The Yak & Yeti Restaurant is a relatively new table service restaurant near Expedition Everest in Disney's Animal Kingdom. The cast for lunch on a sunny day in May 2008, were two hungry adults in their mid-thirties. We were on the Deluxe Dining Plan so we ordered a ridiculous amount of food. This restaurant is beautifully themed to fit in with the fictional village of Anandapur. It is a large, two-story restaurant split up into a number of smaller rooms which helps to control the noise levels. Made it feel cosier than one large room would. Our server, Chris, was attentive without being obtrusive. The tables are set with both silverware and disposable wooden chopsticks for those who are inclined to be a bit more authentic. I partook of a Berry Cherry Limeade, which is a unique offering and a nice change from soda. It was an excellent choice as it was delicious and very refreshing. I was worried it would be sour but it wasn’t. As with most specialty drinks, it does not include free refills. Being at Animal Kingdom, all drinks are served with paper straws for the safety of the animals.

For our appetizers, I ordered the Wok-Fried Green Beans. They are very lightly tempura battered and served with a sweet and just a little spicy sweet and sour sauce. Now, I am not a big fan of vegetables in general, but these were wonderful! My only regret is that I could not eat them all, as it was a large serving. My husband had the Dim Sum Basket even though we didn’t really know what would be in it. It came with four shrimp siu mai, four pork siu mai, (siu mai are small balls of filling wrapped in rice noodles), three pork pot stickers, and two cha su bao (steamed buns filled with bar-b-qued pork). It was served in a bamboo steamer basket with a soy-lime dipping sauce that went perfectly with the dim sum. My husband could have easily eaten this as his meal. I liked the pot stickers the best but everything was good.

For our main courses, I ordered the Duck with Anandapur glaze (orange wasabi glaze) and he ordered Crispy Mahi-mahi. Both were served with either jasmine or brown rice and stir-fried mixed vegetables. Again, it was too much food to finish (they gave me half a duck!) but both were very good. For dessert, I ordered the cream cheese filled wontons, which were served on skewers with fresh pineapple. They are served warm with a vanilla drizzle and vanilla ice cream. They were delicious. My husband ordered the Mango pie, but took it to go as we were stuffed. I was impressed they bothered to decorate the inside of the take-out box with swirls of syrup. It made a nice snack at the airport.

To be honest, we were a bit leery of trying the Yak & Yeti Restaurant as we had read mixed reviews on other sites. Some people complained it was not a Disney owned restaurant, but if we had not known that going in, we would not have guessed it. Our service was wonderful and the food was delicious and plentiful. Animal Kingdom desperately needed more table service options and Yak & Yeti Restaurant has made our must-do list for upcoming trips. This was our last meal for this trip to Walt Disney World and a nice way to end it.

To find out when you can plan your Advance Reservation for the Yak & Yeti Restaurant, go to the PS Report. Keep in mind there are no dinner hours at the Yak & Yeti restaurant when asking for a seating time as Animal Kingdom closes early most days.

Editor's Note: I would like to thank Bethany (lovethemouse from Magictrips) for volunteering to do this PS Spotlight.