The Yum Yum Tree

Voted the Best Chicken Salad in Town! So I decided to give it a try. And it was delicious! The inside of the restaurant was very basic which leans to its charm. After enjoying my sandwich I ordered some more to bring home and share with the rest of the family!

The Yum Yum Tree is a page from my childhood that is still fun to read! My favorite is their chicken salad, chunky but tender and very tasty. You can also buy in in quantity to go. Its reasonably priced and the $ 7.99 container will make 4 or more good sized sandwiches. It also keeps well and is just as good the next day. Their ham and swiss cheese and asparagus crepes with Hollandaise sauce make for a light but satisfying lunch. The crepes come with your choice of a side but for me the wonderful Waldorf salad with fresh papaya chunks along slide crisp apples and dressing is a standout. The Cuban sandwich is also a great choice. nicely filled on sourdough toast with plenty of ham, roast pork, swiss cheese and just the right amount of sliced pickles. Try the potato soup, chunky and creamy and perfectly seasoned, almost decadent. For dessert, if you still have room, share a warm slice of Buttermilk Coconut pie with whipped cream on top (if you do not have room, take a slice home!) The service is pleasant and prompt.

Another classic Jacksonville gem that has been in business for decades. Interior is small and décor is vastly outdated, but that’s part of the charm, and to be fair they have custom paintings on the wall. It looks like a luncheon place for older women, and that doesn’t matter because most people are probably just getting pints of their chicken salad to go. Yes, this place pretty much only makes one food item: chicken salad. And it is probably still the best chicken salad I’ve ever tasted. Recipe is a closely guarded secret I’m told. If you were exploring Jacksonville and going for super local, this would be on the short list with Whiteway Deli at the #1 spot.

I am a long time customer of the Yum Yum tree. Over 20 years in fact. I have been addicted to their chicken salad pita forever but I recently tried their egg salad and it is now my new favorite. You must try this place and I guarantee you won’t be disappointed!

I stopped by this quiet little place eager to have stumbled upon an established, authentic Chinese restaurant. For some reason I still went in after I saw that they were «famous,» for their chicken salad and not delicious Dim Sum.
When I entered I was immediately scowled at by an older waitress leaning against the back wall. She couldn’t be bothered to say «good afternoon,» «Welcome to Yum Yum tree,» or even offer up an acknowledging nod. Not immediately spotting the order counter about 10 steps ahead, I stood there inside the door taking in the place, while she continued to glare at me. A few moments later she was kind enough to huff out words letting me know that someone had come in behind me and was trying to get by. (I wasn’t blocking the entire entry and those snarly words would have been better served asking if she could help me).
After I approached the actual order counter a friendly younger lady smilled and took my order (The chicken salad– I mean its FAMOUS! With a side of pasta salad). My order came up quickly and they nicely honored my Unilocal Check in Deal (I figured I’d check out reviews while I waited for my order) for a free dessert. I opted for the Coconut Pie, which was perfect.
Unfortunately, I definitely don’t have the palate of an Octogenarian who still has strong teeth, because albeit cold and crisp, the chicken salad sandwich was the most unremarkable thing I’ve eaten in quite a while I actually like chicken chunky the few times I bother with something like chicken salad, but the basic blah of the mayo and unseasoned (really, not even salt?) chicken even drowned out the crunchy celery and visible but not present in flavor black pepper. This sandwich would have been great for a Good Housekeeping food photo shoot. If the waitresses didn’t seem so offended by my presence I might consider returning to try the crepes, but I don’t think I’m their target customer or taste profile. People that crave this must enjoy the texture, because there is no flavor to crave.
Highly recommended for those that like their food Basic.

This girl aint picky about food, no way no how… but when it comes to chicken salad, I’m the DICTATOR, and I have to say that one of the most perfect chicken salad recipes in Jacksonville can be found at the Yum Yum Tree.
I came here for the first time as our group lunch destination after a «field trip» I had with a class I took at UNF about a year and a half ago. I think this establishment was chosen because one of the current proprietors and son of the original owners is the fiancé of the professor who led the field trip, one of my favorite Sociology professors at UNF :)
It’s a pretty limited menu. It’s basically just salads and quiche, but everything is delicious and fresh. I really do love their chicken salad. Note: I prefer savory over sweet when it comes to chicken/​tuna salad. So take this into account when trying for the first time, as many have claimed that it is the best in all of Jax. If you like the icky sweet type with grapes and celery and all that nonsense, don’t go here. This chicken salad is a lovely combination of savory hearty. I’ve often found that the more fiber other restaurants put in the salad the sweeter they think it has to be. However, I believe this should be the opposite.
The quiche: flaky and flavorful.
Service: down-​home and relaxed.
Verdict: love

I admit I was a little nervous about trying this place. Just by the name and the outside appearance, it’s not one of the places that I would choose to go to. But my lieutenant, Who is a little odd, asked us to go. When I walked in I wasn’t surprised at the way it looked. It looks like one of those places 2 old ladies would go have tea at. But I’m always willing to try new things. I ordered a warm corned beef sandwich with Swiss cheese. It was actually very fresh and good. The pasta salad however had little to no taste. My boss got the chicken salad and it looked and smelled delicious. He had no complaints and said it was great. My other partner had the egg salad. It looked good and it was a huge portion. I was very happy with the free dessert with the Unilocal check-​in! I got the bread pudding and would slap my mama for some more of that!!! I want to take my honey there to try that! Not sure about this place to go back to unless I was invited by others.

I used to live near University Blvd and often would drive by the Yum Yum Tree, but never tried it. Afterall, this place being so close to the French Pantry… Well, on a Saturday (since FP isn’t open on weekends), I figured… what a perfect opportunity to try this place.
We ordered the «famous chicken salad» sandwich and quiche Lorraine. Eh… after trying a bite of each, we look at each other and raised an eyebrow… The silent communications clearly states, «that was it?» The chicken salad was «chunky»… that’s about all I can say. I didn’t get what’s so famous about it. I would imagine that if you want the chicken to be so chunky, the chiceken itself may need a bit of seasoning. Otherwise you are chewing on just dried cooked chicken breast with some mayo… The quiche was also not tasty and bland. For the price, I’ve definitely had better.
The dessert crêpe with ice cream, chocolate, whipped cream, etc, was decent. But nothing outstanding as the entire dessert was frozen, not freshly made. So we didn’t get the fluffly light crêpe that we were expecting (I was secretly hoping the crêpe would be slight warm to contrast the frozen treats). The frozen crêpe tastes like any frozen Sarah Lee treats you can buy from the super market.
As for service, I don’t know if this is the norm, but we had teen age boys doing the service. Like… young teen age boys helping out their grandma. Obviously it was not something they are used to because they were awkard and uncomfortable… which made us also uncomfortable.
The sad thing is, we were sooo prepared to like this place. I mean, a little hole in the wall joint (assuming) ran by local business owners. And no, we weren’t looking for a nice, well-​run, fine dining experience. But we were looking for a welcoming atmosphere mom n’pop shop with a touch of grandma’s cooking… but wow, disappointing…

I had a Crepes craving this past weekend. Blame it on the crêpe placemats at the Swoozies store. Blame it on the billions of crêpe shops in San Francisco. Whatever it was, I was craving crepes!
So I got a tip about this place from a foodie coworker (she said they have the best sandwiches). Thank you foodie coworker! Now when are you getting on Unilocal?Lol.
OK, so I was a bit surprised when I found this place. Very southern kind of atmosphere. That’s how the ambience is. Cute, cozy and southern. We were sitting indoors but I felt like I was kicking back on a porch on a lazy Sunday atmosphere. Seriously.
They have three types of crepes here:
— Crepes Asparagus — asparagus, creamy hollandaise sauce, swiss cheese, and ham rolled into a crêpe
— Crepes Marco Polo — chicken, brocolli, and stuffing rolled into a crêpe and smothered with veloute sauce. The menu compares it to a Thanksgiving Dinner.
— Dessert — only kind they have is vanilla ice cream rolled into a crêpe and drizzled with chocolate. (What? No nutella and banana?)
OK, I only had room in my stomach for the Crepes Asparagus and Dessert Crêpe. I did not have the Marco Polo. Not yet. =)
The Crepes Asparagus had the creamiest and most delicate hollondaise sauce I’ve ever had. Very delicious. I did not really notice the taste of the swiss cheese because most of my attention was on the sauce and the ham.
The Dessert crepes were also very good. Kind of like a vanilla sundae with a light drizzle of syrup and wrapped in a crêpe form.
With my meal I also had a waldorf salad. It was pretty good as well. If you aren’t into waldorf, you can opt for a potato, macaroni, tossed, or fruit salad.
Oh! And they have JULIE salad, so make sure you try that! Hahaha. I haven’t tried it… yet… I always wondered what it was like to eat myself.
I also got hooked up with FREE Mint Tea because they are celebrating 30 years of business. It is cold iced tea, but I didn’t really notice the mint flavor. Still pretty good. I think it’s this month only, so hurry on down!
I am sure the tea helped out, but this place was very affordable. My bill was below $ 10. A full tummy and a full wallet makes for a happy Julie. Just make sure you bring enough cash. They don’t take credit cards.
Yum Yum Tree is only open to eat in from Monday through Saturday 11am-2:30pm. But you can do take out from 9:30am to 2:45pm.

After recently being told this place has been around forever (30 years I think it is) and the chicken salad is «famous,» I had no choice but to head over for weekday lunch and see for myself.
Thank me now as I’ll save you the trip.
YYT’s «famous» chicken salad (opted for the pita) was… wait for it. boring! Big chunks of chicken but no chunks for flavor. Sad! The side of potato salad was okay but not memorable. Pita was bland as well. Double fail. The iced tea was good.
Atmosphere was plain and I have to admit, not a fan of the name. Yum Yum Tree doesn’t do it for me, in any regard.