Yatenga French Bistro & Bar

This is our «go-​to» palace for brunch. Very easy going and comfortable setup. Waiters are always helpful and friendly. Great steak sandwiches for brunch!

This has slowly become my FAVORITE place in Harlem. I was introduced to Yatenga this summer and have been coming ever since. I have had the tuna tartare, french onion soup, chefs special gambas, mac and cheese, duck and recently brunch. Yatenga is never hit or miss, the food and service is consistent. The last special touch is they have happy hour everyday from 4– 8 pm !!! Woo hoo

Über casual/​rustic, laid back ambiance. Friendly staff, good service.
Yummy food! I had the french onion soup to start with. For the main course my friend & I both tried their Chef Special Gambas… delicious. Another friend ordered the Steak Sandwich, looked great. He inhaled it! Generous portions.
We had the profiteroles for desert… not the best I’ve had but good.
Nice place, another option to have in the area, heard their brunch is good too.

only got drinks here but cute spot. would come back!

I have been a guest at Yatenga several times now. The best dish on the dinner menu is the Chef’s Special. Imagine this, a four or five (I’m guessing) cheese macaroni with jumbo garlic shrimp all harmoniously existing on your plate just waiting for you to taste…
BLISS! Go and try it and tell me it’s not sex in your mouth (figuratively speaking of course).

Dim lights, good food, nice atmosphere. This is a great place to go for date night or a girls night out. I usually get mac & cheese, phenomenal, with a glass of pinot grigio. The staff is a great set of people, which add on to the pros & makes this place even better!

My wife, two-​year-​old and I stopped here after an aborted trip to Keur Sokhna, which is across the street. Our experience here was – thankfully – substantially better.
The décor is quite different, and I mean that in a good way. There are various antique nicknacks throughout: an old stereo or two, comfortable chairs that seem pilfered from the 50s, a fantastic selection of figurines lining the molding just before the ceiling.
Maybe most importantly, we were seated and provided menus immediately. We’re already ahead of Keur Sokhna. The brunch menu is standard New York (or, at least, Harlem) French brunch fare. Comparing the menu with, say, Maison Harlem will reveal quite a bit of overlap.
I chose the shakshuka (not exactly French, and definitely not on Maison Harlem’s menu – but quite frankly, I don’t care, because shakshuka is lovely), and my wife had the daily quiche, which had cauliflower, broccoli, and asparagus. We ordered duck rillettes for our toddler. I also ordered a bloody mary, while my wife had coffee and our daughter had mango juice.
The duck rillettes came first, and were quite lovely. (Perhaps more importantly, they slaked a little girl’s hunger.) The baguette was excellent, and it was obviously freshly grilled. My shakshuka was presented differently than I was used to: Instead of coming out in a cast-​iron skillet, the two poached eggs (with the tomato sauce and za’atar) were presented on individual slices of grilled baguette. The shakshuka wasn’t particularly spicy, but was still quite lovely; thankfully, there was a liberal amount of za’atar. In my perfect world, I would have liked the egg yolks a little runnier, but I might be nitpicking.
The bloody mary was quite good: fresh, and heavy on the horseradish.
Overall, Yatenga is quite a good experience. The only reason it’s only four stars is because of the menu; I’d like to see something a bit different than other places.

Music is really loud in the evening although it’s still a great vibe. Been here a few times and my fav: tuna tartare, mac and cheese. Brunch is tasty and a great value with large portions.

Came here for brunch and it was wonderful, the service was great a little slow coming out of the kitchen.
The food is amazing, very well seasoned and fresh. I don’t have a lot to say about specifics because I never found the bottom of my mimosa ;) but it was a great experience and if you a someone looking for a great place to do brunch, Yatenga is a MUST.

I ordered the Macaroni with mushrooms, spinach, extra cheese, with shrimp, beyond delicious, had to ask to meet the chef and I did! Staff is extremely friendly; ambience is a bit cray, as the décor is beyond normal, however, liked how different it was and how vintage it looked!

Yatenga is a hidden jewel. The bartenders and staff will make you feel at home and the drinks will make you reconsider your current happy hour spot. As far as the food goes… Chef is amazing! Not only is he gifted at his craft but he is an amazing person, often seen checking on customers throughout the night. Your loss if you don’t check this place out!

My cousin recommend this place. I’m so glad he did. My wife and I tried the brunch menu. The food was excellent. My wife had Pancakes and Bacon. The Pancakes was light and fluffy. I had sandwich called «Croque Monsieur/​Madame. Top five sandwiches I ever ate. The service was excellent also!!! I highly recommend this place.

I ordered the chicken Milanese it was cooked to perfection. They gave me a large portion size, so I was able to eat some there and take some home. It was 2 pieces of breaded chicken, mashed potatoes, and vegetables. The service was great. I did order a drink with fresh watermelon and it came without and watermelon so they took it off of my check which I appreciated. The food is always so fresh when I go there. I am looking forward to having the fish next time.

Visited Yatenga for the first time last month & happy I decided to. Very relaxed outside seating, delicious food, chill service & overall a great experience.
This little French bistro in Harlem is a gem I hope stays around for a very long time.
I’d recommend: french toast, eggs Benedict & home fries! Everyone I was with enjoyed their meals!

Dined here yesterday with a few friends and the experience was awesome! i had the Salmon. Although I didn’t enjoy it (because I don’t like food with mustard and I didn’t ask how exactly it was prepared so no fault on the chef). I tried almost all the dishes my friends ordered and I must say the food is phenomenal!!! the mac and cheese was amaaaaaaazing. The skirt steak was extremely flavorful and the lamb shank was gracefully seasoned and literally fell off the bone. Now let us get to the seafood pasta. TO DIE FOR!!!
Everything about this restaurant was awesome and I am most certainly visiting again in the near future. The intimate setting and ambiance of this restaurant makes it one of many gems in Harlem!

Good food, good Brunch menu, the service not so great. We order the quiche of the day that was a good portion but specially the home fries and salad were the best part of the dish. The croque madame is awesome. Big, crunchy and juicy with a lot of flavor.
The waitress messed up the check since she didn’t understand we order the prix fixed but then she made a new check.

Chef Gregorio Sanchez is always on deck to accommodate his loyal patrons. Newbies as well great place to dine with family and friends.

If you are on Adam Clayton, Yatenga is a must. One of the best spots on the street. Very rustic Afro-​French unpretentious feel. Extremely comfortable. You could totally take you laptop if you wanted.
My personal favorite on a cold day is French Onion Soup & on hot days (or even chilly days because I love ice-​cream) are the PROFITEROLES. It’s a choux pastry ball filled with ice cream topped with not too sweet chocolate & sliced strawberries. Mmmmhmm.

This is a delicious meal. We were a bit hesitant when we arrived seeing that the health code rating was a B, but were undeterred because of the good things we had heard about the restaurant.
I would also recommend others to look past the health rating on this one and give it a try — it was delicious and our service was great.
I ordered the French Onion Soup to start — the cheese on top was melted expertly and the soup was served at the perfect temperature.
Then the Steak Sandwich was a great main course — the steak was cooked medium and the fried egg inside was interesting! There was also plenty of salad it was served with — the dressing was delicious.
The red house wine was also very good.
With a very lively atmosphere and our funny server, dining here was great and I do hope their next health rating rises to the A level our experience was.

I think this place is a pretty standard «frenchie» bistro. If it weren’t for Drake on the sound system, I could’ve been eating in midtown. I came right when they opened for dinner, on a weekday. My server was very nice and attentive (granted, I was the only one there).
I had a Stella draft, lukewarm. Oh. No. But once the duck rillette arrived, I’d forgotten all about it. It was rich, smooth, and spreadable. I wish I’d had more of an appetite because I’m a sucker for French bistros and their dinner specials sounded great. I would definitely go back.