While many restaurants are going out of business, some are just being revamped. Chef/owner John Chitko converted his high-end restaurant Yaffa into Byron’s, which he calls a beer garden and bistro. Yaffa’s pan-Mediterranean format has nearly vanished—gone are the Moroccan tagines and that great vegetarian...

When we reviewed Yaffa (106 W. Wells St.) in January, the Mediterranean restaurant was only open for dinner. Now that summer has arrived, weekday lunches have returned. Yaffa’s outdoor deck, located directly on the RiverWalk, provides a pleasant lunchtime setting in the heart of downtown Milwaukee.

When chef/owner John Chitko opened Yaffa two years ago, he redefined the experience of Mediterranean dining in Milwaukee. The overall concept wasn’t new, but Yaffa made it different by focusing on Middle Eastern and Moroccan dishes, with a few touches from Europe.