Yaya's Thai Fusion & Steaks is the new kid on Veterans Boulevard in Kenner, quietly slipping Thai street-food cravings onto the same table as classic American steakhouse cuts. That means tom yum shrimp pizza sharing menu space with ribeyes served alongside fried rice. Chef Urairat "Chef Rai" Matise and partner Chris Matise run the kitchen, and Matise says the menu is "it's what we cook for ourselves, and for each other." The tight lineup has already drawn attention for early hits like drunken noodles and a papaya salad with pork rinds that can be ordered at a "U.S. hot" spice level.
Thai Flavors Meet Steakhouse Cuts
As Ian McNulty reported for NOLA.com, this is not a place where the menu sits neatly in one category. Tom saap, a pork-rib soup described as "a light, clear, aromatic and tangy-sour soup with lemongrass, kaffir lime and galangal," shows up next to tom yum-inspired pizzas and steaks plated in familiar American steakhouse fashion. McNulty also notes that the kitchen turns out tom yum shrimp pizzas alongside more traditional tomato-and-cheese pies.
Chef Rai's Kenner Kitchen
According to Yaya's website, the restaurant sits at 2401 Veterans Memorial Blvd., Ste 4, serving lunch and dinner daily from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. The site lists Tom Yum Shrimp flatbread, ribeye steaks and other fusion-focused dishes, and notes that Chef Rai brings decades of experience into the kitchen. Online ordering and reservations are available through the site and via OpenTable.
Standouts, Specials And 'Adventure Mondays'
McNulty's reporting singles out drunken noodles as a bestseller and highlights that papaya salad with pork rinds, which can be ordered at "U.S. hot" on a one-to-five spice scale. He also reports that Matise is from the Issan region of Thailand and that Yaya's has been running a rotating "Adventure Mondays" series earlier in 2026, with one-night specials including a spicy shrimp dish and a chicken-foot night that drew about two dozen people. McNulty quotes Chef Rai saying "it's what we cook for ourselves, and for each other," a line that neatly explains the mix of comfort dishes and regional curiosities on the menu.
More Than Another Chain On Veterans
Veterans Boulevard is a busy, chain-heavy strip near the airport, and local listings suggest Yaya's stands out as a family-run alternative, with a wide-ranging menu that can catch both neighborhood regulars and travelers between flights. Local guides point to its convenience for concertgoers and airport traffic and note its unusual Thai and steakhouse mash-up. For an outsider look at the location and offerings, see En Primeur Club.
Reservations and online ordering are available via Yaya's website and on OpenTable. For quick questions, call (504) 354-1502.
