Disney’s Animal Kingdom has some of the best food options across Disney World.

Tusker House Restaurant? One of our favorite character meals. Flame Tree Barbecue? Don’t get us started on the amazing Baked Macaroni and Cheese with Pulled Pork. We also really love Yak & Yeti Restaurant — a fun table-service restaurant with a fusion of Asian cuisine. But how does the nearby quick-service spot add up? Yak & Yeti Local Foods Cafe serves up some Asian-inspired cuisine at the window next door, and we stopped by for lunch recently to check it out. Follow along for our full review!

Atmosphere

The Yak & Yeti Local Foods Cafe is located in the Asia section of the park, right past the Yak & Yeti Restaurant.

Since this spot doesn’t offer Mobile Orders, you’ll place your order at the counter and wait at the window to pick it up.

Around the corner is a cart with a selection of condiments, napkins, and utensils.

There is a fair amount of outdoor seating here, but it can get busy at times, and most of the tables in the shade will be occupied at lunchtime!

There is a lot of fun theming here, but keep in mind it can get hot.

Menu

The menu here is relatively small, but there is a bit of variety! There are eight different entrees ranging from Honey Sesame Chicken to Teriyaki Chicken Salad. For sides, you can choose from Side Pork Egg Rolls, Chicken Fried Rice, or a Basket of Fries. Kids’ meals include a Cheeseburger, Chicken Strips, or a PB&J Uncrustable.

There are a few desserts on the menu — two Parfaits and a Frozen Lemonade Cup. For beverages, there is a selection of soda, juice, and milk, as well as a few beers and wines if you’re looking for alcohol.

Eats

For an appetizer, we ordered a Side Pork Egg Rolls. This comes with 2 egg rolls for $8.99.

These were a great start to the meal in my opinion! The exterior was fried well, so they were nice and crispy with a softer center.

The inside has a flavorful mix of cabbage, carrots, and pork, and the orange sauce adds a nice sweet touch. These are a tad pricey, but if you are a fan of egg rolls you’ll probably enjoy them.

For our entrees, we ordered the Vegetable Tikka Masala, Sweet-and-Sour Tempura Shrimp, Rib Tips, Orange Chili Chicken, and the Veggie Burger.

The Vegetable Tikka Masala was $14.99 and consisted of Garbanzo Beans, Zucchini, Peppers, Onions, and Tomatoes in a creamy Tikka Masala Sauce served with White Rice.

This was good but it didn’t blow me away. It did have a fair amount of flavor for a Disney dish, but it didn’t taste as developed as you would get if you went to an authentic Indian restaurant. Think of a jar of Tikka Masala sauce that you would use if you were cooking a quick meal at home. Not horrible, but I’ve had much better.

I did LOVE all of the veggies though, and you get a big portion, so it’s very filling.

The Sweet-and-Sour Tempura Shrimp was $16.99 and came with Golden Crisp Tempura Shrimp, Sweet-and-Sour Sauce, and White Rice.

There is a good amount of coating on the outside, which was crispy but still maintained that fluffy texture you get with tempura.

It was good, but by itself, it didn’t have a lot of flavor. You definitely need to add the sweet and sour sauce to get a flavorful dish. There is also a lot of food with this one!

It comes with a side of white rice, which is cooked well but a little boring. You could pour the sweet and sour over it to add some pizazz, but there really isn’t enough of the sauce to do that.

The Rib Tips were Pecan-smoked St. Louis Rib Tips glazed in Korean Barbecue Sauce and served with French Fries for $16.99.

It has a nice smoky flavor — similar to the ribs at Flame Tree Barbecue. The sauce was a bit spicy with a touch of sweetness, and I thought it had a fair amount of flavor. I would have liked them to be a little more tender, but I still enjoyed them.

The fries were like steak fries with a little bit of seasoning. They are softer than typical Disney fries, so you might find them floppy and mediocre, but I enjoyed that about them. However, altogether this was a fairly heavy dish.

The Orange Chili Chicken was $14.99 and consisted of Tempura Chicken, Peppers, Onions, Pineapple, Orange Chili Sauce, and White Rice.

The flavors are good, but I would have liked it to have more veggies & pineapple. It tastes like a typical dish you’d get from a local Chinese takeout place, but maybe not your favorite one. The chicken is tender, and it’s not too heavily fried — you actually get a fair amount of chicken in each piece, but it didn’t blow me away.

It’s also a little spicy! Nothing crazy, but for Disney, it has a kick.

The Veggie Burger was a Crispy Quinoa and Vegetable Patty with Pepper Jack, Lettuce, Tomato, and Yak Sauce on Multigrain Bun. This was served with French Fries, and you can get it for $14.29.

I really loved this but the other reporter with me did not! It has a lot of unique veggie flavors that aren’t for everyone. The tomato and lettuce added brightness to the sandwich, and it reminded me a bit of a BLT. The patty was similar to a fried green tomato, and I loved it — but it does get mushy if you don’t eat it quickly!

The pepper jack cheese didn’t have a lot of flavor honestly, so that could have been a bit better. But overall, I thought this was a good option for those who like BLT-style sandwiches but are looking for something vegetarian. And if you are a veggie-lover and aren’t plant-based, I think this might still be worth a try.

For Dessert, we tried the Cookies & Cream Parfait for $8.49. There is also an option to get the Banana Pudding Parfait here for the same price.

Honestly, these parfaits are way overpriced. The Oreo-like flavors were good, but the texture was light in a disappointing way — almost like foam.

This was not decadent and creamy like we would have hoped. The chocolate part was a little better texture-wise, but it didn’t have a lot of flavor.

These parfaits have replaced the Mini Mango and Chocolate Pies that used to be served here, and we would love for Disney to bring them back!

You can still get a regular-sized Mango Key Lime Cheesecake at the Yak & Yeti Restaurant next door, however, so keep that in mind if you are missing those flavors.

Overall

Overall, we thought there were some good options at this spot, but not everything blew us away. It’s fairly middle-of-the-road for Animal Kingdom food standards. If you really like Asian-inspired food and would like to stop for a bite while you’re in this part of the park, this could be a good option for you.

However, depending on what you’re looking for, there are a few other options that might make more sense. For example, if you love barbecue, Flame Tree Barbecue has wonderful food and tons of seating. Satu’li Canteen is another stand-out option that serves delicious customizable bowls and steamed Cheeseburger Steamed Pods in Pandora. With all of the great food items in this park, this one just isn’t a must-do for us!

Nosh or Not

Head over to Asia for this quick-service restaurant if…

• You love Asian food. The food here is fun and unique!
• You need a quick bite to eat. This quick-service spot will have you back on your agenda in no time.
• You’re looking for vegetarian options. There are a couple of options here that are veggie-centered that we enjoyed.

Skip this spot in Asia if…

• You want some really good food. Tusker House Restaurant, Flame Tree Barbecue, and more have overall more impressive food in our opinion.
• You want to cool off. Since this spot doesn’t have any indoor seating, you might be better off hitting up areas that do, like Satu’li Canteen.
• You have picky eaters. This location has a few things that might please a crowd, like the American Kobe Cheeseburger, but for the most part, the options here are a bit unique and probably aren’t for everyone.

We think this is worth a stop if you just need something quick — there are a few good options on the menu and it is a convenient spot. However, there are other options that might better suit your group, so keep that in mind when planning out your trip!

Everyone Can Go Home. This NEW Animal Kingdom Addition Just Won the Whole Week.

What is your favorite restaurant in Disney’s Animal Kingdom? Let us know in the comments below!

The post REVIEW: Trust Me, Skip Dessert at This Disney World Restaurant first appeared on the disney food blog.