu, but if I get the same quality of food next time, I don’t think I will be coming back.

I visited here to pick up some food for dinner after realizing we didn’t have anything to cook. The concept is something I’m very familiar with from Brooklyn — gourmet prepared food for reheating at home. The problem here is that Houston is the land of Whole Foods, Central Market and HEB; in competing with those high-​end and high-​end-​ish supermarkets, prepared food really has to be very good indeed to merit the special trip.
I’m not sure our mac & cheese and salmon met that standard. Everything was competent and tasty, but I think a little more than that is required. For example, why not sell the mac & cheese in a little take home tray, complete with a crunchy topping ready to be crisped in the oven. It would have made it so much better.
But we’ll be back to try some more of the food.

I have been to Yapa Kitchen for lunch, dinner and MANY wine classes/​dinners/​tastings. Love, love, love this place! My favorite a la carte foods are the meatloaf, mac and cheese, all of the salads, and all of the sandwiches. At the wine dinners absolutely all of the food included is fantastic. Always a divine cheese and bread course is included, a lovely salad that is different every time, yummy main courses with wonderful sides. And a scrumptious dessert. The food pairings with the wine are perfect. You get 6 glasses of wine plus the meal and a wine «lesson» for between $ 35-​$ 50 depending on the wines included in that dinner. Worth ever penny! My friends and I always have a blast at the wine dinners. The owner/​chef at Yapa is so knowledgeable, informative and also quite a hoot :) Just cannot say enough nice things about this restaurant!

I wanted to find a place that had some take away that would actually taste good. This place is ok, but I think Central Market and even the HEB deli has them beat. I mean it wasn’t bad, but not sure if I would come back. Maybe the sandwiches and the catering is better, but the pre cooked meals were mediocre at best. To be fair, maybe it was what I ordered but it will take me awhile to come back to try something else.

Never heard of this place before coming here with friends for birthday lunch; it’s tucked away and easy to miss but def worth checking out.
The place is super cute; I love the fresh produce and spices and wines lying around. It’s small but cozy.
Your order a la carte and pay by weight. The food looks and tastes fresh, reminding me of HEB central market. I had the crab cake and the portabella mushroom with mozzerella which cost a little over $ 5. I tried the Asian Szechuan noodles which I wasn’t a fan of, but everything else was good. You don’t feel gross afterwards like you do after eating out.
The staff/​customer service is really the winner here; they’re so nice and attentive. They’re happy to explain the different foods and don’t mind you taking your time. For my friend’s birthday they surprised us by giving everyone in our party of 7 a slice of brownie for free; usually restaurants give just the birthday person a dessert, but here they went all out. The brownie was fudgey and a bit sweet, but good.

It’s so rare to find a lunch spot that serves up fresh, healthy, and most importantly, TASTY food at a reasonable price, but Yapa Kitchen went above and beyond! I came here for a birthday lunch with a few friends. When you walk into the store, you feel as though you’ve walked into a cozy kitchen, complete with rustic displays of dry goods and wines, a gleaming glass display of their a la carte entrees, and brick and wooden décor on the walls. Although it’s mainly a take out place (as the title says), they also have two large tables in the back for big groups as well as several small tables along the side for 1 – 2 persons to dine.
The owner who helped us order our food was extremely friendly and knowledgeable about the food and walked us through their ordering process. Pick whatever items behind the glass display that you want to try and if you plan on dining in, they heat it up, plate it, then bring it to your table. I enjoyed this system of ordering because you get to see the food before you buy it and your meal is completely customizable (you can order as much or as little as you’d like, depending on how hungry you are and you can put together a plate that appeals to you!). I asked for a sample of one of the sides and the owner was more than happy to let me sample before ordering (seriously, where else would you be allowed to sample your dish before you ordered?! Yapa is the best!).
There were a huge variety of «main» dishes (stuffed chicken breast, crab cakes, meatloaf, steak) plus many different cold and hot sides (pastas, edamame salad, potato salad, veggies, sweet potatoes). The menu rotates regularly so you won’t get bored with the choices here! We had a friend who was vegetarian in our group and there were many veggie-​friendly choices available for her as well. There’s a fridge display of drinks, ready made salads/​sandwiches/​soups, and a little dessert section on the side too. I thought the prices were very reasonable as well — my meal of one entrée and 2 sides cost about 7 dollars and most people’s meals were anywhere between 6 to 8 dollars.
We dined in for our meal. The restaurant isn’t too large and most patrons take their orders to-​go, so we had the entire back of the store to ourselves. The tables were large and fit 8 people easily. We sat down and the owner immediately brought us silverware and waters. As the food was heated, each persons plate was brought out and we all our had food within 10 minutes of ordering.
The food was delicious and not too heavy. I’ve been looking for a perfect lunch place that offers a variety of healthy food that’s not a sandwich/​soup shop and have found it at Yapa’s! I ordered a crab cake, broccoli, and potato salad and sampled a few other items. I was impressed — none of the items were over or under cooked, they were seasoned well, and they came with dipping sauces just in case you wanted more flavor (mustard remoulades, dill cream sauce). The best part was, after eating my meal, I didn’t feel gross or tired (which usually happens after I eat out for lunch).
At the end of the meal, the owner brought out a tasty brownie for EVERY person in the party (he learned it was my birthday earlier on in the meal). How incredibly sweet! Most places will give a complimentary dessert for just the birthday person… but Yapa’s was SO generous and kind that they gave everyone a little something sweet.
This is probably the longest review I’ve ever written… but it’s totally deserved because I had a near-​perfect dining experience at Yapa’s. I can’t wait to return many more times to try more of their items. I also read that they have cooking classes and cater in-​store for parties… will definitely keep Yapa’s in mind if I ever have to host a party or want to take a cooking class with friends. Thank you Yapa Kitchen!

We went to Yapa Kitchen for my friend’s birthday last weekend. She rented out the place for a wine class and it was fantastic! It was a very intimate setting with about 14 of her closest friends. The chef made us a buffet style dinner that was sooo good and paired perfectly with our wine. They had fruit and cheese tray as an appetizer and then served fish, pork, mashed potatoes, and veggies as an entrée. They also had a cake for dessert and let me friend also bring her own birthday cake.
The wine class was quite informative. When we sat down we were given a folder with lots of information and a grading sheet for the six different glasses of wine we were about to «taste». The chef definitely gave us a half glass of wine or more of each wine and gave at least a 10 min explanation about each wine and where it came from. He also taught us about what kinds of wines you drink at different parts of the meal and deomstrated how he paired it with the food we were eating.
Overall, it was so much fun and I cant wait to do this again with a group! The total cost was $ 45 for 6 glasses of wine, terrific dinner, and an extensive lesson in wine. Cant wait to try the cooking classes!

I am a contractor at a large Oil & Gas company over on OST. I planned a series of lunch meetings… but had no idea where to get a good lunch in the area. My brother recommended Yapa Kitchen so I decided to give it a try. I went in around 3pm the day before and met with KC. She was so awesome! She explained all the different options and helped me manage the special requests (lots of vegetarians on my project team).
The box lunches included a sandwich, chips and a cookie for $ 7.95, which is a great price — especially for the high quality. They do offer delivery, but were unable to fit me in the first time… but everything was packaged in crates when my coworker arrive to pick it up. Lunch was so well-​received by my team that I reordered for the second meeting…
Overall, a great option for takeout or dining in, as well as a great resource if you need to feed a crowd! I will definitely be back

Had a chicken salad sandwich, chips, and perrier for 8 bucks.
cashier was really nice. most people get the lunch special, which is a sandwich, chips, and drink. there are some tables in the back to sit at.

I really love their meat loaf and cranberry turkey sandwiches. The guy who seems to own it is nice, and he calls me «my friend», which is an uncommon thing to say in America. Again it is nice, even though we clearly are NOT friends. I am a customer who avoids small talk with every single person who works there there. But ok, maybe i’m biased because my friend owns it. Also I always hated the fact they didn’t have any normal diet soda. Also a good tip: they often don’t have the sandwich you want, but they have offered to make it for me when they saw me looking for stuff.

A jem of a place. Amazing foods that are freshly prepared with excellent ingredients. Tasty and very take home friendly. Very friendly and helpful staff. Also host cooking classes for groups and wine tastings. Don’t miss out on this place. Skip the generic strip mall offerings and go straight to Yapa!

So between getting my haircut and my optometrist appointment I wanted to find something to eat.
I have walked around this center plenty of times and have never seen this place. So I decided to come inside and get a peak.
OMG as soon as you enter you see all this amazing food! It’s pre-​made and available by the pound. They also offer special dinner for 2 at a price of around 12 bucks. The dinner for 2 was just enough to feed my huge appetite. It came 2 huge pieces of Parmesan chicken and 2 sides. I had the couscous and tuna salad as my sides.
The chicken was OK, nothing special, but the sides were phenominal. I just recently started eating couscous and I enjoy it a lot. Tuna salad is pretty simple but there’s was just good. I was still hungry so I decided to try a crab cake. The sauce that accompanies the crab cake was rich and very tasty.
This place is designed as fresh take away but there are tables and they will heat up the food for you if you want to eat there.
They also offer wine tasting and cooking classes.
I will be back to try their meatloaf since it looked so good.