Joyia

Nice little place down the road from Barnes Jewish/​Wash U. Had brussel sprouts and gyro. Gyro and was just so-​so, a huge pita with mediocre ingredients spooned on top. Sprouts were great. Prices and service great. Disappointed that happy hour is only in the bar and no food specials, but neat atmosphere.

Salmon Wrap
Veggie Burger
Goat Cheese Veggie Starter
Each was better than the next… awesome patio… could tell they grew a lot of their own stuff… fresh delicious iced tea… LOVED IT

We came here for the first time Monday night and were greeted with half-​priced wine bottles! I can’t believe we hadn’t tried this place before since we frequent the grove for dinner.
We tried the bacon-​wrapped dates, saganaki, and spanikopita to start. The saganaki is the best I’ve had in St Louis, and the spanikopita was really flaky and delicious. The bacon wrapped dates I liked too, but that was my first time trying those anywhere. My date said they were Okay but has had better elsewhere.
We ordered the braised lamb gyro as our entrée to share. It is served open-​face and we both liked it. I got a traditional lamb gyro to go, and ate it for lunch the next day. It held up well overnight, and was great as a salad the next day with the pita on the side.
Food came out fast, but service was just okay. We were one of only a few tables in the place. I was surprised our waitress never stopped by our table to ask how anything was, but was awfully eager to remove plates even before we were done with them.
We will definitely be back though.

Stopped in here last week prior to Paint Nite with my little sister. (I say little but she’s really an adult so I should get out of that habit).
It’s right across from Urban Chestnut’s Grove location, which is great if you’re in the mood for a craft brew before dinner.
We ordered some wine and shared the artichoke spinach dip, calamari, and bacon-​wrapped shrimp. The shrimp was my favorite and would definitely order again. The purée underneath the shrimp was interesting — maybe over pureed because it reminded me of baby food. Nevertheless I ate and enjoyed it. Spinach dip is never my pick for an app and this version didn’t win me over. I thought it was too thick — we lost many a chip in the dip — but my sister seemed to like it. The calamari was nicely fried but I wouldn’t serve it with a chipotle sauce as I like mine with a zesty marinara.
Great friendly service, okay food, and decently priced.

Disappointing and probably won’t return but there are a few good menu items.
I’m a server. I have patience when it comes to service. I’m the first one to defend a server if a friend complains. I couldn’t come up with anything when a group of friends and myself ate here. Drinks took a LONG time every time someone ordered one. It was a good 10 – 15 minutes before we got our first round of drinks.
Now, some of the plates were delicious and left me wanting more. The broiled goat cheese plate was good. The classic Greek salad was good too. BUT the lobster mac and cheese was amazing! The flauatas were my favorite! If I do come back, that’s what I’ll be getting.
I read previous reviews about their flatbreads so I thought that’d be an easy go to. I ordered a chicken, spinach, and onion one. The toppings kept falling off. It lacked the yum factor! I was more than willing to share that. I also did not enjoy fingerling potatoes. Covered in toppings and sauce.
Besides the couple good dishes I ate, the good beer I drank, and the great parking spot I had, I left feeling blah. I’m not eager to be a regular there.

Great food is all I can say!!! Went on a first date/​meet up here and it was wonderful food and service. Great company.

I visited here for the 1^st time with Paint Nite. Love the atmosphere here. The persephone (spellcheck) martini was really good. I tried the spinach and mushroom flautas along with a flatbread pizza with chicken and carmelized onions. I thought the prices were fair for the portions. The food was pretty good. It was a mostly greek menu, slightly outside of my comfort zone, but I would try it again.

Really good restaurant. I am big fans of seafood, It is hard to get good seafood in St. Louis, I liked the steamed mussels and bacon wrapped shrimp here, Yummy, yummy!

Joyia is a great underrated gem, a place that just does everything right consistently.
I’ve been here about 3 times in the past year and every visit has been #blessed with great food that comes out quick, friendly & knowledgeable service, and good value. There has a never been a wait for seating (yet), even at prime time on the weekend. The menu has a great range of items, from dips to small plates to entrees, pizzas, gyros and more. There’s a Mediterranean theme but plenty of items that stray from it.
Some items I can recommend
–Greek salad is large and delicious. $ 4 extra for a nice piece of seared tuna that works well with it.
–Goat cheese spread — melted goat cheese * tomato goodness with cut-​up sections of nice bread.
–Beet Salad
–Lamb empanadas — 4 pieces, good for sharing
–Ravioli — there’s a couple ravioli dishes, pasta is house-​made and really good.
–Mahi-​mahi w/​fennel, avocado, rice dish was beautifully presented and quite delicious.
–Ginger crème-​brulee — Nice sized, served with sliced strawberry & mint leaf. Good for sharing and a great way to end a meal. I could not stop spooning it into my mouth.
The food here is also visually appealing, lots of bright colors and great presentation with everything. A lot of the dishes come with nice extras that combine well with the main item. You can tell some thought and effort went into your food.
Go here.

Went for the first time last night. Paint Nite was having their event here. Fun place, good drinks, wine and food. Shrimp and grits and Spanakopita were really good. Cozy atmosphere. Owner/​manager very personable and hands on. Makes sure you have everything you need. I highly recommended.

Another excellent meal here! The food is 5 star, the 4 star rating came from the lack of atmosphere at our outdoor table. Also, our server was very nice, but lacked knowledge of the wine list which was frustrating. However, I have yet to try a bad item on the menu! I’m sure this visit won’t be my last.

Came here for a date night. Its actually been on my radar for several months but we were finally able to coordinate to try it out. We picked a Saturday night and around 7 pm as the website stated they have «belly dancing» starting at 7:30!
Just east of Kingshighway on Manchester in the «Grove» this is one of the many new restaurants popping up. Overall a very clean restaurant with ample seating/​tables. You walk in and are greeted by the bar/​lounge area. There is a TV to satisfy the sports fan but we were escorted to the back room where they do have semi-​private rooms/​booths which were a nice touch. I believe they were named after different colors.
I opted for the Sangria (since it is Tapas restaurant) and was a little disappointed that they do not serve pitchers of Sangria. A glass was only $ 4 but just so so, without chunks of fruit. The beauty of Tapas however is that you can order a number of dishes and try lots.
We ordered the appetizer sampler with the BabaGanoush, Avocado, and Htipiti. The Htipiti was the best. Roasted tomatoes with feta cheese! Mmmmm!
We proceeded to order a flat bread with 3 toppings (caramelized onion, Tomato and Artichoke). This was nice but not great.
Other dishes were roasted Cauliflower with garlic, Falafel, Spanikopita and the Flautas. My favorite was the Cauliflower! Served in a deep dish with a wonderful garlic taste, it really hit the spot. The other dishes were good but just so so. Not as exciting as I was hoping for.
The belly dancer did finally show up around 8:30 instead of 7:30. She was very friendly and very good. A nice touch for a Mediterranean restaurant but seemingly more common in the Lou as of late.
Overall a nice place, definitely prime for a date night. I hope they do well as it is a nice addition to the ethnic food scene in St. Louis.

Food:
–Avocado spread with side of pita bread, basically guac and pita, a yums combination with the warm/​subtly sweet pita bread; also I easily love avocado anything because I’m a fake californian
–Pork empanadas with mango chutney, surprisingly flavorful even though I’m usually a hater of most fried foods (I know, like how could anyone hate anything fried or anything that could give you a thrilling artery-​clogging high?)
–Grilled chicken and andouille sausage kabob with cajun cream sauce, omg really good and I usually hate kabobs (I hate many things), the chicken was really well done, and I especially LOVED the flavorful side rice it came with and I don’t even like regular asian people rice
Service:
–Super friendly and food came up quickly
–Every member of the staff I bumped into was super welcoming and friendly, which really stood out because usually people don’t give a fuck if they aren’t serving you in particular
Ambiance/​Setting:
–Cozy and spacious at the same time with some fun theme color booths
–Note: there’s a nice woman’s restroom to the right of the men’s, I didn’t see it and used the small ambiguous gender restroom instead. I got laughed at :(

I grabbed a groupon and grabbed the wife and we were off to Joyia for an evening together. We both really enjoy trying new places and the groupon was what tipped the scale towards this place.
We made a reservation and were apparently the only reservation for the evening. There was another couple there when we arrived and I think another two or three parties came in while we were there. All in all, not a busy place on a Tuesday which probably explains the groupon participation.
In reading through the other reviews on Unilocal it appears that we ordered stuff that no one else is getting. I’m not sure what that says but it may explain why our experience was at the 3 to 4 star level when others rated them lower.
Here’s what we ordered with a few notes:
— Fried cheese balls: I thought they were pretty good and kinda unique. I especially liked the balsamic drizzle and the house-​made fruit chutney. The wife thought we should have ordered something else instead as there were other options that appealed to her more.
— octopus: Absolutely delicious! The citrus paired nicely with those yummy little creatures. We both added this one to our «get it again» list
— lamb tagine: She liked it more than I did. I am very fond of lamb but I think that stew is the least enjoyable preparation. The couscous was good but the texture was a little off in my opinion
— falafel: We both decided this dish was a let-​down. I’ve eaten falafel in at least a dozen different countries and this really should not be called falafel. Maybe foux-​lafel?
— empanadas: I thought they were really good! I really liked the addition of the fruit compote that they were served with. Unfortunately, my wife also set them in the «shoulda got something else» category and didn’t go further than the first bite.
Unfortunately (or maybe it was fortunate based on the reviews written by others) we didn’t have room for dessert. Instead we chatted with the waitress a little bit about the food. When we told her that the least successful dish of the meal was the falafel she said that her tables offer her mixed reviews on it as well. Sounds like a dish that should be refined or removed from the menu.
One more thing… the belly dancer. I’m not really sure I understood the tie-​in with the food or the atmosphere but she was pretty hot and entertaining. The music during her performance was a bit loud but the sword thing was amazing!

Remember — 3 starts equals «A-​OK» in the Unilocal system.
Came in ~9:15pm to use our Groupon on the day of expiration. Mostly empty, which is not a huge surprise.
Décor was nice — service was friendly and fast — probably too fast — in so far as bringing out plates two at a time.
Pistachio, goat cheese apple salad — gf enjoyed, I thought was below average.
Blue cheese carmelized onion dip w/​pita — WTF. This dish made no sense. it was terrible. Just terrible. Sounded great in theory but the flavor of the dip was just bad. I can’t imagine anyone enjoying it.
Calimari — Below average. Bit salty and came with a bbq/​mayo? type sauce that was ok.
Chorizo Rollos — Enjoyed these — my favorite. Hard to describe but a bit like tiny flautas filled w/​chorizo.
Coconut Shrimp — Gf’s favorite. I thought they were ok. Nothing really special about them but shrimp were huge and taste was decent.
So — Joyia wasn’t bad, it just wasn’t great. The small plates market is crazy competitive in St. Louis right now and Joyia simply isn’t good enough to win my business again anytime soon.

I rarely give a five star rating. These folks earned it.
We arrived on a Saturday evening (last night) and were greated quickly and cheerfully and seated right away.
We ordered drinks and they arrived pretty quickly, then we ordered tapas, a couple at a time.
Country mixed Olives: What a great way to prepare these. They came warm (borderline hot). The roasted garlic was a great «garnish», We ate all of it! Such wonderful flavors with the blend of different olives. This is a salty dish, but hey, these are olives we’re talking about. We will get this again, probably every time.
Falafel: These are not quite what I’m used to for falafel. They were tasty but they were kind of flat disk-​like and smooth. They reminded me more of a potato pancake than a falafel. The baba ganoush was some of the best I have had. With all the other ingredients, this is a pretty good dish, but I prefer the thicker, more rough surfaced falafel.
Salmon Pistachio: My wife is a salmon lover so when this arrived this became her de facto entrée. This was EXCELLENT! Delicious flavors, nice crunch on the crust and the sweet potato purée was a perfect match. This is easily an entrée sized portion compared to other restaurant servings.
Grilled octopus: My wife is not a fan of octopus so this became my de facto entrée :-). These were simply delicious. Grilled to perfection, the occasional char added a nice flavor. There were a couple of larger octopi in the bowl, I really like some of the larger tentacles because they do well with the grilling, however, these also had some «sand» or grit in the area where the head and tentacles come together. Overall, a real winner and I’ll get them again.
Coffee: Good restaurant coffee.
I’m glad we found this place, we will be back soon.
One detractor, when we arrived, the belly dancer was working the room. As is common, the music is turned up when she is working. It was really just too loud. Loud as in hurt my ears and we couldn’t hear each other or the waitress. The place was not that busy so maybe they had a volume set to cover for a busy restaurant but it wasn’t and this was the only unpleasant thing about the visit. They did turn it down after she was done though, so the impact on the comfort for the meal was minimal.

Sean and I tried to go to a different place prior to coming here but they didn’t have anything on the menu he’d like, so it didn’t work out. Unilocal App to the rescue… we found Joyia was nearby so we drove over there, in the pouring rain. I think it was a Sunday night, and we were shocked to find they were actually open. I hate how everything closes on Sunday!
We got a close-​by parking spot and made a run for it. Inside it was nice. Warm, dry, and smelled good. The guys working in there were super nice and told us we could sit where-​ever we wanted. It was pretty dead. Maybe 2 other parties eating in there. So we picked one of those really spacious private-​esque rooms in the back with the curtains and such. So totally cute!
I ordered a mojito and some baba ganoush. It was all very good. Especially the mojito. If I didn’t have to travel the next day, I would have totally splurged, hehe. His chicken kebab was sooo tasty too, and he even liked the tangy sauce they put on top which surprised me. Service was fast and friendly. The rice that came with his chicken was sooo good too… very aromatic. I want to go back and try more items on their menu. Everything is pretty big portion-​wise though, so I might only be able to try one new thing per trip.
I think we’ll be back!

This place is so great that I went twice in one week!
My first visit was for lunch on a Friday afternoon. Upon arriving we were greeted and were encouraged to sit anywhere. The place was pretty empty and so it was easy to grab a table by the fireplace. Once seated water was brought over to us and the server began to explain the menu items for lunch as well as their traditional menu. She then gave us some time to review and make a decision. Once she returned to take our orders we did have a few questions which she answered quickly and without hesitation. We placed our orders and were told the food should be out soon.
While waiting we toured the dining hall and bar areas. The place is very well decorated and very classy. They have tons of seating available at the bar and it appears they have a full bar! They also have private seating available for groups if needed. I assume you would have to call ahead and make a reservation for these areas.
Our food came out quickly and looked delicious! First we had our Greek salads and then the main meals soon followed. My friend had the chicken burger and the other and I ordered the chicken gyro. The gyro was huge and we couldn’t wait to dig in! Our server came over to check on us a few times and then brought us our check when we asked. This entire lunch experience was just about 40 minutes from start to finish! Awesome-​we can do it again with time to spare!
For my second visit I went for dinner on a Tuesday. We arrived and were greeted by one of the cooks (I believe he also might be an owner/​manager) who showed us to a table. We sat down and before we could even take our coats off the server came over with water! What great service! She explained the menu to us and provided us information about their «tapas». I still don’t see this place as a «tapas’ place as it is more Mediterranean-​ish to me, but maybe next time I can try some tapas items. Our server took our drink orders and left us alone to review the menu.
When she returned with our drinks we placed an order for some hummus and pita bread. While waiting for our appetizer we also were able to watch as a belly dancer made her way around the restaurant. She was awesome and even balanced a sword on her head while dancing. Impressive.
The hummus came out and it looked great! I think there are other places in the area with a better hummus, but this tasted fine. The pita was fresh and warm. Now we were ready to order our meals. My date ordered the Chorizo Rollos while I (once again) ordered the chicken gyro! Yes, I needed to eat another one. I even made sure to ask for the dressing on the side for dipping.
While waiting for our meals the server came over a few times to check on us which was really great. She was also doing a great job taking care of a larger party she had not too far away. The place was pretty busy that night. Our food came out quickly and we enjoyed our meals. I was able to get a to-​go box for most of mine as well. Since I had a groupon I had to meet the minimum order amount which mean I needed to order dessert-​oh damn! So I ordered the gooey chocolate cake with ice cream to go. She boxed it up for me and handed us our check. Very prompt and very good service She did a great job!
Overall, I really like this place a lot and I can’t wait to go back again! The service is great and the food tastes delicious. If you haven’t had a chance to eat at Joyia yet I recommend you check it out soon! I also hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Surprisingly good tapas from a place I’ve never heard of! A bunch of us came for dinner while looking for a «tapas» place. Overall, I find the tapas scene in the Lou to be seriously lackluster. The big namers are either over-​rated (Barcelona) or inconsistent (Modesto).
I was impressed by what came out of the kitchen on this non-​weekend night. The chef definitely knows good flavors.
— The grilled octopus was a great appetite-​opener (a bit too citric-​y on top but tasty overall)
— The Lamb kebob was juicy and delicious; the side salad was refreshing and well balanced
— The Lamb Tagine had a velvety combination of butternut squash, orange rinds, and apricot and went really well with the couscous.
— The Tuna Souvlakia was just a hair overcooked, but the steak was juicy, thick, and well-​marinated.
— Chorizo Rollo was almost a sister dish of Spanikopita (Vegetarian version). Both have crispy shells and creamy fillings
The prices were slightly higher than normal tapas but this was appropriate given the size of the portions (also bigger than normal tapas). Another highlight were the drinks! The sangria was good and we all loved the Dark and Stormy. It had the perfect ratio of rum and ginger beer.
Well done Joyia! What an excellent new tapas place! We ate so much we didn’t have room for dessert, but we’ll be back!
Now if they could bring razor clams and grilled Padrón Peppers onto the menu… I’ll love them forever!

+ Super sweet spot for girl’s night out
+ Delishus desserts
+ Easy reservations
+ Nice trendy addition to the Grove
I was in need of a bit of procrastinatory, therapeutic girl time and was so glad we picked Joyia for our Monday night frivolities for my group of 7 girlfriends. I purchased a Groupon ($ 15 for $ 30) for the occasion. Joyia is a gem with a fun, hip environment to catch up and just sit undisturbed for some quality friend time. They have these three booths in the main dining room, a bit kitschily called the «Rose Room», «Sapphire Room,» and a third orange-​lit (Tangerine?) room that can seat 6 – 8 comfortably. It’s perfect for a small group of friends or maybe even a group date.
We shared the SAMPLER PLATTER, which allows you to choose 3 appetizer spread for $ 18 (single appetizers are $ 7 each). We had the BABA GHANOUSH, HTIPITA, and the RED LENTIL spreads, which we all loved. The 3 spreads were the perfect amount to share between 7 of us. With that amount of spread though it would have been nice if they had brought out more pita wedges outright, as we ran out before we made much of a dent into the spreads, but our waitress did bring us another generous plate of pita upon request.
As a tapas place, dishes are definitely share-​able, but also fitting as your own entrée should you choose to be greedy and keep your plate to yourself. My gf’s had the LAMB KEBAB, MAHI MAHI, CHICKEN KEBAB, and also a VEGGIE KEBAB which was made upon request (not on the menu). I had the LAMB TAGINE. Everything was plated beautifully and thoughtfully with well-​curated garnishes and arrangements, which made it that much more pleasant to eat. I had a taste of everyone’s dishes and I am pleased with everything we ordered. My friends who ordered the lamb kebab raved about the red wine reduction, and the girls who ordered the mahi mahi loved the orange white wine glaze. Everything tasted fresh and well curated.
We also shared 3 of the desserts (RASPBERRY TIRAMISU, GINGER CREME BRULEE, CHOCOLATE PHYLLO). They were SO GOOD. They totally hit the spot. The chocolate phyllo came with a scoop of chocolate ice cream. The warm phyllo was filled with a melty ganache-​like chocolate and it paired perfectly with the ice cream. This one was the first to disappear! All 3 desserts came with cute fresh berry garnishes. All were amazing.
There was a belly dancer (on a quiet Monday night at that!) who came around offering «belly dancing lessons,» in which none of us chose to partake, but should you come on a livelier (read: more wined up) night, this might be better received.
Reservations were a breeze (make sure to call if you want to reserve one of the booths). We were treated well and left alone to gossip for almost 3 hours undisturbed, which was much appreciated. Apparently, my girlfriends are already talking about getting the «orange booth» next time so I am pretty certain we’ll be back!