Yats

Yats doesn’t disappoint. So excited to have this location at 86^th and Ditch as it’s the perfect place for a quick dinner or a great option for takeout. This time we grabbed takeout chili cheese étouffée and drunk chicken. It was ready within 5 minutes or ordering and was a generous portion.

Tried this place for the first time this evening. It won’t be the last time. I love, and I mean absolutely LOVE, cajun /​creole cooking. My daughter wanted to try it so in we went. First off, I fell in love with the lighting. I mean chandeliers with beads on them. What’s not to love? They had jazz playing at just the right volume. And the food, while not the best cajun I’ve ever had, was very good, and hands down the best at this price. I had the crawfish étouffée and drunken chicken on a half and half plate, and my daughter had the BnB and vegan white chili with tofu. Everything was good. The étouffée was creamy and yummy with a pretty good amount of crawdad (yes I said crawdad not crawfish). The drunken chicken was the bomb. As Tavia B said, so many flavors. It was a party in my mouth. My daughter liked both dishes and was very pleasantly surprised by the BnB. Not too sweet, just right. She finished her plate before I finished mine, and that’s no mean feat. Would have liked to try the peanut butter pie, but I was full. The best part? All this and Sun King Osiris (beer) for twenty bucks! And served in less time than I would have been waited on in a lot of places!
Oh yes, I’ll be back.
Ratings
Service — 4 stars (As others have said, it can get a wee bit crowded around the ordering area)
Décor — 5 stars (Campy in a good, N.O. sorta way)
Quality of food — 4.5 stars
Quantity of food — 5 stars
Value — 5+ (All this for under 20 bucks? If I’m dreaming, please don’t wake me)
Congrats Yats, you’re my first five star rating ever!

OK, this place deserves special attention. If you like creole food, COME HERE. If you like any food, COME HERE. If you are visiting and can only pick one place to eat in Indianapolis, eat at Yats.
I moved here from California and never had anything like Yats’ food. Everytime I eat here my significant other has to stop me from eating myself to sleep. Also, you get this amazing garlic type of bread – mmmmm bread (Homer Simpson moment) – with every meal you order. Yats also has lots of beer to choose from with your savory crawfish, spicy creation.
I can’t stress this enough: Yats is an Indianapolis staple. You must eat here.

Not impressed at all. The reviews were great and being new to the area I was pumped. It was a sad day.

Yats is pretty much everything you want a local food joint to be — affordable, delicious, and friendly. They’re offering a type of food I haven’t seen elsewhere in the Indy area, and while it is greasy-​ish (not health food) the flavor will knock you out. I had the drunk chicken, which had so many fantastic savory, slightly spicy flavors. It was rich and filling, and it felt like eating real food. I’ve only been here once, but by the looks of it, they vary the menu every day (it’s written on a chalk board).
I have plans to bring my parents here when they visit for the holidays, and stop by for dinner again after a good workout.

3 stars for me means I like the food and will return for more. I’m giving Yats one more because it’s not only good, it’s CHEAP and it’s served fast. Whenever I don’t feel like cooking, I know I can take my family of four to Yats for a delish meal and I’m only spending around $ 20. I’ve never really had a bad experience at any location. I like the personality of the staff and the décor. My eight year-​old son says «whoever made the bread [with the creole butter sauce] is a genius.» That’s pretty high praise coming from one of my boys. They’re picky eaters.

Absolutely delicious. Great service. Unbelievable Cajun food. I get the half/​half B & B w/​Drunk Chicken. Just awesome. A personal must when I come to Indy.

I really wanted to like Yats, but I was slightly disappointed. I have heard that the chili cheese etouffe was the best. The day I was there, they didnt have any. In all fairness to them, it was a Saturday close to closing time. I ordered the Red beans and rice and Jambalaya served with bread thay was tasty. The red beans and rice were very dry and lacked the flavor I anticipated. The jambalaya was very good with just the right amount of seasoning for me. The sausage in the jambalaya was slightly spicy which gave the dish the right amount of spice.
I do plan to go back jist to try the chili cheese etouffe and eat that delicious bread.

Hands down one of my favorite places to eat! Peanut butter pie? Out of this world. The food is always hot and full of flavor. The staff is friendly and always makes me feel welcome. If you’re iffy about trying something on their menu, they will sample it to you beforehand. If you haven’t eaten here yet, I would recommend it a hundred times over. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed at all!

Anyone who knows me, knows that I am a huge fan of Yats. I frequent their locations more often than I care to admit. Anyway, upon visiting this newer location for the first time while in the area, I found myself wanting to walk right back out.
It was 82 degrees outside and inside this location, it was blazing hot. They either had no air conditioning on or it was broken. The only reason I stayed was the friendly employee who greeted me as soon as I walked in. (Plus I really wanted Yats for dinner.) The two slices of bread were the smallest I have received of any location and was barely buttered. I was disappointed. I even thought about buying more bread, which I never do. The layout of this location is odd. The tables are cramped in and it has a narrow hallway at the pick up window, where people get backed up and you have to go thru there to get to the small drink area.
Ok. The positives of this location were the extremely friendly staff and that they offer beer here. And the interior lighting is cool.
Either way, I’ll visit other locations from now on.

Another Yat’s in the city. However, I believe this one is run by the original owner and is not a franchise. If you are familiar with Yat’s then you know the MO. Offer a rotating menu of delicious cajun/​creole dishes (étouffée, gumbo, beans & rice, jambalaya, etc.) for under $ 7.
It just works.
1) Order at the counter,
2) Get your own beverage from the fountain (or get a beer).
3) Seat yourself.
4) Wait for your name to be called.
5) Pick up your food.
6) Add your own hot sauce (s).
7) Enjoy.
You can be in and out in 20 minutes if you wish or you can relax and spend an hour.
This location will be potentially dangerous for me as I can ride my bike here in less than 5 minutes (or walk here in 10).

Oh Yats. So yummy. Get in my tummy! This location just opened a few days ago. Yats has amazingly delicious Cajun food for reasonable prices. For those who don’t know Yats, it started locally in Broadripple about 10yrs ago and recently went franchise. They serve 10+ options of Cajun/​creole gumbos, étouffées, etc that they serve on top of rice with two slices of French bread topped in a butter sauce that I wish I could inject directly into my veins. They also serve beer, though this location has not set that up yet. The lunch my wife and I had here today was delicious and certainly met our high expectations for Yats. This location, if I had to complain about something, has a poor layout that bottlenecks people around the order window. Maybe can resolve with some table moves… Anyways! Come eat here!