Yunnan BBQ

Love everything we order every time — great for vegetarians but meat lovers will be especially happy. Flavors are so inventive and each dish has its own signature without being pretentious. Cocktails are beautiful and delicious. My husband and I latched onto this place as our favorite in the neighborhood and among top places we love in Manhattan.

One of my favorite places to go to if I’m around the area. From what I remember it used to be called Yunnan Kitchen, but never been disappointed from the number of times I’ve been here. Food was tasty and the service here is great. It’s a decent sized restaurant with a few seating, and the décor is simple yet hip.

This place is excellent. We had the duck fried rice which is great. The tea smoked duck with pancakes was phenomenal. I know it’s new, but I was shocked that the place was so empty considering the quality of the food. I highly recommend this place and hope they do well. Cocktails were good too and the staff was friendly. Décor was also nice.

It tasted better when it was Yunnan Kitchen.
We recently returned to this venue after it rebranded itself and menu. Staff is still top notch and attentive. Unfortunately, the food tasted flatter and less impressive than our many trips to Yunnan Kitchen. Price point is still great.
Please bring back the old flavors!

Really great flavor to all of the food, filling with good quantity. We had the Yunnan noodles which had a ton of great flavor, the ribs were top 5 chinese ribs in terms of taste, the meat platter sampler was very good. Partial to the pork belly. The fish balls were a little weird and could go either way on those. If you are a texture person be careful there. My wife loved her cocktail the bitter sweet azalea.
No wait on a Saturday night at 830 which was awesome!
Nothing that really floored us but really enjoyable and if you are stuck in a long wait somewhere definitely drop by here if you are into unique Asian food.

Great place to hang out on a Tuesday night as it was vacant.
The service and the food were both phenomenal.
We had a ShangriLa BBQ platter as the secondi and Shrimp with Cloud Ear fungus salade as apertivo. Both tastes refreshing and organic.
. One thing I was not sure what makes this place «Yunan» since the server told me Yunan BBQ is a fusionend. That said, I wonder more how the fusion composes the element of Yunan.
Good place for couples on a Tuesday night! Since it’s vacant. No need to worry about the noise

I came to the original restaurant 3 – 4 years ago when they first opened and was pleasantly surprised by how authentic and interesting the menu was. It’s good to see not too much has changed since my last visit.
It’s often hard to find truly authentic /​non-​Cantonese/​Sichuan Chinese food outside of Chinatown or Flushing, much less in a nice environment that’s clean, has decent service and a drinks menu (is that asking for too much?). So it’s good to see a new surge of what I’d call Hipster Chinese food lately.
Yunnan BBQ is great for larger groups — because of the long dining tables and the giant (strong) punch bowls that are meant to be shared.
My party of 4 opted to get a number of items to share — the fried rice, shangri la platter, glutinous rice cake, mushrooms… to name a few. Everything was delicious and each plate was licked clean. My favorite was probably the shangri la platter, which came with an assortment of skewers and 2 giant prawns.
I only wish the restaurant wasn’t such a trek from my apartment since I’d probably be back a lot more.

My husband and I went here on Saturday night around 7:30 and had no trouble getting a table. The décor was really pretty and I thought the overall ambiance was nice. We started the meal with a punch bowl, the calamansi cooler, which was really refreshing and a nice size for two people. The pitcher lasted us the whole meal.
Our waiter, Louis, was fantastic and took the time to give us some great recommendations. We thought we had made up our minds, but then his passionate suggestions convinced us to change it up and try some new things. He was extremely knowledgeable about the menu.
Pomelo Salad — very good. I wish there were more shrimp in it though… only 2 in our portion and they were very, very tasty.
Mushrooms — this was a huge serving of a variety of mushrooms. The flavor on them was great and we loved the variety. They all tasted and took the marinade a little differently which made it a really interesting dish. I personally loved the big, fluffy mushrooms that held in a lot of the liquid.
Rice Cakes — we were really excited for these since we made a similar dish with Blue Apron and haven’t seen them on a menu before. It did not disappoint. The sauce had a nice sweetness to it and the texture of the rice cakes was really great.
Tea Smoked Duck Breast — I’m so glad we gave this a try because it was fantastic! The duck was perfectly cooked and pink in the middle. It was kind of like a fajita plate, since we built our own crepes with veggies, sauce, and sliced duck in the middle. Loved it.
Overall, a great meal and experience and we can’t wait to go back!

Was a bit disappointed by this place. Didn’t really give me that yunnan kick of flavor I was highly anticiapting. Food was definitely good though. I partiicularly like the whole fish, but the traditional yunnan noodles were only okay. Come when the place just opens, it can get a little packed at prime time. Interesting drink menu though.

My expectations were quite high for my first meal at Yunnan BBQ. Szechuan food has the intensity and variety of spices to really satisfy my palate, and who doesn’t love a well executed barbecue? The idea of combining the two was nearly too good to be true, like the time I heard that Michael Jackson was to marry Elvis’ daughter.
Sadly, the result was not as mind blowing as I hoped. The flavors seemed to be deliberately muted; not a single dish left my lips numb or tingling. Too many items on the menu had a sweet element that overpowered the spices.
Starting with the biggest disappointments: The ribs were not tender and did not fall off the bone. Both fried rice dishes were dense and lacked that crucial fluffiness (but if I had to pick one I would suggest the BBQ pork belly).
Other dishes were better: The crispy prawns were fresh and tasty, although you should spend an extra second shaking off the lime salt. The Shao Kao platter had some gems in it, like the succulent lamb meatballs. The chicken wings were probably the highlight of the meal, having been perfectly flash fried and well seasoned, although somewhat unwieldy. The Chinese Michelada was the only drink I tried and it was truly delicious.
I left with the impression that the chef has been held back in some way. Perhaps the goal was to make Szechuan food more accessible? That sure didn’t work for me. Given the high bar set by the more daring Szechuan dishes available at Mission Chinese or Café China, this meal ultimately could do no better than 3 stars.

This is probably one of the first times I’ve been to a trendy, «upscale» Chinese restaurant and it did not disappoint.
We decided to do a double date here with my bf’s coworker and fiancé and we all left quite satisfied. They serve the meal family style and we went with the duck egg fried rice, duck breast (with pancake/​crêpe like wrappers) and the half order of shao kao.
My favorite was the duck breast. All the ingredients are prepared and you just throw how much you want into each wrapper and roll it up. Whenever I have duck, we put it in the steamed buns, so this was very unique. The duck egg fried rice was really good too, but I honestly do not know what’s the difference between chicken eggs and duck eggs… so it was just an egg to me. The shao kao was a really good way to sample a little bit of everything. Everything was served on a skewer so it was easy to take a portion and pass it on.
This place was really good and I’d definitely be back so I could try more stuff. The only sad thing was their dessert menu was quite lacking… but I guess you’re here for the main course so it’s ok.

I was looking forward to trying this place after spotting it on Instagram and on one of Eater NY’s recent lists of places. I came here for dinner with my boyfriend this past Friday – we figured the day after Thanksgiving would be quiet, and it was! We were the first people there for dinner around 7:30 and the staff looked happy to see us! We were seated in a cozy corner table with a great view of the restaurant. I liked the décor! It was simple and cute. The red lanterns hanging from the ceiling made the place feel more intimate and inviting, and the hipster floral wallpaper was pretty and added a funky touch. I also liked the bathroom-​it had Chinese newspaper mixed with floral paper, exposed brick, and candles lighting up the space.
The restaurant is great for couples and groups of any size. There was a group of 8 next to us. It’s a good sized space but not huge, with a small bar on the side. The music was not too loud and was good until they started playing top 40s. (It seemed like they changed it as soon as more people came in.) Our waiter was great! He was patient when we couldn’t decide what to order, and offered suggestions, including his favorite items. After ordering, our first two dishes came super fast! We got the cucumber and mushroom salad and the pork belly fried rice. I didn’t think the salad had too much flavor but it was still subtle and refreshing. I was glad we got it because our two other dishes were both salty meats. The rice was delicious and had lots of pork belly in it! I was nervous because other people had said it was dry and tasteless, but I thought it was good! It was also a good sized portion, perfect for sharing. We got the ribs as our main dish. Again, I was nervous because others had complained about the portion, but we each had 3 pieces with a lot of meat on each piece. The cucumbers that came with it were amazing and added to the flavor of the ribs. We were both full by the end! (I do agree that $ 29 is pricey for the portion, though.)
All in all, both the service and the atmosphere were 5 stars. The food was good as well, but pricey for what it was. I would still totally recommend this place though! I was glad we got to try it on a quiet night.

Yunnan BBQ provides high quality food, and big-​bold flavors. I had some dish that included a sampling of all the BBQ meats. I loved the pork belly skewer but I wasn’t a fan of the lamb meatballs or the heavily laden with spice other meats – whatever they were. The dish kinda, sorta had hints of Middle Eastern flavors. But just because I didn’t like it doth not mean it wasn’t good. It simply wasn’t my cup of tea. The GF had the duck egg fried rice. She said it tasted bland, I thought it tasted good. I loved the marinated spicy red peppers that accompanied my dish. So much so that I ordered more. Service was fantastic!

I dined at Yunnan BBQ with a large group on 10÷27÷15. Since the dinner was «Family Style”(aka…everything comes out when the chef feels like it) I sampled most of the dishes on the menu. The upshot… the food is wildly inconsistent… hence the three rating.
Yunnan BBQ, though small, is a pleasant space. Unfortunately, our group of eight was stuffed in a table more suitable for six. The restaurant features a varied list of superb specialty cocktails and craft beers, with $ 5 Tsing Taos. My cocktail, The Silk Road, was exceptional.
As to the food, the Chau Kao Pork Ribs were amazing, perfectly balanced between sweet and savory with a nice mouth feel when bitten. However, the $ 29 tab was ridiculous for a very small portion of ribs. The rices, Pork Belly & Duck Egg, were a study in contrast. I enjoyed the pork belly rice but the duck egg rice was very dry, even after we broke the egg yolk into the rice. The Ma La Chicken was dry but well seasoned The Yunnan Rice Noodles were gross and inedible, laced with a sickening amount of cilantro. The Shao Kao Shangri La ($ 45), a new age Pu Pu Platter with new age prices, was similarly inconsistent. The Pork Belly and Tiger Prawns were very good. The Beef Short Ribs and Lamb Meatballs were average at best. The Wok-​Charred Brussel Sprouts were good. The Homestyle Stir-​Fried Mushrooms were not. The Yunnan Potato Pancake was bland, but rescued by condiments.
Though I give them kudos for attempting an original take on Chinese food, I doubt that I would return to Yunnan BBQ.

Yum! I went with Tasting Collective — an event where the entire restaurant was rented out and the chef provides a tasting menu. This was great because I got to try a lot of dishes and boy was I impressed. The first few courses were mushroom soup, pork and chive dumplings and a an heirloom tomato salad with chia seeds. The dumplings were awesome. I could have eaten 20, but I was trying to save room for the other courses. The salad was also very flavorful. The soup was good, but I’m not a huge mushroom fan.
The next few courses included stir-​fried kai lan, cha shao pork ribs, BBQ pork belly fried rice and tea smoked duck. The ribs were A-​W-​E-​S-​O-​M-​E! That’s a must have if you’re planning to go (well, along with those dumplings). I would also definitely recommend the BBQ pork belly fried rice, I couldn’t get enough! The tea smoked has a very intriguing smokey flavor and was much leaner than what I’m used to as far as duck. It was very pleasant.
For dessert we had the passion fruit gelee which was really nice but not my favorite of the two. The other dessert was the yunnan coffee ganache which was out of this world. The two consistencies — cake and condence milk — were so wonderful together, and topped off with the crispy banana. It was such a creative combination of consistencies and flavors. I’m by far not a huge dessert fan but I would definitely order this during another visit.
Also, the décor is just a delight. The lighting was perfect, the kitchen was open and viewable from the dining room and the colorful wall paper and chinese lanterns made you feel like you were at a festival in Southern China. Give it a shot — I really enjoyed my experience tremendously!

Yunan food is always my favorite cuisine back in China. The food here is different from what we eat in Yunnan, less spicy, less oily, less salty, more fresh, and sweeter. But same enjoyable. Ribs are my favorite, though more like Hong Kong food to me. Duck egg fried rice is good too, love how the taste of pickled mustard mixed with the rice which reminded me of my mom’s cook. It is said that the toufu ribbons are directly transported from a rural town in Yunan, not as spicy as I expected but tasted very authentic. Deserve to try and come again if you want to eat healthy and tasty.
If you are interested in Chinese culture, pay some attention to the decorations in the restaurant might be a good idea. For example, there is a pair of «Rabbit Gods» sitting on the counter. We normally invite them into our houses at mid-​autumn day to ask for protection from bad luck and illness. Or try to ask the owner here, she might have some great stories about the beautiful wall paintings and the silver necklaces hanging on the wall. Btw, love the way they decorate the toilet wall (if you can read the characters from the Chinese news clips).

Yunnan Kitchen has really improved in the past few years. Service has become less pretentious and the food seems to be more consistent. Going with a larger group one night allowed me to try literally every dish on the abbreviated menu (I do love a short menu!) and now I know exactly what my favorites are to order.
The menu does change from time to time, right now they don’t have the tofu skin ribbons, which is a great dish. The eggplant, pork noodles and any of the fried rice dishes are tops. A few dry whites by the carafe help round out the meal.

I’ve been curious to try this place for awhile. I pass by it daily on my walk home and it is usually bustling. Finally got the chance yesterday for a late night dinner with two of my favorite people.
We got there about 9:30. The humidity was stifling yesterday with impending rain and we expected relief when we entered but it wasn’t much better inside. Guess the ac couldn’t keep up. We decided to stay anyway.
Dim, intimate. You won’t find a trendier spot in the immediate area. We ordered 5 dishes to split family style — mustard greens, tofu ribbons, duck egg fried rice, pulled pork cold noodles and mapo tofu with goat.
Honestly, none of the dishes were standout or very memorable. Prices are a bit steep too. The best of the bunch were the cold noodles. Very refreshing. The noodles had great texture and the pork was seasoned nicely and very flavorful. Mapo tofu could have been spicier. The goat was very tender but there were only 3 small pieces. Duck egg fried rice was pretty underwhelming and plain, I had to put some of the chili from the mapo tofu to spice it up. Everything else was just ‘ok’. Filled the belly. eeh.
We didn’t drink tonight so no comments on that. Service was fine.
Return trip is unlikely but I am glad I finally got to try this place.

Goddamit it’s Chinoise not Chinese.
We walked away thinking this is basic Chinese food with some heavier Western accents thrown in to make it less scary, with what felt like a 2x markup. Unnecessary.
Saturday nite little past 9. The place was 80% empty which was not a happy sign and we also did not spy any natives among the patrons either which is another depressing indicator.
The first head scratcher was the lack of fountain drinks as our request for coke was met with the choices for designer $ 4 soda. Never mind. We’ll stick with the tap water now.
We followed instructions and ordered two appetizers and two mains (two of us). The crispy whole prawns were probably the best dish of the lot but that is not saying much as it was overly seasoned. Next up was the pea shoots and green peas which was a bit bland. For mains we had the duck egg fried rice which got shrugs around the table and caramelized chicken, which has like 5 morsels of the bird hiding under the vegetables.
We were famished after going for a run and were in a mood to try anything — we left depressed instead.

I was initially confused when I came upon the restaurant as the name conveyed a more traditional Chinese restaurant, not a hipster-​Williamsburg type place. I made a reservation at 6 PM for party of 4, but I wasn’t able to make it until 7. Luckily a friend was able to get there on time and hold down our time. I have to give the waiters/​restaurant points for being so accommodating, especially because we ended up having a party of 6. They have some good beer selections and would let you have a sample taste if you ask before you commit.
For food, we ordered the sauteed mushrooms (very good), the lamb skewers (which looked more like middle eastern/​persian kebabs), beef with okra (too salty, too seasoned, not enough meat), spicy wings (TOO MUCH CHILI and not enough of anything else), fried rice (pretty good) and pork belly (also pretty good). Overall the portions were small and I felt they overseasoned everything with cumin so the flavor balance was a little off.
One thing that really threw me off was, there was a dish on the menu for something like Pumpkin xxx and the ingredients read: kale, nan gua, xxx. Pumpkin=nan gua, was it necessary to be pretentious and write the Chinese pronounciation for Pumpkin instead of just pumpkin!!!
Good atmosphere, great service, okay food.