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El Viejo Yayo

3.3 (224 reviews)
ModerateLatin American, Bars
Open • 11:00 am - 11:00 pm
Updated a few days ago

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El Viejo Yayo Photos

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EL VIEJO YAYO ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Live music
Casual
Moderate noise
Good for groups

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Recommended Reviews - El Viejo Yayo

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Maduros
Giselle B.

Shoutout to my friend for putting me on to this spot because i will be there consistently!!! I LOVE. A good Spanish spot and this place sealed the deal! The food was delicious and the service was really good. If you're looking for a flavorful meal that isn't super expensive, this is the place for you. And the portions are huge so i definitely had leftovers for the next day! Can't believe i didn't know about this lowkey spot but it needs to be on the map!

1/2 Tostone 1/2 maduro, rice and beans, the seafood sampler, toasted bread with the garlic sauce
TJ J.

We ate the pernil, the stew chicken and shared a seafood sampler and left so satisfied. Our waitress (I believe her name was Arlene) was great. She treated us so kindly and I had mentioned that my sister was visiting from out of town and she made everything very special. Took care of us as well as 3 other tables, but made us feel like we were the only ones there. Go here!

Yellow rice and black beans
Duane H.

Stop in for a quick lunch. Food was good for quick lunch standards. I had breaded chicken with yellow rice and red beans. I asked for onions, and I received deliciously seasoned onion. I don't know if they were pickled or what but they were delicious. The rice was a little too clumpy for me, i tend to like my grains more individualized. However, it did taste ok. The breaded chicken and beans were ok, not great. Service was great, very attentive. Ambiance was lacking, but I mean for it isn't that type of party. It's serves its purpose for a great meal for lunch or dinner. The prices are great, I want to add. This isn't a 4/5 star restaurant by any means but it's super solid 3 and does the job.

Front
Tiffany H.

I had another craving for Dominican food. II'll try to do justice and describe how good the meal is. The mofongo comes w this amazing sauce. I call it MAGIC sauce. It makes everything I dip in it sooo good. I had my favorite bistec empanizado, this time it was thinly pounded and breaded n fried to perfection. Add garlic in oil on top. Crispy, crunchy, beefy & juicy. I got i w tostones. Omg My mouth is watering just thinking about how good it was. The chicken chicharones perfectly cooked as well. We had it w side of red rice n beans. So we had a feast. There's enough let overs for tomorrow. I can't wait. I didnt even know there are 2 locations. I usually order by phone n go pick up. Good thing they asked me to come to 9th street location. The food was still hot when I got hone ~10 min walk. The only thing is the upcharge %fee for paying by credit card, "check out charge" is this the new norm? It's not written in the menu but I'm starting to see in the restaurants now.

Chicken and Rice with Chicken Side of Sweet Fried Plantains
Marquavis B.

Came to NY to visit my grandpops we stopped by Yayo, had the ceviche, i got the arrow con pollo and we got a side of sweet plantains. All of the food was great, environment was good wish i stayed longer so i could go again. My grandfather does the upholstery here, he's very proud of his work and he comes often to eat there in return. The ceviche was a lil bit on the spicy side but very good nonetheless

"Dominican cake" in a Chinese take out box. Hmm

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1 year ago

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5 years ago

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2 years ago

The food and ambiance is good. My go to when feeling sick is ordering the sopa de pollo

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1 year ago

The food was delicious. Drinks were yummy. Servers were very courteous. Beautiful decore. Really liked the place.

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2 years ago

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Barely Disfigured - Charcuterie

Barely Disfigured

4.5(182 reviews)
1.0 mi•Cobble Hill, Gowanus
•$$

This bar has a very fun fun concept- a bar turned from a former brothel. The motif on the door is a…read moreplay on the 'this is not a pipe' work, which really added to the vibe I was expecting. Unfortunately this place fell very flat. Leading with what we liked: Their mocktail offerings were good, promising a 0.0% ABV which is hard to come across when mocktails are offered. They serve oysters, which adds to that aphrodisiac experience of the oh so 'wow this is a former brothel!'. The bartenders and servers were fast and very sociable with the more sociable customers. The immediate entrance is very tight, and it was uncomfortable navigating the space. We expected there'd be more seating in the back, which there was, but it was limited and not offered to us until we asked for it. We honestly had no clue where it would be and only asked because of how this place was advertised. While it was comfy once we made our way back there, it was reminiscent of a lounge style bar space that almost any bar could replicate with the right room and budget. We didn't feel as though this hit the spot and were let down by this experience. I'm not sure if I can judge the menu of drinks/ foods as expensive, but we left hungry bc we couldn't justify some of the prices. In addition, I've seen a lot of complaints about the volume of the music: it's definitely loud at the front but a lot lower in that back lounge space. It's as loud as any bar's music level would be, but truth be told we were expecting music that matched the vibe of what was advertised and yes, at a lower volume.

i love this bar!! it's not great for big groups, but perfect for a date night or group of 2-3…read moreit's a pretty small space favorite drink is the hokusai, i absolutely love it

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Barely Disfigured - Back room

Back room

Barely Disfigured - Claws!

Claws!

Barely Disfigured - Hokusai

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Hokusai

Sunken Harbor Club - Shallows drinks

Sunken Harbor Club

4.5(115 reviews)
1.5 mi•Downtown Brooklyn
•$$$

I've been trying to go to Sunken Harbor for over a year now. I don't know how it's possible but…read moredespite being local it always seems to have a private event whenever we have plans to go. The stars finally aligned this winter and I had the opportunity to try it out. The vibes are perfect. Fog and bubbles, sea noises and all of the art go together seemlessly. Drinks were great. We had three and left suitably sloshed for the night with no aftereffects. We didn't have too many bites but the food was very good for a bar. I'm excited to go back and I hope we have just as much luck getting in next time.

This is a "speakeasy" above Gage and Tollner. An undersea Tiki style adventure with a sexy mermaid…read moreheading up the bar. Nautical theme throughout with weathered leather, ropes, fish. Cocktails are made with various types of rum and ingredients like grapefruit, maraschino, wormwood amaro, falernum, thyme, Assam tea, spiced lime, allspice, coconut, cucumber, nutmeg, sour orange. All the drinks keep with the tropical, fruity taste with a hint of spice. They are also broken up into categories (dry land = no alcohol, shallows = average amount of alcohol, and abyss (larger amounts of alcohol). The abyss section has some cocktails that are limited to two per customer. They have some bar bites like fried green tomatoes, shrimp toast, broiled oysters, ricotta, dumplings, sliders. I had the French fries with kimchi ranch, which were underwhelming. Bartenders were cool and kept the drinks coming. I got in immediately without an issue or a wait, but it was right after a snowstorm. I've seen some people struggle to get in or have a long wait.

Photos
Sunken Harbor Club - View of the bar

View of the bar

Sunken Harbor Club - Mary Pickford - IG @bougiefoodieboi

Mary Pickford - IG @bougiefoodieboi

Sunken Harbor Club - Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner

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Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner

Elsa - Seating

Elsa

4.5(166 reviews)
1.5 mi•Cobble Hill
•$$

I came here on a Friday around 6PM and got their happy hour that ends at 7PM. It wasn't super…read morecrowded which was nice! I ordered the gin gimlet with light simple syrup and it was great! I tried the wine punch too and it was also really refreshing and lighter than I expected! I'd definitely come back to try some other drinks, the back patio, and the pb+J!

I've been to this cocktail bar regrettably only twice even though I live (or rather lived upcoming…read moresoon) around the corner. It's classy but not too fancy and has enough space but doesn't get too loud. They have a nice happy hour menu from Tuesday-Friday from 5 to 7 as well as all day on Sundays which has very decent prices such as an $8 old fashioned among other things (see the photo.) the bartenders I've had before have been friendly with some good recommendations. Outside of their wide selection of cocktails which run the gamut of liquors, they have a nice wine selection, a handful of craft beers, and a very small food selection. The first time I was here, I had one drink which was the excellent Star of The Ice Snow for $17 with Iwai 45 whiskey, brie-washed Carpano Antica, Fernet Branca, barrel-aged orange bitters, and sassafras bitters. It had a a bit of bitterness, some sweetness, some spice, and some light mint from the fernet and was a pleasant complex drink and was certainly worth it from the price. The second time I was here was just this evening where I had two drinks. I first went with something that I was thinking of getting the first time which is their outstanding Vivian Darkbloom for $15 with Union mezcal, lime, pineapple, charcoal, Velvet Falernum, and lime bitters. The drink has mild citrusy sweetness as well a bit of smoke from the mezcal and is probably my favorite drink I've had here though the other drink I had the first time gives it stiff competition. I asked the bartender what he recommends and after a small discussion, he said either The Bell Witch (which is a gin and chartreuse cocktail with a strong herbal flavor) or what I went with. Said drink was the Under a Cosmic Cloak for $16 with rhubarb infused rum, Trois Rivieres rum, Smith & Cross rum, yerba mate, lime, grapefruit, and whey. The bartender said that it wouldn't be overly sweet as the rum was milk washed and this was indeed the case with just a mild sweetness and some fruitiness. There was a light herbal flavor otherwise presumably from the mate as well as a light citrus note and overall, it was good though definitely the least complex of the drinks I've tried and probably my least favorite but was definitely not a bad drink. The drinks here are reasonably priced for the quality, the bartenders are friendly, and it is classy but not overbearingly so. I can see why it's popular and I wish I stopped in more.

Photos
Elsa - Vivian Darkbloom- Union mezcal, lime, pineapple, charcoal, Velvet Falernum, and lime bitters. $15. Outstanding drink. Nice balance

Vivian Darkbloom- Union mezcal, lime, pineapple, charcoal, Velvet Falernum, and lime bitters. $15. Outstanding drink. Nice balance

Elsa - Bar

Bar

Elsa - Vivian Darkbloom- Union mezcal, lime, pineapple, charcoal, Velvet Falernum, and lime bitters. $15. Outstanding drink. Nice balance

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Vivian Darkbloom- Union mezcal, lime, pineapple, charcoal, Velvet Falernum, and lime bitters. $15. Outstanding drink. Nice balance

June

June

4.1(232 reviews)
1.2 mi•Cobble Hill
•$$

We came to June based on another restaurant owner's recommendation. We were going to take advantage…read moreof their $12 glass of wine happy hour, but unfortunately the only one discounted was a contact rosé which was not up our alley. We got glasses of chenin and granache blanc instead which were both totally fine. We also got some fries and the beets while we were here. They must extensively rotate out their food menu because we didn't see a single familiar dish, even from what others have recently left on Yelp. The new menu didn't speak as much to us, but the food we ordered was executed well and portions were large. Their patio was really lovely and we didn't have any issues with the service as others have described. Wouldn't go out of our way to return, but it was a pleasant spot for an afternoon glass of wine outside!

Stumbled upon this natural wine bar after hitting up cobble hill cinemas a few doors down. Place…read morewas pretty busy but we were lucky to snag a table without having to wait. Natural wine bars seem to be all the hype lately and it brings me so much joy because these wines are so much easier on my body (no hangover, less heartburn, etc.). The wines I tried here - one chilled Italian red & one chilled Greek white - were refreshing and light, perfect for the small plates we shared. I could honestly say the wine selection here can go head-to-head with four horseman (iykyk) but the food is a skip for me. The space is pretty small so it's good for date nights but not big groups & you will most likely feel like you're in the conversation of your neighbor. Overall, I enjoyed my time here and would come back for a drink or two.

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June
June
June

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El Viejo Yayo - latin - Updated May 2026

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