By Dan Pujdak
YKO BBQ, which opened on November 8th at 263 Dalhousie Street, is Lowertown’s newest barbecue joint, but the owners are no strangers to the business. Sisters Ramata Coulibaly-Cisse and Yre Coulibaly are from a culinary family. As the next generation, they’re focused on a mission: to bring street-style barbecue from Côte d’Ivoire to the National Capital Region. YKO BBQ is their first shot at developing what they hope becomes a growing franchise.
Ramata is an artist and entrepreneur who believes that Côte d’Ivoire street food is not just a menu but a design concept. Ramata teamed up with friend Luigi Lindsey to create an eco-friendly interior that’s “chic and avant garde.” The space is made for mingling, inviting everyone to a centrepiece table made of recycled metal and repurposed bricks, which reflects Ramata’s mission to create a “very family oriented, very homey” space.
But most important is the food. YKO’s menu features grilled chicken with four levels of spice, tilapia and goat. Sides include plantain, rice, fries and vegetables with cassava. YKO makes their own ginger juice and hibiscus juice. YKO offers pick-up and delivery services.
Although YKO is new to Dalhousie Street, their first location on McArthur has solid ratings with over 900 reviews on Google. The new location was packed for lunch shortly after opening day, suggesting the new location might rack up similar reviews.
Ramata was deliberate in choosing Lowertown as her next location. “I have a lot of friends with businesses in the neighbourhood,” she said, describing the camaraderie drawing her to Dalhousie Street. The Market, she explained, is an ideal location for YKO to make its menu available to downtown Ottawa and Gatineau.
In Ramata’s words, YKO is “food for the soul.” After trying a quarter BBQ chicken with vegetables, it’s tough to disagree.
YKO is a woman-owned business, and is open every day from 11 a.m.10 p.m.