Disney’s Animal Kingdom has some pretty unique dining options. If you’re not in the mood to eat a WHOLE FISH at Tiffins right now, you can head on over to Yak & Yeti for an adventurous table-service meal that won’t break the bank quite as much.

Yak & Yeti is located in the Asia section of Disney’s Animal Kingdom between Expedition Everest and Maharajah Jungle Trek. Over the years, we’ve found Yak & Yeti to have consistently good food and now we’re checking to see if some NEW menu items hold up to the standard!

Check-in

We had a reservation (no walk-ups today!) so we checked in with Mobile Dine Check-in. Once our table was ready, we received a text to head to the restaurant to be seated.

Yak & Yeti is located in a beautifully themed building with an eye-catching blue and orange paint job. It’s striking, but so is the rest of Animal Kingdom’s Asia, so it can blend in. Keep an eye out for that Yak & Yeti sign. “Conditioned air?!” Sign us up!

Let’s head inside!

Atmosphere

Let’s talk about the atmosphere because, like the outside, the inside of this restaurant is super neat!

The first room you walk into will transport you directly into the elaborate backstory of the restaurant. Essentially, the building is owned by a former merchant named Arjun who has transformed his ornate home into lodging for weary travelers.

The walls are accented with vibrant colors that definitely evoke the worldly theme.

Of course, health measures are in place here, as we’ve seen. Tables are marked off as unavailable for physical distancing purposes.

Seating is available on the upper and lower levels of the building. We love the natural light on the second floor, but the variety of light fixtures around the restaurant are a real delight too.

Like many Disney restaurants, there are lots of little details on the walls and around the space, so take a look around!

Apparently, our friend Arjun the merchant is quite the collector. There are some authentically-themed statues and idols placed throughout the restaurant. Some of them are even taller than we are!

We love the picture that this restaurant paints with its atmosphere. It’s just the right amount of exotic and cozy to try out some delicious fare.

Speaking of which… .

Menu

Let’s look at the menu! As we mentioned, we are here to try some new menu items but the posted menu still looks much the same as the last time we were here. Our host told us that the items we’re trying today will officially end up on the menu later this month. For now, as our server put it, they’re “hidden menu items!”

There are four unlisted new menu items: a ribeye, seafood curry, steak and shrimp, and a calamari appetizer. Plus, there is a special beverage and a special dessert for Breast Cancer Awareness month. Don’t worry, we’ll give those a try too.

Here’s a photo of the Gluten-Sensitive/Allergen Friendly Menu too!

Alright, alright, enough yapping. It’s time to eat and drink!

Food and Beverages

We started off with the Pink Lady, the beverage created in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness. It’s $12 and $1 from each sale of this beverage goes to a Breast Cancer Awareness fund!

As for flavors, this drink is made with Tito’s Vodka, Don Q Coconut Rum, lime juice, cranberry juice, and a splash of a Sprite. Overall we thought it was very light and tasty. Perfect for those that like a sweeter sip!

As an appetizer, we tried the Bang Bang Calamari — one of the new menu items. This dish is made with fried calamari and fried veggies (zucchini, red pepper, and jalapeno) on a bed of fried rice noodles with Bang Bang Drizzle and a sweet Thai chili dipping sauce.

As one of the new soon-to-be-on-the-menu options, this calamari definitely held up to our Yak & Yeti standards. It was so good. Our favorite part was the fried jalapenos!

Plus, this a huge and SUPER SHAREABLE portion. Even if you’re not the biggest fan of calamari, there’s plenty of fried veggies to scoop up. You can snag it for $14.99.

For one of our entrees, we went with the upcoming Hibachi Steak and Shrimp for $33.99. How does a 10oz flat iron with Jasmine rice, house stir-fried vegetables, and Yum Yum Sauce sound? Plus, you’re getting a BIG cut of steak and five HUGE tempura shrimp!

The steak very tender and had a buttery flavor. It’s made in a delicious Kalbi marinade and it was cooked well. Look at that, just the right amount of pink! We were big fans.

As for the shrimp, they taste as good as they look. And they look DELICIOUS. You can see how crispy these are just by looking at screen! See for yourself!

SO much crunch! The veggies on the side were cooked exactly how we like them. They still had a nice crunch to them! There was a nice variety to the veggies as well. The rice was amazing too — especially with a bit of that Yum Yum Sauce.

We wanted to try one more of the new items so we went with the Malaysian Seafood Curry for $32.99. The dish was a HEAPING portion of curry made with lobster and Dungeness crab ravioli plus tomatoes, zucchini, peppers, and some shrimp!

The shrimp were very sizeable and the sauce was SO creamy. We didn’t think it was spicy or fishy at all so it might be a little more palate-friendly than you might expect. The curry flavor was faint (it hit your nose more than your taste buds) so it wasn’t overpowering at all.

AND, even though our reporter isn’t the biggest seafood fan, we LOVED the lobster and Dungeness crab ravioli. Overall, the dish was absolutely delicious and very filling. Plus, the raviolis were fun mixed throughout. Lots of fun textures here.

But that doesn’t mean we didn’t have room for dessert! We decided we would give that Aware Cheesecake a try. Like the Pink Lady drink, $1 from this $11.99 treat goes to a Breast Cancer Awareness fund.

It’s a classic cheesecake topped with raspberry mousse, raspberry coulis, and diced strawberries. It was a yummy end to the meal, but still a basic slice of cheesecake. At least it was for a good cause.

And of course, we wrapped up with a fortune cookie.

We’d tell you what ours said, but then it won’t come true! Right?

Nosh or Not

You SHOULD eat at Yak & Yeti if…

• You’re looking for a tasty meal in a unique environment.
• Surprising Asian-influenced eats are your jam.
• You’re looking to be adventurous, but not whole-fried-fish-for-$40 adventurous.

You SHOULD NOT eat at Yak & Yeti if…

• You’re looking for a quick fuel-up before getting back to the rides.
• Your whole group is full of picky eaters.
• You’re doing Disney on a budget.

Overall

Yak & Yeti has done it again folks. This place might not blow us out of the water, but it is consistently tasty EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. And isn’t there something pretty mind-blowing about that? We enjoyed all of the things that hit our table today and that’s hard to say for ANY restaurant (much less one in a theme park!).

That said, it wasn’t the least expensive meal and it took us a little over an hour to dine. So, this isn’t the meal for the casual theme-park diner. Try Yak & Yeti Local Foods Cafe if you’re looking for something a little quicker (or that won’t put a hurting on your budget).

Altogether, those new menu items were a real treat and we’re glad that we can hope to see them soon on the regular menu. As always, stay tuned to DFB for the latest updates and for ALLLLLL of the Disney food reviews! See ya soon!

Click here to learn more about off-the-menu items at Yak & Yeti!

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Do you like to eat at Yak & Yeti? Tell us in the comments! 

The post REVIEW! We’re Checking Out the NEW ITEMS at Yak & Yeti in Disney’s Animal Kingdom! first appeared on the disney food blog.