Yamas

This place has some big problems. First of all, no soap in either bathroom. That’s a pretty big deal. I mean what if I went number two without knowing there was no soap in the dispenser? Talk about a crisis on par with the the restructuring of Greek debt. Secondly, you only get three toppings on your gyro, INCLUDING SAUCES!!! That’s crim, especially since I’m paying $ 9 for the damn thing. I should be able to stuff whatever I can onto the pita. Third infraction, they had lukewarm fizzy water coming out of the drink machine. That was disappointing because it’s so hot out and I was so looking forward to the crisp refreshing taste of cold ice water on hot day. Oh, no ice either so you’re screwed on that front. I think it’s a scheme to make you buy the refrigerated can soda near the register; you tell me Yamas! Lastly, Terence and I sat outside and were accosted by a bird. The bird wouldn’t go away even after we told it to (threw a crumpled napkin at it). This bird was a fucking Janissary coming to invade the isle of Crete. Was lits a piece of shit. The only saving grace of this place is that they have really good lamb meat. It’s very tender and juicy. They also have spicy feta which I had never encountered before. But these positive points don’t outweigh the grievances and id like to see them change so that I can eat their delicious shredded lamb meat gyro, or take a shit, whichever one comes first.

Love this place! I had a salad bowl with arugula, tabouli, cous cous, olives and humus (I added chicken as well). It was fresh, flavorful and fast. The service was very courteous and the space was clean and bright. I thoroughly enjoyed my lunch here and will definitely be back:)

Yummy!
I have had food from here before but this is my second actual visit by coming to the actual location. A very nice woman, Mary, greeted both me and another patron as we entered this place. I ordered the lamb gyro with feta and grilled vegetables.
Mary so kindly gave me a generous portion of meat which was really juicy seasoned to perfection. For just 60 cents extra I also recommend anyone who orders from here to get the spicy light green yogurt sauce which they make right in the store. I don’t know what it’s called but it added an amazing touch of flavor to my already awesome sandwich.
It was absolutely delectable! Their drinking water is prepared with sliced cucumbers and lemons for a very refreshing twist. This whole lunch experience totally made my day. Please tip these friendly people well. They will not disappoint.

This place sucks now. It used to be my favorite place in the whole area. The last five times I’ve been service was miserable and they didn’t have lamb (the other meats they have are nothing special). Ever since they got new employees the place doesn’t seem to run as well. Hope the management team starts to recognize this.

Good food

I love love love my Yamas gyros. If I’m being honest it’s a little pricey, but not enough to deter me. I come after the gym often and the employees are neither welcoming or particularly friendly but the process takes less than one minute so who cares, and they arent necessarily rude either, just stoic. It’s become part of the narrative for me. I’m all about the keftedes.

If you’re looking for a place to go after Chipotle gave you food poisoning I recommend Yamas. The bowls are kind of like that, but with Greek food. They are generous with the toppings. I prettymuch always get the bowl or wrap. I agree that service can be a bit surly at times but it’s not a huge deal since the ordering process is so quick.

The food was okay, but definitely not a stand out. Given a choice, I’d probably choose Chipotle over this.
I would have given three stars because it was okay and the service was friendly, buuuuuut there are other unfortunate things I noticed.
First, it was so cold in the store, I had to eat with my down coat on. That’s not ideal.
Second, they don’t have an ice machine in the store. If you want cold water, you have to hope some was brought in or get over it, I guess. There weren’t very good drink options in general.

Man it kills me to do this. I have been coming here frequently, sometimes up to 3 times in a week, since I wrote my first review of Yamas. The food has stayed excellent but unfortunately the service has taken a huge nose dive. I used to be able to come in to grab my lunch and have a friendly conversation with the staff or the owner before heading out. Now, the newer staff can barely acknowledge your existence. There have been times in the past few months when my co-​worker and I have come in and thought the place was closed because there wasn’t a staff member in sight so we would wait and wait until someone decided to come out from the back and see if there was anyone there. Today was the final straw. I dropped by to grab a quick lunch and some of the staff were outside on break — cool, everyone needs a break during their day. Well, apparently it was the ENTIRE staff because when I went inside, there was no one around. A few minutes later one of the staff members — who saw me go inside — comes in and goes about preparing my food … no hand washing, no apology, nothing. Ok, fine, he doesn’t have to touch my food since I’m getting a rice bowl and maybe he’s having a bad day so I let it slide. I tell him what I want in my rice bowl and he asks me if I want protein. I don’t eat much meat anymore so I usually get hummus or whole chickpeas as my protein choice. When I tell him no, I’m good, he chastises me for not getting «protein» at which point I tell him «well, chickpeas ARE a protein.» Undeterred and apparently dead set on telling me how I’m eating wrong, he tells me «ok, whatever you say» in a really nasty way. Excuse me? Chickpeas have 39 grams of protein per cup which is only 4 grams less than an equivalent amount of chicken so, yeah.
I have been giving this place chance after chance since this new staff came on board but I’m just done. The new staff is negligent at best, outright rude at worst. So if you want delicious food and can tolerate rudeness and questioning of your protein choices, then Yamas is the place for you but you are on your own because I’m done!

A small, yet efficient restaurant if you are looking for places with «make your own bowl» concept.

Great service (I think there was an ownership change recently) and the food is amazing! The ingredients are always fresh and the portions are very good for what you pay for. The desserts are also amazing. I would definitely come back again!

When I looked at the aggregate reviews for this place, I had high hopes! I had not had Mediterranean food in a while, and I was looking for a light and refreshing meal on one of DC’s notoriously humid spring/​summer days.
Instead, I got refrigerated dolmas that had the texture of a rolled cigar: tough, bland, and with little flavor. The tzatsiki sauce and lemon slice gave them some much needed zing, but I definitely would not try them again. The rice pudding, on the other hand, was a slam dunk: a great amount of cinnamon with a rich, creamy texture.
If I get a chance to try some other items off the menu, I will definitely update this review. But for now, maybe ask them the last time they made fresh dolmas before taking some of them to go. It couldn’t hurt, and to their credit, the front staff was super friendly and patient when answering any of my menu questions.

The food is good, but not worth the hassle.
First off, they do not deliver, despite advertising that they do. Do not order through their delivery partner EatStreet, because a) you’ll never get your food and b) they do not know how to reverse the credit card charges. If you call and ask them if they deliver, they will tell you that their ‘driver is off today’ or something like that. Not a big deal, but a little misleading.
Second, I have a real problem with the service here. I live around the block and like to call in my order before I pick it up. On several occasions a woman has picked up the phone and refused to allow me to place an order in advance, either saying that she didn’t have a pen to write with, or that there’s a ‘long line of customers.’ I ended up just ordering from the Greek Spot, which in my experience has always been extremely accommodating.
Third, there is a woman working there who is just obnoxious. She usually works the register and is constantly barking at the staff and customers, which makes waiting in line an uncomfortable experience at times. One day I came in for lunch and decided to eat at the picnic tables outside, and she was literally screaming at some kids who were out there helping with some sort of gardening project. She seemed oblivious to the fact that paying customers were being subjected to this.

Fresh. Tasty. Healthy (options).
Great food.
Great price.
And they deliver!
Yes. Yes. Yes!
Pictures speak for themselves. Delicious, filling, and a decently healthy option.
Give it a try!

Sadly I did not take a picture of my rice bowl, because I was so busy eating it!
The rice bowl was exactly what I wanted after spending three days in the car.
You are supposed to pick between brown and white rice, it they let me do half and half. From there you get to pick five toppings to go on your rice bowl, plus a meat.
I had chicken and my friend had lamb. The chicken chunks were a little large for my liking, the lamb was perfect. Both tasted wonderful, however the chicken was a little dry, but how picky can you be when it is a cafeteria style?
Everything else was perfectly delightful, fresh cucumber, tomatoes, tabouli, spicy feta, olives and pickled beats topped my bowl. So maybe we lost count and I got an extra topping. Perhaps it was my excitement in choices.
My friend added romaine to her bowl, which I realized I wanted as soon as she sat down.
This is a great place for a quick, flavorful, healthy meal.
Everyone was incredibly friendly, helpful and patient as I made my selections.
Another great DC find!

Food was good, but HUGE THUMBS down for the service and lack of cleanliness. I understand I came at 6 pm on a weekday (early dinner some must say), but half the workers were outside just smoking cigarettes. This was a red flag from the start.
If you are indecisive, do not come here. It took me 5 minutes to figure out what I wanted and the server kept asking and was super rude the whole time. I know I just ruined your cigarette break, but would have loved to order in peace.
In terms of pricing, it’s 7 dollars for a gyro bowl with your pick of lamb, chicken, gyro. Sounds amazing at first, until one of the servers was putting these toppings on without gloves. Despite that, I still ate it and thought the balsamic dressing on the side was a bit heavy, yet there was a lot of good stuff in my bowl. With a selection of hummus, artichoke, beats, etc., there was just so much to choose from. I hope to go to this place on a better day, but it just was too many strikes at once for me to come any time soon. The location is convenient, but would not recommend this.

So excited about Yamas opening close by. The Gyro sandwich is amazing eith natural ingredients and the meat is so fresh and cooked so well. The hummus has a kick to it and just so fresh.
Most importantly, the service is supirb. The owner is so friendly and attentive. She offered us wine welcoming us as new customers.
You must try the «rice pudding» as she added her own secret ingredient to it and its absolutely to die for.
Best Turkish coffee as well.

The type of place that maybe if I lived next door I might go. sometimes
Nothing spectacular about the gyro bowl. Limit of 5 toppings (includes sauce) — seemed pretty fresh. My problem was with the gyro meat — extremely salty. It was difficult to eat. And it was supposed to be a mix of lamb and pork, but don’t think there was any lamb in there.

Meh, not a fan. I visited Yamas (located in the area where U St turns into New Hampshire Ave NW) recently for take-​out and wasn’t very impressed. The portion sizes were pretty small for the price ($ 8 pitas and some of their sides, for a small cup of potatoes or rice, were $ 5). Definitely not worth it. What’s more — the server had gloves on when serving the person in front of me and took off his gloves and didn’t put any other gloves on when serving me. Wasn’t a fan of that. I will go elsewhere for takeout in the future.

There aren’t too many dining options in the area, so Yamas is a welcome addition. I love the salad bowl because of all the toppings you can get. They have smoked eggplant, a quinoa salad, cucumber/​tomato salad, spicy hummus and beets, all that pair well with their protein options. I get the gyro and always receive a heaping portion of meat on my salad. I’ve tried the pork and wasn’t a fan, but it could have been an off night so I would try it again. I usually eat half my salad for dinner and bring the rest for lunch– there’s that much food.
The people working here are the nicest. One time I went and they were giving out free glasses of their house red– that’s an easy way to win me over. They are patient while I decide which toppings to add to my salad (and sometimes give me an extra).
So glad to have a place like Yamas in the neighborhood. I hope they are here to stay!