Tell me about Yak and Yeti

[travelbug]

Thinking about trying Yak and Yeti on our next trip. I did look at the menu online, but I'm wondering what people have thought of the food and the value. What's the atmosphere like inside?

TIA!

 

[dansyr2514]

We went and were really surprised how good it was!!! The eggrolls are awesome and I had the steak and tempura shrimp and it was excellent. My dbf got something...kind of a typical chinese dish...and he said it was just ok. I think it depends what you order but nothing was bad.

 

[Pakey]

We've eaten here twice and probably will not return again anytime soon. I consider it mediocre dumbed-down Asian food, quality was less than even a chain like PF Changs. The two dishes I have had were almost inedible and I'm not a picky eater (these items were lo mein and pho).

The majority of people on here like it. The portions are huge.

 

[Mad Hattered]

Here is what I posted in the food pic thread...

Yak and Yeti.....AWESOME!!! We had a trio of apps for lunch and all of them were excellent. I'd read negative reviews but decided to give it a chance....glad we did!! We even ended up with an upstairs window seat.

Lettuce Cups - minced chicken breast, chopped vegetables, maple tamarind sauce, crisp lettuce cups $12.99

Pork Egg Rolls - chili plum dipping sauce $7.99

Seared Ahi Tuna - chilled, sesame-encrusted ahi tuna, wasabi aioli, and sweet chili slaw $10.99 (I believe this is now $12.99)

 

[serrotak]

I am really excited to try this restaurant as well. I have heard mixed reviews but I am definitely going. We have ADR's for our trip this Feb.

 

[travelbug]

Thanks, everyone. I appreciate all the feedback, whether good or not so good.

Mad Hattered, the pictures are terrific! Thanks for posting them. Your original post with the pictures mentions that you got an upstairs window table. What was the view from there?

I'm trying to picture where this restaurant is located in relation to Expedition Everest??

Anyone else have opinions to share?

 

[Wild4Walt]

I've eatten there twice and loved it both times.

True, the food is pretty Americanized, but if you go into it knowing that you should enjoy the meal. The food is fresh and the service was always very good.

The decor is pretty cool too. Very asian. If you walk towards EE, it is the group of building before the ride. There is a rickshaw out front.

 

[kjd469]

Have been 2 times and loved it both times. Food was hot, fresh and very tasty. There are lots of interesting things to look at in the restaurant as well. If this is "dumbed down" asian food...then I'm happy to be dumb!

 

[ShannonMB]

We really enjoyed Y&Y, it was by far the best meal of our last trip (and we went to many of the "favorites", including LeCellier). I ordered the babyback ribs with hoisin BBQ sauce, and let me tell you, it was the most delectable slab of ribs I've ever had put in front of me -- and I LOVE ribs. Very meaty, totally tender, not fatty at all, and a delicious BBQ sauce with hint of Asian flavor. I gave some to my mom and DD, and left there SO full because it killed me to leave such deliciousness on the plate! And I STILL had to leave some (wasn't carrying ribs around AK). My mom loved the steak and tempura shrimp, and DD liked her lomein and fries. I would try to order one of the specialties and not bother with something you can get at your local chinese place, because I think that's where they really shine on value and quality. The desserts (esp the cream cheese wontons) are out of this world, too. It's a bit pricey, but not out of line with anything else at Disney.

I doubt you'll regret it if you give it a try.

 

[chell]

We really enjoyed Y&Y, it was by far the best meal of our last trip (and we went to many of the "favorites", including LeCellier). I ordered the babyback ribs with hoisin BBQ sauce, and let me tell you, it was the most delectable slab of ribs I've ever had put in front of me -- and I LOVE ribs. Very meaty, totally tender, not fatty at all, and a delicious BBQ sauce with hint of Asian flavor. I gave some to my mom and DD, and left there SO full because it killed me to leave such deliciousness on the plate! And I STILL had to leave some (wasn't carrying ribs around AK). My mom loved the steak and tempura shrimp, and DD liked her lomein and fries. I would try to order one of the specialties and not bother with something you can get at your local chinese place, because I think that's where they really shine on value and quality. The desserts (esp the cream cheese wontons) are out of this world, too. It's a bit pricey, but not out of line with anything else at Disney.

I doubt you'll regret it if you give it a try.

The part it bold is exactly what I was going to say. Y&Y is now my favorite WDW restaurant. We gave up our Le Cellier reservation to go back to Y&Y for a second time on our Honeymoon last December. It was that awesome!!!

Unlike Shannon I am not a rib fan, never have been. But my husband couldn't decide between the Crispy Mahi Mahi & the ribs. We were on the Deluxe Dining Plan and I told my husband I would order the ribs because I knew I would get plenty to eat. When the ribs arrived I decided to try them. OMG!!! Those were the best things EVER!!! The sauce is perfect and the meet is melt in your mouth and falls off the bones. I don't like to eat meat off of a bone, but this wasn't bad at all. You could just pull the bone out. I didn't get real messy or anything. My husband did because he just sucked the meat right off the bones.

He LOVED the Crispy Mahi Mahi. Those Lettuce Cups are AWESOME! My husband doesn't eat veggies and he ordered those as his app the 2nd trip. The Pot Stickers are also awesome!

Let me go find my pictures and I'll post them for you. Those dessert wontons are YUM!

We are going back twice on our upcoming trip because we love it so much. We need two trips so we can fit all the food in.

 

[chell]

YUMMY Pot Stickers

Lettuce Cups

Ribs with white rice

Another shot of the ribs

Crispy Mahi Mahi

My husband helping me with the ribs

Sorbet - he loved all 3, I only liked the lemon, but I don't like raspberry or mango

 

[psac]

Another vote for the great ribs, some of the best I've ever had anywhere. My wife had some something-with-broccoli or whatever -- like the others have said, their "normal" chinese food is somewhat boring. I'd go with the unusual stuff. Except for the appetizers, where even the "normal" spring rolls and pot stickers (aka dumplings) were both great. Cheese wontons for dessert were really good, too. This was one of the first ADRs we had to have on our next trip!

For some of the OP's other questions -- while walking towards Everest from the Safari, it's on the left, and somewhat recessed. It's close to the fork in the road to head down to dino-land. It's actually easy to miss. The interior is like a fancy Indian restaurant to some extent. Much more Indian than Chinese, to me. Definitely recommend, if it wasn't obvious!

 

[KatMark]

We went last year and had an outstanding meal. The only reason we didn't go this year is because it was a "mini" trip and we didn't go to Animal Kingdom. Here is a link to my review, along with pictures (Post #10):

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1952509&highlight=25th+anniversary

 

[kjd469]

The interior is like a fancy Indian restaurant to some extent. Much more Indian than Chinese, to me. Definitely recommend, if it wasn't obvious!

Yak & Yet is not intended to be a Chinese restaurant...it is an Asian restaurant...therefore it is a melding of the foods and decor of the different Asian countries. If you go thinking it is a Chinese restaurant, you may be disappointed.

 

[Schmeck]

How do I get drool off my keyboard??? The food looks and sounds wonderful - putting it on my must-eat list!!

 

[travelbug]

Thanks so much to everyone who replied! Based on what I've read here, we're definitely going to get an ADR at Yak and Yeti. Can't wait to try it! I love ribs, so I just may have to try those!

Extra thanks for posting the pictures. They really helped "paint the picture" of the food there. Some of the portions do look huge.

 

[aubriee]

I think it depends on what you order. The first two times I ate there I was not impressed. However, due to all the good reviews it gets here on the DIS I decided to give it one final try before writing it off my list. Well the third time was the charm. I ate there Oct 4th for lunch and had one of the best meals of my entire trip. I was on the DxDDP and ordered the lettuce cups for an appetizer. They were sooooo good, I could have made a meal on just them, so really hated to send about half of them back. That was one huge platter and I wanted to save room for my entree and dessert though. The ribs with chicken fried rice were wonderful. The waitress told me to make any substitutions I wanted and asked if I was OK with fried rice. The rice was good, but the ribs were wonderful. I don't like eating foods with my fingers, so simply sliced down next to the bone on each rib and the bones just fell out, until I was left with a huge pile of meat. I am a very big eater, but no way was I eating that huge platter of food. I had the sorbet trio for dessert, which was a perfect finish.

Saying all of that, there was a large table across from me. Everyone else was happy with their meal, but one man, who sent his food back three times. He complained that the mahi mahi tasted too fishy, that the broccoli in his steak stir fry wasn't cooked enough, and that the Kobe burger (new on the menu that day) didn't taste like real Kobe beef. Of course, this was only after he had eaten half of it. Anyway, he insisted that he wasn't paying for any of it. I know he really gave that poor waitress a hard time of it the entire meal. What was bad, was that she was training a new waitress that day.

 

[Mom21]

Saying all of that, there was a large table across from me. Everyone else was happy with their meal, but one man, who sent his food back three times. He complained that the mahi mahi tasted too fishy, that the broccoli in his steak stir fry wasn't cooked enough, and that the Kobe burger (new on the menu that day) didn't taste like real Kobe beef. Of course, this was only after he had eaten half of it. Anyway, he insisted that he wasn't paying for any of it. I know he really gave that poor waitress a hard time of it the entire meal. What was bad, was that she was training a new waitress that day.

I really, really dislike people that do that.

We love Yak and Yeti. I finally got a reservation for Nov 27th. Have a Landry's Select card and Nov 28th is my bday so they just added $25 to my card. I'm going to live it up. DD and I are are getting appetizers this time.......

 

[tinkandonaldfans]

We went twice in our September trip and we really enjoyed it. My DF got the ribs and on the second time got the steak without the shrimp (he doesn't like shrimp and they would wouldn't give him anything else). I got the steak and shrimp but can't remember what I ate the second time maybe the crispy chicken?

Food was really good but they give you lots, we struggled with the brownie shared sundae and on the second visit had to have a childs sundae (we were on the dining plan didn't want to miss out on free food)

The only thing I would say was that we were seated upstairs by the window and with the fans on it was really cold. We got rained and were completely soaked and this fan was whizzing around like crazy. They can't turn it off because its automatic with the lights which I thought was a bit lame! On our second visit we sat in practically the same seat and had to endure the fan. This time we were not wet but we were still really cold and so were others from what we heard!

I would go and try it, it was one of our top meals and this is saying something *** with free dining we ate A LOT!

 

[blanq]

I am a fan of Y&Y. The theming in this restaurant is amazing. When we ate here this past January, we were seated at a table on the 2nd floor, by a window that overlooked AK. It was fun to watch everyone passing by. I heard this can be a great place to watch the afternoon parade. We had great service and really enjoyed the food. We found it to be well-presented, flavorful and a good value because the portions are large. The mango pie is a family favorite. You can get mini mango pies at the CS attached to the TS restaurant, and I will not admit how many of those we consumed our last trip. Let me just say we ate an embarrassing volume of mango pie.