Is "good" good enough for Yiayia’s Greek Kitchen?

I've recently seen a lot of virtual ink spilled by influencers gushing over Yiayia’s, Pappas's ressurected Greek concept. I agree that it's good, but I had much higher hopes for what it might be when I heard it would be filling the long shuttered Pappadeaux location on Richmond.

There's a lot to like about any Pappas concept. The food will always be solid. The service will always be attentive. And the experience, overall, will vary little from visit to visit. In other words, Pappas knows its customer base. It delivers food that tastes good in environments that feel comfortable to most people. The Pappas formula is doubtlessly key to the undeniable success of its empire. But it also is tremendously limiting.

And it's the limitation (likely intentional) that bothers me with Yiayia’s. The space is nicer than a Pappasitos or Pappadeauxs, but not materially so. The clear intention is for the space to feel comfortable to as broad a range of diners as possible. Same goes for the menu. Lots of classic Greek options. But literally nothing that is unexpected, and certainly nothing that anyone might find challenging. And that's a big letdown. We've all had hummus and dolmades before. We all know and love a Greek salad. Souvlaki is great but we order it once a week from DoorDash. There's literally so much delicious Greek food — why is Pappas delivering to us the absolutely most expected usual suspects?

Two other gripes: When full, this place is loud. As in, sever-has-to-raise-his-voice-and-squat-down-tableside loud. And the pricing is a wee bit precious. $16 for three (yes, three) dolmades is sort of highway robbery. $9 for a modestly sized portion of entirely unremarkable gigante beans is … a rip off. (And, no, I'm not a cheapskate. I gladly fork over $14 for those dreamy braised butter beans at Tiny Champions, and I'd pay more if I had to.)

I expect Yiayia's to end up being one of those places I'll go to when someone else suggests it, but not a place I'll often suggest myself. I hate to make the comparison, but food-wise, Yiayia's isn't doing much that Niko Niko's doesn't already have covered (aside from having a much nicer (but louder) atmosphere and a full bar).