Yak & Yeti Quick Service (Anandupar Local Food Cafes)

Yak & Yeti Review at Disney’s Animal Kingdom

Yak & Yeti is located in Asia.

See this page for all of the Disney’s Animal Kingdom quick service reviews.

Location: To the left of Kali River Rapids in the Asia section.

Food Type: Asian, though they also have hamburgers and hot dogs.

Dining Plan: Yes, quick service.

Yak & Yeti Menu:

Pull up the full menu on DisneyWorld.com here.

Unique Items: Most of the Asian entrees are unique. Yak & Yeti also uses different burgers and hot dogs than Disney, which makes those taste different as well. It’s worth noting that Landry’s Inc. operates Yak & Yeti instead of Disney. They also operate Rainforest Cafe and T-Rex, among other restaurants.

Advantages:

• Freshly prepared food.
• Tasty, unique Asian entrées.
• Convenient location near Kali River Rapids, Maharajah Jungle Trek, Expedition Everest, and the Caravan Theater
• “Anandapur Local Food Cafes” is almost as fun to say as Restaurantosaurus.

Disadvantages:

• Portions are significantly smaller than they would have been a few years ago.
• Seating is limited, outside, and mostly in the sun.
• Yak & Yeti is not operated by Disney and service can be hit or miss.
• During peak meal times, it can take 20 or more minutes to order and pick up your food. Almost all of that time will be spent uncovered in the sun. Yak & Yeti does not offer mobile order.
• Usually closes an hour before the rest of the Park. Check your Times Guide if you’re planning a late dinner.
• Breakfast is terrible.

Value: Below average. Yak & Yeti Quick Service was once pretty good, or at least a nice change of pace from the standard Disney options. With Satu’li Canteen, Flame Tree Barbecue, and even the Restaurantosaurus Burgers and Sundaes, there isn’t much of a reason to stop here.

Reputation: The quick service arm of Yak & Yeti serves Panda Express quality food at higher prices. While the website would have potentially recommended a stop a couple of years ago, menu changes and price increases have hurt the operation. The Honey Chicken and Chicken Fried Rice are still pretty good.

Yak & Yeti Food Choices:

$12.79 Teriyaki Beef Bowl

With Marinated Beef, Carrots, Snap Peas, Onions and Mushrooms in Sweet Teriyaki Sauce with White Rice. Yak & Yeti used to serve most of their entrees in fun, branded to-go containers. Now, a generic plastic bowl will have to do.

The portion on the chewy beef was a little chintzy. It was just four or five bites’ worth. Fortunately, the familiar teriyaki glaze was flavorful and the snap peas, mushrooms, carrots, and onions were as nicely sauteed as they were colorful. The sesame seeds in the rice are a nice touch, but the rice is pretty underwhelming overall. It’s coarse and not typically light and fluffy. For about 13 bucks, you could certainly do worse, but that’s not exactly high praise. On the other hand, it’s potentially a light meal.

$12.29 Honey Chicken

The Honey Chicken is lightly battered in a subtly-sweet honey sauce over rice and a few vegetables. This is the old presentation in the Yak & Yeti to-go container. I’m not sure if it’s debatable that this is the best entree on the menu. It’s also the only one that’s still available since the quick service opened.

This is what the same dish looks like now. I think most of us would take gobs of Honey Chicken served over Fried Rice. That’s a big part of why we see the demotion.

$16 American Kobe Cheeseburger

Apparently, there was some demand for hamburgers in the quaint Himalayan countryside sanctuary that makes Yak & Yeti its home.

“American Kobe Beef” carries no meaning here whatsoever. It’s not a real grade of beef. This is merely a larger version of the kids’ burger that they’ve served here for years.

The only positive thing I can say about it is that it obviously fills a need. If everyone else in the group is after Asian fast food, but somebody has to have a burger, then you’ve covered both bases. I certainly would not seek out this overcooked, overpriced meal on its own.

You do come away with a small slice of lettuce, a thin slice of tomato, and two pickles out of it.

$15 American Kobe Beef Hot Dog

This is supposedly served on a Brioche Bun with French Fries and your choice of toppings:  Plain, Banh Mi, or Kimchi. Upon ordering, the cast member neglected to ask if I wanted it any way other than plain, and I forgot to mention that I wanted it topped with whatever was most bloggable. The hot dog, which is not really served on a “brioche bun” as far as I could tell, is even more sad-looking without the “kimchi” topping, which is more akin to a handful of what you’d pull out of a bag of Fresh Express salad mix with a bit of vinegar added. There is nothing “kimchi” about it at all. That probably makes some sense as the person who spent $15 on a hot dog at an Asian restaurant probably isn’t looking for vegetables that have been fermenting in the ground for some time.

So we receive a polish sausage topped with salad. Again, it’s not completely terrible. The dog itself has a decent snap to each bite and “picky eaters” will have another option here in a hot dog that is much more plain than the $15 price tag might insinuate.

$11.75 Ginger Chicken Salad

This is Mixed Greens, grilled marinated Chicken, and Ginger Dressing. Yak & Yeti serves it compartmentalized in a plastic container with a lid. There isn’t a whole lot to it – fresh greens, dry chicken, crunchy chow mein noodles, and the small cup of bright orange salad dressing that had a sweet, very pronounced ginger flavor. It’s otherwise fairly basic – not unlike any generic Asian salad mix at the grocery store. If your group opts to dine here and you’re looking for a salad, this would do. But it’s not worth seeking out.

$12 Asian Chicken Wrap:

It’s possible that this is one of the worst pictures I’ve ever taken, but I had to scroll through about 75,000 pictures to find it. This isn’t particularly Asian either, as Yak & Yeti serves the lettuce, chicken, and tomatoes in a wheat tortilla with what is basically ranch dressing. It’s a better value than either the burger or hot dog, but again, I’m not sure who would seek this out specifically.

$12 Vegetable Tikka Masala

With Garbanzo Beans, Zucchini, Peppers, Onions, and Tomatoes in a creamy Tikka Masala Sauce served with White Rice.

The sauce was appropriately rich and surprisingly creamy with just a little bit of spice with cumin, coriander, and turmeric notes.

The vegetables added a nice crunch and the beans probably offered some heft, but I didn’t feel like there was a ton of actual food involved for the money. White rice is not particularly expensive and it’s a shallow serving dish – you may be able to get a better idea about the portion from one picture above. But I think those with smaller appetites should be plenty satisfied and it’s not another bean burger or salad, which vegetarians should appreciate. I can see some people seeking this out again and again.

$14 Sweet and Sour Tempura Shrimp

Your fourteen dollars buys you about eight very straight, very bland, very tasteless shrimp with a side of syrupy sweet and sour sauce for dipping. Gourmet may not be the expectation here, but it’s hard to imagine too many people being impressed by the quality or the presentation. You’d be better off buying a similar product from Costco and sticking the shrimp in the oven or air fryer and getting a bottle of sweet and sour sauce from the store. Another easy skip, and potentially the most disappointing item on the menu.

Sides and desserts make up more of the menu:

$6.79 Pork Egg Rolls

The Pork Egg Rolls are my favorite item on the menu, plump and stuffed with pork and crunchy vegetables. Greasy? Yes. From frozen? Assuredly. But they’re nice and crispy, and oh so good. Their portability is also a factor as you can walk around with a pair of these and a beer rather easily. Not that I know anything about that. The only downside would be the potential long line to order.

$4.29 or $5.29 Chicken Fried Rice

The “side” on top is $4.29, while the more substantial box underneath will set you back $5.29. Only the top box is good for a snack credit on the Disney Dining Plan.

The Chicken Fried Rice is another winner. They sell enough of it that it’s constantly fresh. If the line is short, it makes for a great snack that’s relatively transportable.

Their French Fries, as seen here at Mr. Kamal’s, are (arguably) tastier than Disney’s standard version, too. They have a nice, zesty spice rub to them. Yak & Yeti serves the same fries with the burger and hot dog.

$5 Mini Mango Pie

That’s how Yak & Yeti serves it.

I thought the portion size was on the small side given the $5 price. But it shouldn’t come as any surprise that I would order something that “literally” has miniature in the title and then complain that it’s small.

I mentioned to the cast member that I had “heard good things” about it, and she confided in me that “it’s not as good as inside, but still really good.” “Perfect,” I thought. And it was really good as far as defrosted pies go – refreshing with a fruity flavor and a slightly sweet cookie crust with an almost-cheesecake-like quality to it. I’m not sure it was worth five bucks, though.

Minute Maid Frozen Lemonade Cup

Despite having 56 grams of sugar, the Frozen Lemonade is quite tart. It was a bit of a hassle to eat it because there was so much of it and it was so cold. The Lemonades are available at various carts and kiosks around Disney World, so it probably makes sense to hold off on picking one up until you’re ready to go to town. On the other hand, after enjoying your various entrees and sides, the lemonade may have had an opportunity to warm up a bit. Again, leave it to easywdw to order frozen lemonade and then complain that it’s cold. But you’ll see what I mean.

Kids Meals and Beverages make up the rest of the menu:

The fact that there are no Asian-inspired kids’ picks may be surprising. You’d think a smaller portion of the Honey Chicken would be available. An Egg Roll with a side of rice would also make sense.

Seating

Unfortunately, seating is Yak & Yeti’s biggest problem. All tables are outside and a lot don’t offer shade. It can get incredibly hot here in the afternoon when it’s crowded and the sun is out (as it usually is in Florida). The closest air-conditioned seating is at Restaurantosaurus or Pizzafari, neither of which is within a five minute walk. Try to get here around 11am if possible to find lower crowds and a lower temperature. I like to go to the very back left corner, where it’s less likely that people will travel. Otherwise, it is a pretty location, though not as nice as Flame Tree Barbecue.

There’s a small set of bathrooms straight back there on the left too.

Overall, Yak & Yeti is a middling quick service that could be a lot better. You may find yourself in the mood for Asian food at Animal Kingdom, but I would urge you to visit the restaurant inside. Prices are higher, but so are the portions. Most people could get away with sharing a $25 entree in there over ordering two very small $13 entrees out here.