Our food was absolutely delicious! My sesame tofu was fresh, perfectly crispy and a good spice level (I'd say 3.5/5). Even the side of fried rice was cravable. My partner got the salted fish+chicken fried rice which was tasty as well. We were the only patrons at 6p on a Thursday during winter break. The service was friendly and the restaurant was very clean. Our dishes were $9 each and the portions were generous, with leftovers to take home. We both ordered smalls and will do the same next time. Street parking was metered. With all of the chains around, be sure to give this family-owned business a try the next time you're near OSU! read more

Yau's Chinese Bistro - *Small* sesame tofu with fried rice (front) and *small* salted fish chicken fried rice (back) with hot green teas - Chinese Near Me - Columbus, Ohio

I'll keep this quick. I was hungry and it was one of those days where I didn't eat much and dinner was happening much later than normal. I needed quick food, delivered, and obviously would like it to taste good. For some odd reason, I had never ordered from here before and I decided to give it a try. I ordered crab rangoon and shrimp fried rice. It was on my doorstep in about twenty five minutes and I dove right in. Everything was hot, flavorful, and I ate almost every bite. Even the small size of the fried rice was huge. I'll definitely be ordering from here again and I'm looking forward to exploring the menu more next time. read more

There was not much I disliked about my takeout tonight. I ordered several menu items from ubereats and got a nice 50% off discount tonight. I won't let that bias my review though! I ordered eggplant with squid, fried rice, lo mein, steamed dumplings, wontons... it was the perfect festive meal to celebrate lunar new year after a few drinks at our neighborhood cocktail bar. The dishes were a little over salted for my taste but that is not so unusual. Overall value was great and everything was tasty and flavorful. My favorite was probably the steamed pork dumplings. I am always partial to steamed dumplings on a menu (vs fried) because it just makes me nostalgic and feels so much more authentically chinese/asian. I also loved the eggplant which was cooked really nicely. I've never ordered eggplant with squid (almost always with chicken) but really enjoyed this combo. Happy lunar new year! read more

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I miss this place soooo good to bad they closed down their Wings and Fried Rice will be missed by all

portion size for the sweet and sour chicken is kinda wack but it was good. not really a fan of the green pepper though. the pork fried rice had nice flavor, i would recommend read more

Yau's Chinese Bistro - Pork Fried Rice - Chinese Near Me - Columbus, Ohio

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This was a place I would frequent often in college so it was nice when I was in the area and needed a meal. The chicken was crispy and still warm when I picked it up and walked it to my lunch location. The sauce was a bit sweeter than I remember and would prefer more savory and spicy out of my general tso's. Actually, I want a lot more spice but I tend to not get that no matter what I ask for The fried rice was the big let down here. It was dry, bland and didn't have anything added to it. No veggies, no egg and even though it was brown it did not taste of soy sauce. I will go back to give them a second chance based on their meat preparation but this particular meal did not do much but stir my nostalgia and leave me wanting some really good Chinese food. read more

Yau's Chinese Bistro - General Tso's Chicken - Chinese Near Me - Columbus, Ohio

The food itself was not great... definitely won't be back again. I had the salty fish chicken fried rice, extra spicy. The salty fish is indeed very salty and unfortunately very fishy tasting- the bites with fish we're definitely overpowered. The food, in my opinion, deserved 1 star, however this entire portion, "small", filled an entire to go box, and was only $8.50. The price and size made this order a little better, however my dissatisfaction with the food itself overpowers any positives. read more

Yau's Chinese Bistro - Salted Fish Chicken Fried Rice - Chinese Near Me - Columbus, Ohio

This is a solid 4 for me. I used to live in China (3+ years); from the looks of the menu, some of the dishes aren't trying to be authentic (which is what I'm going for), but even so I felt that there are some good eats to be found. I had the Chao Gui Dew (this is not a Chinese dish btw), the spicy seafood, and a Chinese broccoli with Garlic Sauce. These were all decent/good by me. I am curious about their noodle soup options which might make for a nice lunch option. Overall if you live near this bistro and want a nice and yummy bite, give this place a shot. read more

This food is EXACTLY what I've been looking for! Old school w/super great flavors. We got take out, but they have a darling, vintage dining room that we'll try next time. The broth in the wonton soup was so flavorful, along with/the shrimp Lomein, Orange chicken and Kung Po Chicken-all winners. Not to mention that we all got small entree sizes that were A LOT of food, especially for the price. We'll def be back! read more

Love this place and I get it at least once a week. Best Chinese on campus. I've done a lot of trial and error with most things on the menu and I can say the best dishes to recommend are: Roasted Duck schezuan lamb - fried potato wedges with braised lamb chunks in a spicy sauce! Beef fried rice - Fried rice is a darker color which gives more flavor salted fish fried rice - if you know you know Fried pork dumplings - the best part of this small plate is the spicy soy sauce that comes with the dumplings read more

Yau's Chinese Bistro - Salted fish fried rice without the chicken - Chinese Near Me - Columbus, Ohio

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Best friedrice!!!! I recommend the Chinese sausage one. Cantonese wonton is great too !!!!!

Remembering I have to lower my bar for the Columbus factor this little Chinese restaurant serves a good substitute for my inability to cook Chinese dishes. They have some surprisingly traditional dishes which I didn't think I'd find in middle of Columbus, OH. Guess the Chinese find their way everywhere. They have a specials menu which has some more seasonal dishes, generally vegetable based and these are the ones I'd suggest if you're looking for something new and different. Prices are pretty fair for the portions. Generally a dish feeds me for a few meals but I also don't think I eat nearly as much as I should be. That's a different issue and definitely yelp and you don't need to know or care about that. They also have some typical Americanized Chinese dishes so its not just traditional dishes. There's options for people looking for something more familiar, if you aren't coming from a Chinese cultural background. read more

New to Columbus. After trying numerous places,found my go to Restaurant. YAU'S Had family night order, Fantastic! Spicy Chicken Wings Orange Chicken (Wife's Favorite) Chae GUI Dew Hot Pot Jeje Chicken Salted Fish Chicken Fried Rice Jeje Chicken with Salted Fish Chicken Fried Rice Combo is now my CBUS Favorite. Thanks Yau's read more

Service was great , food portions and price were AMAZING. I had the beef lo mein and Szechuan dumplings again excellent portions very tender beef and super flavorful dumplings. Feels like your eating at someone's house and I mean that in the best way! read more

I don't know why it took so long to come here. A bit out of my way, I guess, but it is worth a detour. On the far south edge of campus sits this little "bistro." It is not fancy. It isn't very big. But the food is really, really good. I got crab Rangoon and the spicy pork chop. The Rangoon was pretty good, with big chunks of "crab." There's a jar of hot sauce/oil on the table, which made me nervous, but it's really not all that hot. Granted, I love spice, so my taste buds may be different than yours. The spicy pork chop was deep fried bits of pork chop, perfectly cooked, and sized just right for chopsticks. Again, not as spicy as I was afraid it might be, but I did have a pleasant tingle on my lips and tongue when I was done. I would call it moderately spicy, not overwhelming. There are pepper seeds mixed in, and chunks of pepper that I thought would be hot but were very mild. All in all, the heat was just right, adding flavor but not much pain. I had the fried rice with it, and it was very plain. A good counterpoint to the meat, but no veggies, etc. Drinks are in cans, but there is real silverware and nice chopsticks. Service was basic but good. Prices were okay for how much you get, and how good it is. I will absolutely be back (and not just because I stupidly left my jacket there...) read more

Yau's Chinese Bistro - Fried rice, spicy pork chop - Chinese Near Me - Columbus, Ohio

Get the spicy wings, get the egg noodle soup with duck and wontons, get the dumpling sauce! It is so good. This place is tucked away on south campus and it is a treasure. read more

Yau's Chinese Bistro - Egg noodle soup Wonton Soup with duck on the side - Chinese Near Me - Columbus, Ohio

Yau's is a good Chinese restaurant with a focus on Cantonese dishes. The portion size to price ratio is excellent and you will be hard-pressed to find a better value. It makes sense that Yau's is located on campus and i'm sure it's a popular take-out spot. Based on other Yelp reviews I ordered the Szechuan wontons to start and the Tomato Egg Stir Fried Fish Fillet for my main course. The wontons were okay, but the accompanying sauce was a little too sweet for me. $4.95 gets you 8 wontons, which is a great deal. Tomato Egg Stir Fry Fish sounds like a weird dish, but it's a popular Cantonese comfort food. Yau's does a good job with this dish. Once again the portions are large. Even the small order is plenty for a one person, with plenty of fish fillets and tomatoes. It goes really well over rice. My only qualm was the absent scrambled egg in this version of the dish. The eggs are definitely a key component and something that i'm used to finding in this dish. Maybe they ran out of eggs? I guess anything is possible. I also had an issue with their "fried rice" that comes with entrees. It's basically white rice with soy sauce and a total misnomer. Anyways, Yau's is a good Chinese food option, especially if you live near campus. The value is hard to beat and you'll be able to find some Cantonese favorites. I was not blown away by their dishes, but I am pretty picky when it comes to Chinese food. I'll be back to try some of their stir-fry noodles dishes. read more

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This was my first time trying this place after reading the reviews. I must say i wasnt disappointed the food was so good we had the the spicy pork chops, roast duck soup, spicy shrimp, fried rice all of them was so flavorful. The food came out so fast and hot the food taste more authentic than the other Chinese places i have had in the past the owner was so friendly and helpful she explained the different types of food she also made suggestions on what to get since this was our first time. The place is not that big but thats fine with me as long as i can sit down and enjoy some authentic chinese food. So dont let the look of the place fool you, because if you do you will be missing out. read more

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I love this place! I come here when I miss my parents food, the noodle soup especially. I like that it is also so close to campus. They have a really great duck noodle soup, fish and tofu in clay pot, and pan fried noodle! I like to take friends here. It's a bit of a hole in the wall, not super fancy looking and very understated but good quality food. Service is fast and polite. It's nice if you want something a bit more authentic, and your friends want American Chinese food since they have both. They also have good wontons as an appetizer with hot chili oil! read more

Yau's Chinese Bistro - House Pan Fried Noodles and Clay pot fish and tofu - Chinese Near Me - Columbus, Ohio

I avoided Yau's because of the location. It's located in that area north of the Short North yet not on campus. The best time to come is probably afternoon or early evening beause of safety reasons. It's still a pretty sketchy area, but safety has improved since there are new upscale businesses and residences that need protected. To those able to make it, there's some pretty authentic Chinese among the Americanized stuff. Yau's has several tofu items on the menu. Additionally, the staff is good about dietary concerns. The tofu items include tofu with asparagus, baked or fried tofu with bamboo shoots, tofu with Chinese broccoli, tofu with Chinese mushrooms, tofu Satay, sesame tofu, sliced tofu with bean sprouts, sweet and sour tofu, or tofu with tomato. It also has pad thai with tofu. The lunch portions are pretty good sized and about $7 to $10. It should be enough to fill you. There also is an authentic menu with much better quality. Staff will help you figure out choices. They also have daily authentic specials. I could come here a lot more often than I have if it were closer and there were fewer Chinese options here. It's good but not worth coming unless there's another thing I need to do around there. You will like this if you're a fan of authentic Chinese menus and you order off this. read more

Yau's Chinese Bistro - Tofu Entree With Bean Sprouts - Chinese Near Me - Columbus, Ohio

Yau's uses Postmates for delivery, which is essentially a rip-off service that hasn't been put out of business quite yet. We placed an order, it never arrived, and Yau's told us to work it out with Postmates. Well, half an hour later, we couldn't even get a refund on the food that never arrived. Sorry, Yau's, but you need to do better; if you use a terrible delivery service, that's reflection on your business. When you choose to use a business that has an average star rating of ONE star--in 869 reviews--you've made a terrible partnership that reflects on you. read more

Yau's Chinese Bistro - Chinese Near Me - Columbus, Ohio

Best Chinese hands down. Legendary place. Our friend James bought 69 dollars worth of martin tofu and sesame tofu last night and had it overnighted to Los Angeles for our friend elijah's birthday. We eat it for lunch. It traveled extremely well. We are very lucky to have eaten actual Yau's in Los Angeles and not an imposter. This must be some sort of world record... 10 out of 10. Would have it overnight delivered again. --- martin, who the tofu, is named after. read more

These were the best dumplings I've had in a while, the sauce is amazing. I want to buy a bottle of it! I ordered food for delivery and it all came piping hot. Very good! read more

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We used Door Dash for this order- delivery guy was nice, food was extremely bad. Pad Thai tasted like fish, very concerning considering we ordered chicken Pad Thai. Crab rangoon was greasy and chewy, General Tsos Chicken had a sauce that was a mix of sweet and sour and ketchup- worse I have ever had. And, they got our order wrong. Sauce that came with the steamed dumplings was more like a salty overly spicy syrup that burned the outside of my mouth. So bad. Never again. read more

An authentic small Chinese joint with friendly staff. I ordered the small tomatoes and eggs, and the dish probably came out in less than 5 minutes and was hot and good- albeit a little oily. The small size was perfect for one person though! I can't wait to explore what else their menu offers! read more

Yau's Chinese Bistro - Chinese Near Me - Columbus, Ohio

I would give this place a million stars if I could. I grew up coming here since I can remember and now at 22 having traveled and moved across the country, every single time I visit Columbus without fail I come back to get the sesame tofu, a dish which has become an absolute staple nostalgia that I've never had even half as good anywhere else. I so deeply appreciate this place existence and wanted to share that! read more

Ordered: Yau's pan fried noodles and spicy squid Pan fried noodle looked like flat noodles soaked in an unknown liquid matter. Glad I had the squid which was just served with some dry rice and random pieces of jalapeño. Ate the squid, chucked the rest. Waste. Sad. read more

Yau's Chinese Bistro - Chinese Near Me - Columbus, Ohio

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The photos on the left are the entree I ordered. On the right is what I received. I essentially received just eggs one vet rice with four slices of pork mixed in. Not as advertised at all. read more

Yau's Chinese Bistro - Roasted Pork with Egg - Chinese Near Me - Columbus, Ohio

We checked out Yau's for the first time this past weekend, and it really made me nostalgic of places I'd eat at in college. Minimal decor, mainly college kids, and a bunch of cold booths. I loved it! They have a counter to order or pick up carryout, but if you're dining in, they'll come to the table a take your order. Like most people have mentioned, they have a larger more Americanized menu and a smaller Chinese menu. We ended up ordering Szechuan wontons and dumplings, and I had the Je Je Chicken hot pot of the Chinese menu as an entree. The dumplings were pretty good, but the sauce that came with it was a bit too thick and sweet for my liking. The wontons are filled with shrimp, so heads up if you're expecting something else, because it doesn't say on the menu. The shrimp was a bit too tough for me which didn't help, since I'm not really a shrimp person to begin with. The sauce that they came in was really the only thing that helped me get them down. As for my entree, I really liked the Je Je Chicken. It isn't traditional hot pot in a sense, where the meal comes out on a heat pan and stays warm throughout the meal, but instead, it just comes in a really hot pot that's still sizzling on the way out. The flavor of the dish was really good, but I don't know if it was really a Chinese dish. The sauce and spices in it reminded me more of just a normal stir fry I'd make at home.. It was a pretty sweet dish too, and I was hoping for something less so, but that's not their fault since I didn't know. My girlfriend ended up getting the General Tso's, and she thought it was pretty tasty, but that was also a bit too sweet. There's definitely some dishes I was to try here, and I probably should have stuck with my gut on what I really wanted. I asked the server what some of the best hot pot dishes on the Chinese menu were, and he had pointed out the Je Je Chicken. I'd really like to try the lamb and the many seafood dishes they offer here. If you like oysters, they have quite a few oyster plates and specials. This place isn't too far from me, so I'll definitely be swinging by again, and I'll continue to update once I try a few more of the traditional plates! read more

Yau's Chinese Bistro - Chinese Menu - Chinese Near Me - Columbus, Ohio

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Finally got around to trying this place out and it took me tooo long. Yau's sits at the corner of High Street and 9th Ave. And there are meters along 9th so parking was a breeze. The restaurant is a little bare bones but that didn't scare me off because I had already read the reviews, which were great. The food seems to be sichaun style, meaning HOT. And there's a jar of hot pepper sauce on every table if you want more heat yet. I ordered a bowl of hot & sour soup to start with and it was pretty good. For my entree, I ordered a huge bowl of duck soup. It had egg noodles, chinese brocolli, and a huge assortment of duck pieces, including the bones. That wasn't unexpected because the waitress warned me beforehand. And they were easy enough to pick out. And the soup was delicious!! That wasn't what I came down here for but I'm glad I got it. Next trip I'll try some of their other dishes. read more

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Back in 94, I found a wonderful little Chinese restaurant called Wong Gei on High Street. Since my first life altering bite, I knew I found the Holy Grail of Asian cuisine. I could hear angels singing and tears were probably involved (both from happiness and the homemade hot chili oil). The place has since closed (the owner retiring, i believe) and Wong Gei's son opened it's successor, Yau's. Located a little farther south on High, it's still easily accessible from campus and has a convenient parking lot next to the building. The menu is very competitively priced, the eggrolls are the best I've ever had, and I'm convinced their secret ingredient is crack. I've tried almost everything on the menu but my favs include sesame chicken, spicy wings and mapo tofu. The place is no frills... Go in, order at the counter and find a place to sit. They bring silverware, napkins and water to the table as you wait for your deliciousness. The staff is exceptionally friendly and the portions are just right for me. They've recently changed their hours and are closed on Saturday. Booooo. I've been a firm believer that if an ethnic restaurant is good, you will see those of the same ethnicity eat there. And that you do. read more

Order was completely inaccurate and filled with jalapeños, and onions. We ordered shrimp but there was only 1. Would not recommend.

Yau's is by far one of my favorite places to go for Chinese food. Thank god I live close by because the food is delicious and authentic. I got the shrimp and egg with fried rice the other day and it was perfect. The eggs were fluffy, the shrimp wasn't over cooked and the fried rice wasn't oily like most places. Everything I've had here has been on point. Service is always great too. read more

Yau's Chinese Bistro - Shrimp and egg with fried rice - Chinese Near Me - Columbus, Ohio

This one threw me through a loop. Ok so when I first looked at the food I wasn't that impressed but boy was I wrong. The Kung Pao Chicken had a lot of flavor and you could tell it was quality ingredients. I'll be going back here again soon! read more

Yau's Chinese Bistro - Egg Roll - Chinese Near Me - Columbus, Ohio

I started attending OSU recently and Yau's has been a bit of a staple for me every few weeks. It's really good - dishes are flavorful and cheap! The staff are happy to provide suggestions if you would like to try stuff you have not had before. They have hot oil on the tables which is quite nice! There's also a parking lot which is nice if you end up driving here. read more

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Not sure how one can resist the Roasted Pork Bowl.... Yau's always been a reliable "hole in the wall", even after they moved from 17th Ave. They recently had a special posted, "Roasted Pork Bowl". It's hearty (the Roasted Pork), nutritious (steamed Choi Sum vegetable) and comforting (sunny-side pan fried egg on top). Whether you're into the 4 feet pool zone (Spicy Wings, Salt and Pepper Porkchop and Sesame Tofu) or the 20 feet diving zone (Salted Fish Fried Rice, Chinese Beef Stew and Singapore Noodles), you can hardly go wrong here. Unless you don't like spicy things. In that case, no one can help you. read more

Yau's Chinese Bistro - Roasted Pork Bowl - Chinese Near Me - Columbus, Ohio

This place has yet to fail me... when you want good Chinese cooking one of the best places in town... the change of lighting is a bit bothersome to me since it's a little too dim but definitely doesn't outweigh the great food I get served here. Must order garlic steam pork with e sauce on the side... if your a noodle lover like me pork spare rib soup add wonton!!! It's like icing on the cake .. Fuji fried rice is amazing fried rice with like egg drop soup on top !!! read more

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UPDATE TO MY PREVIOUS REVIEW! I previously gave this place three stars. After trying out the handmade dumplings and handmade stretch noodles soup tonight, I give them four stars! Both are excellent dishes...especially on a freezing cold day. read more

This is hands down my favorite place in Columbus. I live in NYC now and all I can ever think about is Sesame Tofu from Yaus. Sesame Tofu forever. read more

Food is always good at this place. Parking lot gets a little strange from time to time, it doesn't help with a bar and a bus stop right next to it. must try items: 1) Honey pork chop rice 2) Spicy Chicken Wings 3) Beef chow fun read more

Yau's Chinese Bistro - BBQ rice with egg - Chinese Near Me - Columbus, Ohio