Yak & Yeti Cafe

We had an amazing time and food at Yak and Yeti cafe. This is a family run food joint that offers home style food options. Owner and chef Dorjee and Maia were humble and had magic of Indian tastes in his food. They were able to adjust to our requests and food was fast and best we could have had. Amazing tasting homemade ice creams as well. Must try, if you are visiting ancourage, Alaska.

One of my favorite dine-in’s in anchorage when I visit! Soooo good, I get the #1, #2 and #6. Delicious combo of chicken, Garbanzo Beans and Chill with Spinach and Cheese. 😋 Recommended! Sooo filling.

Discovered this local shop today. They sale food from gyros to baked goods to rice bowls. We tried 3 different baked goods. All fresh and delicious. We added two iced chai teas. Very good and they come with a free refill. Price is decently priced too with good service. 10 outta 10 for recommend! Also tidal wave book store next to them. So come get your food and drinks and check out the local book store!

I absolutely love Indian food and was excited to try this place. I ordered the rice bowl with 3 toppings (Palek Paneer, keema Curry, and Chicken Tikka Masala). The Palek Paneer had wonderful flavor and I would order it again. The other two were bland and I would not order them again. Price was great for the amount of food.

The food here is exquisite, every experience every dish is fantastic. It is healing food and the ambiance and energy is unmatched. Highly recommend, you won’t be disappointed. It’s very clean and very consistent.

I go here for the Euros and rice bowls! The meat is so yummy. Food is always consistent and good. They have homemade dessert options, Ive only tried to “Moreo” and it’s delicious!! The service is always pleasant and quick.

Small batch ice-cream flavors are imaginative. Coffee with banana bread was an immediate yes. Their desserts are delicious, fresh and very satisfying without being ridiculously sweet. Potato leek soup has perfect consistency. Finest comfort food we've had in awhile. Chicken gyro was stuffed with perfectly seasoned, melt in mouth meat. We picked up lunch however we will be back to enjoy sit down atmosphere.

Went in with hi expectations based on the reviews and menu. However, was disappointed with the food because they could not make it with spice levels that some folks prefer when eating this type of food. Also, our checkout guy was fairly new so he did a pretty bland job explaining why we could not get spicy and he just pointed us to the water in jugs. For those of you looking for spice, this place ain’t nice.

Warm and comforting rice bowls. I have been eating here for many years and am pleased that the quality and flavor has remained consistent after my visit 9/12/24. My favorite are the rice bowls. You can have up to three different options added to your bowl. I usually have 2/3 palak paneer as that is my favorite, and will choose any of the other available dishes for the remainder. On the most recent trip it was chicken tiki masala. I always find it hard to choose as they are all absolutely delicious. Also of note is the curried egg salad sandwich and the stirfry shapta sandwich. These are huge and made on fresh turmeric bread. They are perfect for sharing. There is a half sandwich and soup option and the potato leek soup is fantastic. I stick mainly to the rice bowls, as this is my go to place for these particular flavors of warm curries, as well as vegetarian options. I've never been disappointed, and I believe that the portion size for the price ($11.99) is a fair price point given today's high costs. And I promise you'll be full. There's a few tables in the restaurant, but it can be kind of loud as it's a very open public space. I have always particularly enjoyed getting mine to go and then a short drive up Northern Lights to Earthquake Park to enjoy.

I have loved Yak and Yeti for years, especially their rice bowl for lunch. It's been one of the great deals in town. A frequent, often weekly treat. I was disappointed to come in recently and see that it had jumped from $9.99 to $12.99...a sudden 30% increase. I assume all of their other items shot up in price, too. Disappointing. I understand prices have gone up everywhere, but that doesn't seem to match inflation. Sad to see Yak and Yeti succumb to greedflation. At least I'd hope for a little transparency. I'll go elsewhere for lunch now.

My husband and I visited Yak and Yeti for lunch. I remember seeing the ad scrolling at the DMV and was eager to try it. Per usual, I read several reviews before adding it to my list, so that I would have a little idea what I should expect. Upon our arrival, we noticed a crowd, a promising sign. However, the restaurant's decor and ambiance left much to be desired. The menu, though small, offered enough variety for us. The young lady taking our order was pleasant and was able to suggest some vegetarian options. The food was prepared relatively quickly. I ordered the lamb gyro, and my husband ordered the rice bowl with three vegetarian options. The gyro was horrible. I could only nibble on the lettuce and tomatoes, but the meat lacked flavor and didn't taste authentic. My husband's rice bowl, which included yams, was very flavorful. As with most Anchorage restaurants, it is overpriced. Overall, the restaurant needed a major deep clean. It was really hard to enjoy food when there was dirt and grim everywhere. Overall, I won't be returning to this restaurant. Although my husband's meal was decent, it didn't leave a lasting impression on us.

Was pleasantly surprised by this place! The portion size is great for the price. Love that you can choose different proteins to your rice bowl to customize it however you want. There's a lot of flavor. I will say the chicken tikka masala does not quite taste like chicken tikka masala; it's not bad, but don't get it if you're craving true chicken tikka masala. My favorite was the Chana masala.

Simple and cozy place with delicious comfort food which is also well priced. I got a rice bowl with 3 curries. All the 3 curries were delicious. It was a good portion size and quick service. Highly recommend.

Super flavorful & filling bang for your buck options here. These warm rice bowls of pure goodness hit the spot when in winter and travel well! We ordered a couple of combo half and half options to deliver to a hotel we were staying at nearby and they were superb! The aroma coming from the bag ensured our delivery order didn't make it past the lobby :-) Already talking about when we're going to be in Anchorage again so we can try more of the menu.

Counter service casual spot with good food for a cheap price. There was a big line when we first arrived around 6PM but we didn't have to wait long for our food. We tried the chicken gyro and rice bowl with pork vindaloo and shapta and they were both good. They also have a case of baked good and sell packaged local homemade ice cream. We tried "dragon tail" cookie and the guava cheesecake ice cream and both were truly exceptional and unique finds for Anchorage.

Employees were very kind and service was quick. It got a little busy while there but overall it was relatively quiet inside. Everyone liked their food. People who got meat said it was very tender. I could use a bit more spice but the mild level probably sure more pallets.

(For context, I typically order through doordash to get lunch at work) I absolutely love yak & yeti for a simple, filling, tasty lunch. The potato and leek soup is a favorite of mine, especially with added rice. The turmeric bread is great for dipping, and the Shapta rice bowl is what initially hooked me. Their desserts are good, and the whole menu is very reasonably priced for the portions. I can typically spend 20$ and have lunch for 2-3 days. When I got covid in 2021, the soup from here was all I could manage to eat, and somehow I still never got tired of it

I love the environment, it's pretty quiet and the food was really good. The staff was really kind as well.

I'm suprised that I never updated my review. I suppose when I lived around the corner i took the Yak for granted. Now that I can't just pop over there for a warm drink and snack on a dreary day, I'm feeling really bummed about it. Their portioning always kept their prices really consistent when everyone else is going nuts with price increase. Their food is very affordable, and most of it is meat free which I just love. Their drinks and baked goods are excellent and the vibe here is really chill. They have some really excellent chutneys in the cabinet for sale too that I really recommend.

It's just not good. I want it to be good and I've eaten many things here over the years but it has never met my expectations. The food is like warm and very bland. The chicken is dry and overcooked. The pastries are good but that's not why I've gone there. I wanted quick food that wasn't trash "fast food". That being said, the service is good and the employees are kind. I just cannot recommend this place though.

Just the best comfort food around. My personal favorite is Chana Masala-vegan. I think I could just live on that dish alone. but then there are their desserts-dragon tale is my favorite, but that super-sized Oreo cookie is a clear second! They are fast, inexpensive, and super friendly.

Not a dining experience but a quick eat luncheonette. Limited menu and funky way to have cutlery and water given. It is a cafeteria. Service was good but tables need to be constantly wiped.

Yak and Yeti cafe! Always very fast and great service! Easy for on the go people who want to feel like they are eating a whole meal besides fast food. The rice bowls are $9.99 and pretty great portions. You can pick up to three different options. Definitely get the yam tika masala! The sauce is always really good and the amount of meat you get is great! There are also a lot of vegetarian options as well! Defiantly worth checking out.

So much flavor, supremely tender meat. This place would definitely be my winter go to if I lived in Anchorage. Seemed to be a lot of regulars with friendly staff out in the dining area when not getting slammed. Some of the best Chia tea ever!

This place is so good I seriously downloaded the yelp app to leave a review. Can't recommend enough.

Paneer during quarantine I exactly what I want! First time ordering here and I'm a fan. I asked for medium spicy and it was absolutely perfection. And the garlic naan to dip was delish!! Can't wait to try it in person, but carry out was good!

Nice folks, good food and a chill environment. Very fast service. I got the rice bowl with Chicken Tikka Masala & Keema Curry (you can actually pick 3 different "toppings") My only thing is I wish the rice bowl had some kind of veg to it, green/yellow onion, celery - really anything just to cut the heavy. Other wise, doesn't lack in taste and the brownies are gooood. I'll keep coming back to try other things.

First time having Nepalese food and I loved it . Food came out quickly and was really tasty! If you are expecting spicy food you won't find that here, but it is still full of amazing flavor. I went for lunch and had half chicken tikka masala and half yam tikka masala. As a starter I had the super creamy and delicious potato leek soup & for dessert the tapioca pudding. The one thing I didn't like was the housemade chai, it tasted like molasses and was missing something. Not sure if Nepal's chai recipe is different from Indian Chai, but I prefer Indian chai. Overall, I recommend this cute hole in the wall for a warm and filling lunch or take out!

Very attractive cashier and the food was fantastic! Very attractive cashier! Cozy atmosphere too!

We ordered take out due to covid, but it looked like they had 3 tables total if you wanted to dine-in. I ordered the Shapta bowl (spicy stir fry pork) and my husband got the lamb gyro, it was huge! Big portion sizes, I made two meals out of my bowl. The meat was so tender it literally melted in your mouth, however, I didn't think it was spicy at all. I wish it would've been a little more spicy. I also wish they had more topping flavors to go with the bowl, it was just the rice and meat (which was still fantastic). Pricing is also great for what you get. Will be back and definitely recommend!

We usually have a diverse smattering off of a menu when we're trying somewhere new - Yak and Yeti were no different. The name is catchy and it is a type of food we really like, so we gave it a shot! We tried some momos that didn't do much for us, the motif you'll read is salt... not much flavor, the dumpling dough was a bit gritty and not very soft and welcoming. The biggest problem was salt, super salty! The palak paneer was intensely salty as well, lighter on the salt and it might of been more palatable. Of course we tried the chicken tikka masala, how can you not? Tikka masala and or butter chicken are good measures for me to do a deeper dive in a menu, theirs fell fairly short. Just with the richness of the cream the tikka masala was palatable, still on the salty side but it was the only item we were able to fully enjoy. Not sure if there wasn't enough garam masala or coriander, but it just wasn't very flavorful. I wouldn't return for it, but if this was the only dish we'd had it would of been an okay experience. So... we love pickles. Pickled stuff is our jam, and we've enjoyed pickles from many different cultures and cuisines... these pickles were disturbing. Inedible, and that's an intense thing for me to say! I had one tiny bite and couldn't do it, my wife had a visceral reaction to them. Maybe they just weren't for us... Serving size was large for everything, the rice was perfectly fine, and delivery was prompt!

I didn't have high hopes from an Indian/Himalayan place in Anchorage but this place really surprised me. They serve rice bowls with choice of 1,2 or 3 curry's from a pool of 10 curry's to chose from. There's about 4 options for vegetarian and rest for meat lovers. I tried a bowl with dal, chana masala and yam curry while my husband tried vindaloo, shapta and keema. I didn't quite like the yam curry but everything else was really good. It tasted like a good home cooked meal. They also have some good selection of non-Indian desserts, we tried the chocolate mousse which was delicious. It is a nice place to stop by for quick lunch, definitely worth stopping by if you want to try something new.

I went to Yak and Yeti for their first Friday event . Andrew Holman was the featured artist and I am a fan of his work . His landscape photography is amazing . It's worth stopping in just to see this wonderful exhibit of adventure photography . I always enjoy the food here . It's affordable and quick and the location is great !!

My husband likes his order - Pork Curry. "Nothing special." I got the Chicken Tikka Masala. Big mistake. It almost tasted Mexican inspired. Growing up in South Texas, it reminded me of my mom's carne asada, but over jasmine rice. I have a very hard time believing these other 5 star reviews on this place.

Pumpkin bread and Chai tea were great! Chicken gyro was just mediocre, not bad but not great either. The chicken was large chunks and it was not only hard to eat it was a literal mess too.

Fantastic food for a good price. I had a bowl with the stir fried pork, yam curry and spinach paneer, while my wife had channa masala, beef curry and black daal. Each dish, plus the green daal soup, was delicious. Loved the chai as well.

One of the two Yak and Yeti locations in Anchorage, this one is more of a "build your own rice bowl" type of setup (and the other one is more of a family-style serving restaurant). The flavors are amazing and the service is great! You can get your food quickly...and when the other Yak and Yeti isn't open this version probably will be! I got a rice bowl with kheema curry, channa masala, and Nepalese black daal. The flavors were SO good! I've been to a lot of Indian restaurants in large cities (e.g. Chicago, Houston) and this place definitely makes it to my top favorite Indian places for the flavor. The bowl is filled to the brim with food, and definitely enough to fill up a hungry runner gal. Amazing value and flavor. Parking situation: on-site

Food - the food is quick and tasty. I had the tikka masala and palak paneer. The sauce is flavorful but a little in the lukewarm side. The paneer was mostly spinach and very little cheese. The rice was perfect. Ambiance - not much decoration or time spent on this place. It's really a grab and go kind of place. Quick and easy and cheap. Not a date spot. Notables - that have an extensive pastry case with some interesting pastries. The moreo (a great big Oreo) looked especially delicious. Cleanliness - it's a little disorganized and just kind of old. The seating arrangement is a little muddled and it can make it a little difficult to navigate between tables and people. Service - friendly, but let me note for you... you do everything. You pour your own water, order your food at a register, and go pick it up when they call your name.

Great food and service. They have a really good variety of dishes and we tried several. All were fresh, tasty and it's obvious they put a lot of care into their food. Bravo!

I love Yak & Yeti! If you haven't tried their rice bowls, please do. So good and each bite is amazing. I always get the keema curry bowl. It's a decent size and will get you full. I have tried the Pork Vindaloo! Another one of my favorites. A nice little spot and food that's ready to go. The flavors are so good, you will want to come back again.

The curry I got from them had absolutely no flavor whatsoever. Essentially eating salted cardboard. I'm sorry Yak & Yeti but you guys need to step up the game a little bit. 5th ave mall has better curry.

Very nice environment and the tikka masala was very yummy - i would recommend for sure- I loved the soup too!

The food doesn't make me want to yak, yet I think there could have been fresher turmeric bread and the green daal was so salty I couldn't palate. The yams seemed like they were from canned, and the pork was unintelligible amongst its overcookedness. I would have been better off just going to an Indian restaurant. They do have tea and lassi, you just have to catch the small sign in the far upper right rear ceiling prior to the cashier asking what you want to drink. I really do think though that if you were really in the Himalayan mountains, the food would be a bit more exotic and gamey. Nice try, but it just comes off as bad Indian food.

Some of the most bland Indian food we've ever tasted. Chicken Tikka Masala was totally devoid of flavor and not to mention the pita was store bought.

This was some of the best food and chai I've had in my life!!! I didn't know if I'd be able to eat it all (because pretty big portions) but I couldn't stop eating once I started-- it was amazing. Also, I ordered and got my food in less than 5 minutes. Wish I had more time in Alaska so that I could go back.

Delicious food, my faves are the chana masala and the house salad. Dressing on that salad is seriously addictive, just thinking about it makes my mouth water! Whenever I'm in the area I tend to dip in here for lunch. Good every time!

Have been coming here for years and it never gets old. Their regular dishes are all great, but an underrated classic is the potato leek soup which comes out at about 1000 degrees but is so good when it cools off. We love them so much that we contacted the owner when we were getting married to see if they'd cater the wedding. He said yes and they went absolutely above and beyond with their service. We had leftover chicken tikka for months afterword and couldn't have been happier.

So before i start, i want to call this out LOUD and CLEAR - this is NOT an Indian Restuarant. They are a Nepalese Restuarant and NEPAL is a neighboring country to India. On a quest to find someplace to have lunch on Sunday - we stumbled upon the Yak and Yeti Cafe. So I'm thinking Nepali cuisine and went in expecting MOMO'S :D but was disappointed to find out that they did not serve momos. I was a bit confused by their menu as well. They had sandwiches, coffee and then rice bowls. Anyways, saw pork on the menu(yay) and i was excited about the pork vindaloo. Being from the south of india, where pork is common, i looked forward to pork vindaloo and the other pork dishes. I ordered the rice bowl with pork vindaloo and sharpat(Tibetan stir fried pork) and my wife got a rice bowl with palak paneer and beef kheema. We were told the curries would be served on a bed of basmati rice but it was not. Basmati rice for me is long thin rice but this was more like jasmine rice. The pork vindaloo was, i guess a Nepali version - the pork vindaloo i grew up eating that my mom, grandma and aunties made and that i enjoyed eating is entirely different but not complaining. My wife liked the palak paneer and kheema but was not super impressed. The palak(the green stuff) is usually puréed but this one was not. The bowls didn't look like they had much food in them and we were worried if this was going to be enough but surprisingly the both of us were full and struggled to finished all of it. For around 10 dollars - its not bad. Would i go back here? maybe. I do however want to check out their other location as i was told their naans and stuff are good there.

If you are new to the area, or just stopping by, let me emphasize this: this is NOT the same as the Yak & Yeti restaurant. They are VERY different experiences (although the food is similar). They've got a pretty unique setup here. I'm not sure if I've ever seen anything quite like it, anywhere. This place is kind of like a grab-and-go bowl setup. You usually see this for Teriyaki shacks and/or some types of Mexican food. I've never seen it for Himalayan/Indian food. On top of that it's also...a bakery? And it's also connected to a fabulous bookstore (if you're from the PacNW, think of it as the "Powell's of Anchorage") and also connected to a great coffee shop. (to continue the analogy, the "Stumptown of Anchorage"). Anyway, this is a great place to go when you don't have a lot of time (or money) and want some filling, tasty food. The bowls are about $10 (this is cheap for Alaska, a land that has never seen Subway's footlong priced at $5), and you can get them to go if you're really strapped for time. You get to pick two different types of curry; you can pay more for 3 types. It's served on a bed of basmati nice. I almost always get Pork Vindaloo because it's amazing and also...when is the last time you've seen pork at an Indian place? Maybe this is where the Himalayan aspect comes in? The experience here is very different than the restaurant in that this is the "order at the counter" and then "go up to the counter when your name is called" type of establishment. Definitely worth checking out!

This place is more affordable than the Yak & Yeti restaurant on Spenard and it's a nice place to grab a quick lunch. That said, don't come here expecting the same quality as the other location. I do think the prices are pretty good ($8.99 for two dishes on a bowl of basmati rice and $9.99 for three). But you get what you pay for, so the quality is average. I typically get a rice bowl with channa masala (chickpeas), chicken tikka masala, and keema curry (beef and peas) and their Darjeeling chai. I've noticed the chicken is consistently dry but I can tolerate it with the sauce. I enjoy the chai here more than the overly sugary concentrated kind served at most coffee places. However it does seem like the chai here is sweeter than the chai served at the Spenard location, which I prefer since it's a better balance of sweet and spice. I do think it's a bit odd that they have desserts like cookies and brownies. There are some Indian-style desserts, like the cardamom tapioca pudding, but not as many as I would expect given the cafe's menu. I haven't tried any of the baked goods so I can't say anything about the quality. I like this place as a convenient lunch stop for when I'm craving Indian food but don't have the time to spend dining at a restaurant. But if you want an overall better dining experience, I recommend going to the other Yak & Yeti location.

So tasty! I didn't get my sauce on the side and I was missing one of the sides but otherwise I enjoyed the food very much

Yak and Yeti has opened an additional location in the REI strip mall on Northern Lights! The ambiance is a bit lackluster, but the food was pretty good. The menu is similar to their Spenard location, but less extensive. This is more of a quick eats/ cafe type setting. I had no idea what to order so I asked the guy at the register what he recommended. He told me to go with the Chicken Tika Masala with spinach, which I did. He recommended the pork vindaloo for my boyfriend who likes spicier food. The Chicken Tika Masala was really good and filling. My boyfriend really liked his pork vindaloo except that it wasn't very spicy. If you like spicy food I would recommend bumping it up when you place your order. We topped it off with a pineapple upside down cake. Yum! So good! We came during dinner and it was very quiet, but the guy behind the counter said that they get really busy for lunch.

Have a salad. The dressing will blow your mind and tantalize your tongue! The rice bowls are good. My family also likes the chocolate mousse.

Awful customer service. I'm putting a star because the app requires one. My friend, who was unfamiliar with the food, asked a question, then spoke to me, and in this discussion there was some confusion and only my order was placed. When I asked for my friend's food I was given attitude over the miscommunication and told, "Pretty cheap for two meals." I confronted him and was asked to wait outside. When he brought the food out he remained to antagonize me, like a twelve-year-old. Not exactly the first date experience I was looking for. Absolute a**holes.

I've been going here for years. When I had kids, I started taking them too. Great place for a big lunch at a fair price

My favorite place for a quick bite to eat for lunch or dinner - also try the chai if you haven't already it's the best in Anchorage

We had such a good experience at Yak & Yeti that I almost feel resentful of people who reviewed low star rating. It's sad to see very delicious, positive service, affordable and friendly service being given a worse rating for not meeting the expectations of people looking to fight and complaining about westernized personal preferences. So many of the reviews on this site are disrespectful of the authentic experience of a small business, and of the people and their culture and values. Some people walk in already looking for reasons to take away stars, and ruin it for themselves. But anyway... The service was fast and friendly. We ordered rice bowls with black dal, chicken tikka, channa and palak paneer. Everything was delicious, very warming, not too salty at all, well spiced, and tasting of home. All the basic cooking skills that make food great (cooking rice right, cooking dal right, seasoning food and balancing flavors) was well taken care of by the chefs. It's sometimes hard in Anchorage to find food that's filling and comforting but also has some nutrition value at all. We easily found this. It was also very easy to take our food to-go and enjoy it on the beautiful back deck of the KBC next door. The staff speak Nepali and were extremely friendly having a conversation with us. We left wishing that we could live here regularly so that we could visit on a regular basis and develop a closer relationship with the people that cook there--there's no knowing what other kind of delicious stuff they're going to make. While the chicken was a little dry, I have yet to have chicken in Anchorage/Alaska that *isn't* dry, so I refuse to take it against this establishment in particular. Their Darjeeling Chai was the most surprisingly good thing on the menu, it is easy to avoid chai tea while traveling because you never know how good it's going to be, but their chai was authentic and delicious, both hot and iced. It is better chai than any chai tea you will find at any coffeeshop or cafe in town. In short, the food at Yak & Yeti is amazing cooked-by-your-auntie Himalayan food, and is extremely comforting and refreshing to anyone looking for this kind of food in Anchorage. Go here for an authentic experience and leave wishing or planning to come back again soon. Much love to the people that work there!